USA > Indiana > Encyclopedia of biography of Indiana > Part 9
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the foregoing condition rests in all prop- erty owners and inhabitants of said town as well as in the grantor and his assigns." The validity to deeds of lands embodying this principle has been tried and held to be constitutional and valid by the Su- preme Court of the United States. Early in life Mr. Johnson espoused the anti- slavery cause and in 1844 cast his first presidential vote for James G. Birney, who was the candidate for the Liberty party. In 1848 he voted for Van Buren and in 1852 for Hale and Julian and in 1856 for Fremont and Dayton. From that time up to 1884 he voted with the Repub- lican party, except at such times when it presented candidates who were known to indulge in intoxicants; then he voted for the opposing candidate, if free from such use, but if not he did not vote at all. In 1884, believing that there was no longer any hope of the Republican party purg- ing itself from the influence of the liquor element and that its policy in the future was to perpetuate the traffic, he cut loose and voted the straight Prohibition ticket, both State and National. He has an abiding faith in the speedy triumph of the principles of the Prohibition party, and that faith has been strengthened by the striking resemblance between the Prohibition party of to-day and the Anti- slavery party of the past, as well as the attitude of the old parties toward these two reforms. Since the organization of the Prohibition party in 1884 he has given to its interest nearly all his time, and such service as money cannot buy,
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without charge. Mr. Johnson, though well along in years, is still vigorous and active and endures a great amount of labor. He still fills many responsible po- sitions. For twelve years he has been president of the Indiana State Horticul- tural Society; for six years was treasurer of the State Board of Agriculture; was president of the Marion County Agricul- tural and Horticultural Society for eleveu years. He is now and has been for many years a trustee of Purdue University and is a member of the Friends church. He served as manager, secretary and treas- urer of the Indiana Phalanx Company, the official organ of the Prohibition party in this State; secretary and treasurer of the State Central Committee, and Treas- urer of the town of Irvington for many years. He was the receiver for a large manufacturing company and guardian and administrator of several estates. During the World's Fair at Chicago he was appointed judge of horticultural im- plements and grapes. He is still engaged extensively in the cultivation of small fruits. A prominent citizen who has been a life-long friend of Mr. Johnson's says of him:
"He is distinguished for a kind heart and tender sympathy and his ears and eyes are ever open to suffering and ready to relieve. Though advanced in years he is still hale and hearty, active and clear-headed, illustrating the truth that temperate habits and upright life bestow their rewards in advanced years. He is a splendid specimen of that sturdy stock with iron will, clear conscience, high pur- pose, and ceaseless energy given by a Quaker ancestry and training to this na-
tion, whose influence in reforming and shaping public and social affairs has been of inestimable value. As a son, brother, husband, father and grandfather he has been a model to be observed and fol- lowed. As a business man, a pub- lic officer in which he has had large experience, he has shown fine abil- ity, capacity and integrity. As a citizen he has shown independence and high conscience in the discharge of his duties and a single purpose to serve the civil government to which his services were due. As a Christian man he has been consistent and faithful. Summing up the life and character of Sylvester Johnson, I will say his has been the life of an upright man."
Mr. Johnson was married on the 21st day of November, 1844, to Rachel Miner, daughter of Noah W. Miner, an attorney of Wayne county, Indiana. He has four children, all living: Francenia A., widow of William W. Wilson; Eudoras M., the present city comptroller of Indianapolis; Martha E., widow of James J. Powell; and Oliver R., now general freight agent on the Lake Erie and Western Railroad, formerly a journalist and Vice Consul with Mr. New in London. Mr. Johnson has six grandchildren.
DANIEL P. ERWIN.
Daniel Peart Erwin, who was born April 29, 1844, at Columbia, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, was the eldest son of Martin and Hannah (Lockard) Erwin. The Erwin family had its origin in Scot- land, but subsequently removed to the North of Ireland, whence members of it came directly to America. As was usual
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in those days, the immigrants did not settle in any one locality. Upon reach- ing America it was the enstom for them to branch ont in different directions; and it is, perhaps, due to this fact that the old family name of Erwin has undergone several changes in its orthography, in- cluding the substitution of the capital I for E. Martin Erwin's ancestors were among those who early settled in the country west of the Delaware river, in Pennsylvania, a part of which territory subsequently became Lancaster county. It was here, at the village of Strasburg, that he was born, Angust 11, 1811. At that time the only method of transpor- tation was by wagons, neither canal nor railroad having made its way through what ultimately became the "Garden Spot" of Pennsylvania, a name given to Lancaster connty by reason of the beanty and fertility of its farm lands. With such conditions and surroundings it was not surprising that Martin Erwin drifted into the transportation business. He had inherited that shrewdness so common to the Scotch race and recognized in the carrying trade one of the most profitable businesses of the day. Mr. Erwin soon established a ronte for himself and em- ployed a large number of six-horse teams and the great Conestoga wagons in trans- ferring merchandise from Columbia, the western terminus of the first railroad built westward from Philadelphia, over the Allegheny mountains to Wheeling, on the Ohio river. On his return trips, his loads consisted of western produce,
which was sold or exchanged in the east- ern markets. It was while thus employed that Mr. Erwin married Hannah Lockard, who was born in Columbia, June 18, 1825. The Lockard family is one of the oldest and most historie in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Erwin's mother was Elizabeth Fordney, a native of Norfolk, Virginia. IIer grand- mother, on the maternal side, was Rachel Radcliffe Ware, and on the paternal side, Mary Hudson-all good Revolutionary names, that were handed down from the earliest and most prominent settlers of Eastern Pennsylvania. Mrs. Erwin, the mother of Daniel P. Erwin, was a devout Christian, a faithful believer in and fol- lower of Martin Luther. Noted for her many and liberal deeds of charity, Mrs. Erwin's noble work among the poor and needy, the sick and disabled, is recalled in grateful memory to this day by the older residents of Columbia. It was with that old time strict Christianity that this mother ruled her large family of children. It was applied in their home life, and its influence was even extended to their daily labors. Amidst such surroundings as these, Daniel P. Erwin was reared. The lessons then taught have never been for- gotten; their influence is still paramount in the man of to-day. From father to son were transmitted shrewdness and ability in business affairs; from mother to son ' came the Christian spirit, the love of hon- esty, integrity and benevolence, all of which are prominent points in Mr. Er- win's character. The early life of Mr. Erwin differed in no wise from that of
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other youths of that period. School fa- cilities were extremely limited in those days in that locality, and Columbia had few advantages to offer the children. Such as they were, however, were placed at the disposal of the Erwin family, and their education extended through the pub- lic, private and night schools. The sub- ject of this sketch, while an apt scholar, was of a restless disposition, and at the age of thirteen years, during the absence of his father and mother, who were on a visit to Muscatine, Iowa, where they had extensive interests in lands (but which were entirely lost during the panic of 1857), he indentured himself as an ap- prentice in the office of the Columbia Spy printing establishment. This step, while not meeting the approval of his parents, proved a blessing in the end. The duties of his position stimulated a natural taste for reading and study, which not only made him a valuable as- sistant in the office of the country news- paper, but also laid the foundation for that practical comprehension which has resulted in the successful carrying out of the great enterprises with which his name became associated in after years. Going to his duties at five to six o'clock in the morning for the first two years, to prepare the premises for the workers of the day; the assuming of tasks of labor, including composition at the case, in which he became an expert; the long nights of study; the debating society-all contributed to the development of that discipline and strength of character
which are so essential to success in life. On the expiration of his five years of ap- prenticeship, during which he had become a successful compiler of news, a fair com- positor, and gained a full knowledge of all the departments of newspaper publica- tion, he retired, not without ambition to become the proprietor of a newspaper. He had been urged when the war broke out to enter the Military Academy at West Point, being sixteen years of age, but the Congressman of his district, Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, awarded the appoint- ment, on the issue of a competitive ex- amination on academic lines. Afterwards he visited Washington and was assured of a nomination through President Liu- coln, but in the meantime a physical trou- ble arose which not only kept him out of the Academy at West Point, but out of the army-except for one hundred days' service to complete which he was made post order clerk at Fort McHenry, Mary- land. It was sufficient, however, to give him a military record, however humble. the one ambition of all the boys of his day and community-to be mustered into the army and receive an honorable dis- charge. In the summer of 1862, Mr. Er- win, having finished his term in the print- ing office, was granted a vacation of thirty days. He improved this opportun- ity by paying a promised visit to Cincin- nati, a trip at that time of three days. An uncle, who was superintendent of the Pennsylvania railroad, furnished him transportation, and another uncle wel- comed him to Cincinnati. The latter
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made it so agreeable that the young man was induced to engage with him in the wholesale dry goods business as a clerk. His employment began as entry-clerk and assistant book-keeper, and ended in a partnership in the firm of Lockard, Ire- land & Co. The senior partners desiring to retire in 1875, having amassed comfort- able fortunes and survived the ravages of the panic of 1873, entrusted their in- terest in the business to Mr. Erwin, the junior partner. With the keen perception and quick insight that has been his aid so often to success, he determined upon a change of location and removed the re- maining stock to Peoria, Illinois, where in three years he established a large busi- ness and excellent credit under the firm name of Erwin & Company. His ambi- tion, however, had grown, and in the spring of 1880, he bought a controlling in- terest in the largest wholesale dry goods business at Indianapolis. In 1884, having separated from his associates, he became sole owner of the business and estab- lished the firm name of D. P. Erwin & Co., which has become a household word in five States comprising the territory of which Indianapolis is the center. Mr. Er- win is not only the head of one of the largest single commercial enterprises in his adopted State, but is also the owner of "The Denison" at Indianapolis, which is the largest hotel property in the State. He has other enterprises and business connections of more or less note, includ- ing an official connection with, and large pecuniary interest in, the National Tin
Plate Company, with enormous plants at Anderson, Indiana, and Monessen, Penn- sylvania. While Mr. Erwin stands almost at the head of the list of large individual tax payers in the State of Indiana, he has never held or sought any public office. He has been a consistent Republican in politics from boyhood, having been reared in a strong anti-slavery town, that was most active in terminating slavery, on the north bank of the Susquehanna river, sixty miles from Baltimore. He has received many overtures from the leaders of his party to enter the arena of politics, but has persistently refused. He was once threatened with the unsolicited nomination for mayor of Indianapolis during his absence from home, but wired that he "could not serve if elected." He is, however, an enterprising public-spir- ited citizen, always among the foremost in all public work of a non-partisan char- acter. He is liberal, broad minded and non-sectarian in his views as well as prac- tices. He has served one terin as presi- dent of the Board of Trade and has been one of its governors for sixteen years. He has also served as director of the Com- mercial Club six years and as its presi- dent two years. He is one of the direct- ors of the Art Association, and a member of the advisory board of several philan- thropie associations. Ile is a member of the Columbia Club, in which he has served as a director, also a member of the University Club, Maennerchor and das Deutsche Hans. He is a gentleman of sound judgment, wide information, great
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executive ability and prodigious energy. His perception is quick and his active mind reaches a conclusion almost instan- taneously when any new matter is pre- sented for his consideration. His manner is easy and unobtrusive. He is punctil- ious in his engagements and thoroughly reliable in all commercial affairs. Any undertaking which secures his approval and co-operation is sure to be successful, especially if he has the controlling iuter- est and the management. It would be fail- ing to do Mr. Erwin justice to neglect to mention how much indebted Indianapolis is to him in helping to secure for her her rank and proud position as a city. Where- ever and whenever the time is ripe to identify her with matters of national mo- ment, or to seize an opportunity for pro- moting her interests in any way, Mr. Er- win is always among the first of her citi- zens to step forward and be at her entire service. His time, his money, and what is most valuable of all, his indomitable energy and intuitive kindness are at her disposal. He finds no journey too long, no plan too tedious of elaboration, no ef- fort too severe to make it in the aid of the city of his adoption. It is sufficient re- ward for his work and self devotion if the good of the many is the result of his efforts. While he is most earnest in all that promotes this, he deprecates all ac- tion on the part of his associates that would lead to his own advancement. It is the details of his unwritten history that would be of the greater interest. Here, can only be set down what all his fellow-
citizens know-the greater good he does, and the major part of his work can be estimated only by those who understand what the life of such a man really means to the community in which he lives. At the age of twenty-three Mr. Erwin mar- ried Annie Barbara, second daughter of Hon. Francis Seifert, a distinguished citi- zen and merchant of Cincinnati, Ohio. She was the niece of Hon. Charles Reeme- lin, who had been a partner of Mr. Seif- ert. Mrs. Erwin died May 27, 1897, leaving three daughters: Helen Seifert, wife of W. H. Coburn; Hannah Lockard and Louise Marck.
CORTLAND VAN CAMP.
During the colonial period there was a transfusion of healthy Dutch blood from the kindgom of Holland into the weak new American Republic. The family of Van Campen was of this element, branch- es of it settling in New York and New Jersey. They were men of stalwart char- acter, adherents of Christianity, aggres- sive and liberty-loving. Charles Van Camp, whose father was a captain of vol- unteers in the Revolutionary army, as early as 1804, came from Trenton, New Jersey, to the Territory of Indiana. Dear- born county became his home, and here he married Mary Halstead, daughter of James Halstead, who had brought his family overland from New York, settling in North Bend, Ohio. On Christmas day, 1817, a son-Gilbert-was born to
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Cortland
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Charles and Mary Van Camp. Gil- bert C. Van Camp possessed the
very best traits for meeting success- fully the difficult conditions of a new and undeveloped country. Eco- nomical, industrious and resourceful, he shaped to his own will the possibilities about him. He married Hester Jane Ray- mond, and on May 25, 1852, in Franklin county, Indiana, their son Cortland was born. It is probable that even the
. very earliest years of this son were imbued with wholesome and practi- cal lessons from his father's life, which were to dominate favorably his whole future. In 1860, Gilbert C. Van Camp removed his family to In- dianapolis, his son Cortland electing for himself a course of education which should fit him for a mercantile life, that trend having asserted itself in boyhood. Having completed a business college course, at sixteen years of age he was filling the position of bookkeeper for Mr. G. G. Holman, a commission merchant of Indianapolis. This position was soon re- linquished, however, and in 1869-a lad of seventeen-he formed a partnership in the commission business-fruits and vegetables-with his father. This firm flourished for about seven years, at first under the name of Van Camp & Jackson, and later that of G. C. Van Camp & Son. In 1876 Cortland Van Camp retired, this move be- ing due to a desire to establish a permanent business, one to which he might devote the best efforts of his life,
and which would, in return for unremit- ting thought and labor, offer more grati- fying results than could possibly be achieved from anything so hazardous as the commission business. Upon mature reflection Mr. Van Camp decided upon the hardware business as opening en- couraging avenues for his desires, al- though he had no special knowledge of it as a branch of trade. In June, 1876, he purchased the stock and good will of the house established by Anderson, Bullock & Schofield, investing therein all his available capital. Upon entering this new field it became apparent that new methods were needed to place the firm upon a paying basis. This was success- fully accomplished by Mr. Van Camp
within a comparatively short time, and a consolidation with the iron house of Han- son & Bergunthal was the next step made towards expansion. In 1884 this firm was incorporated under the name of the Hanson-Van Camp Company; however, in 1886, Mr. Hanson withdrew, and a new corporation was formed under the pres- ent name, Van Camp Hardware and Iron Company, of which Mr. Van Camp is president. The volume of trade was doubled in the three following years, and there has since been a constant increase, until the house has reached an enviable position, ranking among the first of its kind in the West. In January, 1899, Mr. Van Camp purchased Mr. Bergunthal's interest in the concern, the latter retiring from business on account of ill health. Mr. Van Camp continues to give his at-
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tention to the management of the busi- ness, and while he is adverse to pro- claiming his own achievements, many of his fellow citizens are glad to pay tribute to his sterling worth. A prominent bank- er recently said of Mr. Van Camp: "I have known him intimately throughout his business career, and consider him a born merchant and financier. His is the leading hardware and iron house in the State, and there are bnt few larger in the West. The concern is very aggressive and is constantly extending its trade into new territory. Mr. Van Camp is the man who deserves the credit for building up the business and putting it on its present sound financial footing. In my opinion, this has required greater ability and more energy and persistence, in an inland city like Indianapolis, than would be needed in a city such as St. Louis or Chicago. Though of a very retiring disposition, Mr. Van Camp is strong and self-reliant in meeting the many problems of business life." There is a very important side to Mr. Van Camp's nature, apart from that which is engaged in the making of money. His political convictions as a Re- publican are deep-seated, and he is well- grounded in the history of his party and alive to its present issues. He has held the office of deacon in the Second Pres- byterian Church, and is now a member of the board of trustees. One who has known him thoroughly in this capacity, said of him: "He is nobly generous, giv- ing cheerfully and abundantly to every worthy philanthropy, but always in a
quiet way, shrinking from all ostentation or display. He may be termed a silent worker, letting not his left hand know what his right hand doeth, and true as steel to whatever cause he may espouse." After a high tribute to Mr. Van Camp's social qualities, this gentleman concluded with the remark: "I have never known a man in whom there is so little of the ego as in Cortland Van Camp." In 1876 Mr. Van Camp was married to Fannie .A., daughter of Samuel J. Patterson of In- dianapolis. Five children have been born to them, of which one, Fannie May, died at the age of seven. Those living are Ray- mond Patterson, Ella D., Samuel Gilbert. and Cortland Malott. At the first call for troops in the war with Spain, Ray- mond P., who was educated in the Michi- gan Military Academy, enlisted in Bat- tery A, 27th Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Van Camp have a pleasant home on North Delaware street, and, with their family, are identified with the social life of the city.
ELI LILLY.
Colonel Eli Lilly, the oldest son of Gus- tavus and Esther E. Lilly, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, July 8, 1838. When he was a year old his parents moved to Lexington, Kentucky, where they remained until 1848, when they moved to Gallatin county, Kentucky. After residing in that county three years the family removed to Green- castle, Indiana, in 1851. There he
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received a limited education such as could be obtained from the private schools and from the preparatory depart- ment of the old Asbury University. His first independent effort for self support was in connection with the publication of the Asbury Notes, the college paper of that period. Soon after he obtained a position in a drug store where he became greatly interested in his duties and at once displayed a remarkable aptitude for practical chemistry, in which branch he became very proficient. When about seventeen years of age he entered the services of Henry Lawrence, an English chemist of La Fayette, Indiana, where he remained for several years and perfected himself in his life work. It was during this time that he became a member of the La Fayette Guards, which developed in him a love for military affairs and greatly influenced his future career. Then, as subsequently, he took a deep interest in his business, showing the same zeal and energy that characterized his life in all his subsequent undertakings. He was ac- tively engaged in the drug business at La Fayette when the war broke out. His father was an Abolitionist and is reported to have been a station agent on the "Un- derground railroad." The son did not look at the question of slavery from the same point of view. In fact, in 1860, he voted for Breckinridge for president. When the war broke out he was one of the most enthusiastic Union men in his locality. From the Democracy of Breck- inridge and the heresy that slavery was
national, he went to the extreme of Un- ionism and became one of the zealous sup- porters of the Lincoln policy, and early connected himself with a military organi- zation. He was one of the first to join what was subsequently known as the First Indiana Heavy Artillery, which was organized at Indianapolis in July, 1861. He was so efficient a soldier that he early attracted the attention of his superior officers and was recommended to Gover- nor Morton for a more important com- mand, namely, Captain of the famous Eighteenth Indiana Battery. This was August 20, 1862. During the win- ter of 1862 Captain Lilly's bat- tery was changed into a mounted battery and was attached to the famous Wilder Brigade of mounted infantry and made a part of the Four- teenth Army Corps, under Gen. George H. Thomas. The first general engage- ment in which the Lilly battery partici- pated was at Hoover's Gap, Tennessee, July 24, 1863. For four hours Captain Lilly stubbornly held his battery on the brow of the hill and poured triple charges of grape and canister into successive charges of two brigades of Claiborn's di- vision which vainly attempted to drive the Union troops out of the Gap. All the while the battery received the shot and shell from two batteries of six guns be- longing to the brigade opposing him. By deftly retiring the guns below the crest of the hill so that the muzzles just cleared the green sward of the brow, he defied the aim of the Rebel batteries and greatly
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