USA > Indiana > Lake County > Encyclopedia of genealogy and biography of Lake County, Indiana, with a compendium of history 1834-1904 > Part 40
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After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Brandt settled on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres within half a mile of their present homestead. They have been thrifty and good managers, and as the years have gone by their prosperity has manifested itself by an accumulated estate of three hundred and ninety-nine acres, all finely cultivated and as good land as lies within the confines of West Creek township. They also own three hundred and twenty acres in South Dakota, near Salem, the county seat of McCook county. Mr. Brandt is a good judge of fine stock, and keeps good grades of Norman horses, Durham cattle and Chester White hogs. He has the best of improve- ments on the farm, consisting of large and commodious barns, granaries and other outbuildings, and in 1896 he erected a comfortable country residence which is a credit to the community. He is a Republican in politics, and, from the time of casting his first presidential vote for James A. Garfield, he has been a loyal upholder of Republican principles. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of Lodge No. 14, of the Independent Order of Foresters at Brunswick, Indiana.
LOUIS LARSON.
Louis Larson is a prominent and enterprising farmer of Lake county, residing on section 17, Ross township, where he has a well improved property that in its beautiful appearance indicates his careful supervision. A native of Sweden, he was born on the 20th of November, 1860, and was a son of John Larson, who was also born in that country, whence he came to America, landing in New York in 1866, and then spent two years in Chicago. Two years afterward he came to Lake county, Indiana. establishing his home in Hobart township in 1868. There he remained for seven years and then removed to Ross township, but later he returned to Ilobart township, where his death occurred in 1898, when he was in his sixty-sixth year. He was a life-long Republican, having firm faith in the principles of the party and
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giving to it his stalwart support. Both he and his wife are members of the Swedish Lutheran church at Hobart, and he was deeply interested in all that pertained to the moral and educational advancement as well as to the material upbuilding of his community. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Ellen Olson, is also a native of Sweden. She still survives her husband and now makes her home with her son Louis. She has been twice married, and by the first union she had two daughters, while the children of the second marriage are two sons.
Louis Larson, the younger son, was but five years of age when his parents left Sweden and came to the new world, while since seven years of age he has inade his home in Lake county, Indiana. Here he was reared and educated. attending the Hobart schools and also the Ainsworth school in Ross township. To his father he gave the benefit of his services through the period of his minority, working in the fields throughout the summer months or from the time of early spring planting until crops were har- vested in the late autumn. He remained at home to the time of his mar- riage, which occurred on the 3d of January, 1885, the lady of his choice being Miss Hilda Strom. a native of Sweden, who came to the United States when fourteen years of age. To Mr. and Mrs. Larson have been born three children : William, Edwin and Herbert.
After his marriage Mr. Larson rented his father's farm for about four years and then purchased the place upon which he has since carried on general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. He now has eighty acres of good iand here, well improved with substantial buildings. There is a comfortable house and large barn, and other modern improvements which indicate the owner to be a man of progressive and practical spirit. His land is arable, and the well-tilled fields yield to him a good return for his labor. In his political views he is a stanch Republican, and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Swedish Methodist Episcopal church at Hobart. Almost his entire life has been passed in Lake county, and those who have known him from boyhood esteem him highly because his life has been honorable and upright.
THOMAS GRANT.
Thomas Grant, numbered among the wide-awake and progressive busi- ness men of Lake county, Indiana, is now engaged in merchandising in
Thomas Grant
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Lowell and is also filling the position of township trustee, being active and in- fluential in community affairs. He was born in Lowell on the 13th of Sep- tember. 1865, and is a son of Thomas Grant, who was born in Scotland and came to America when a young man. locating in Chicago. Subsequently he removed to this county, settling in Lowell in 1860. IIe assisted in build- ing the mill here, but his business career was early terminated by death. He died in the south when his son Thomas was but nine months old.
Thomas Grant was early thrown upon his own resources, for when a youth of only nine years he began working by the month as a farm hand. He also worked as a section hand for three years on the Monon Railroad, after which he learned the carpenter's trade and followed that pursuit for ten years. As time passed he prospered in his undertaking because of his economy and diligence, and on retiring from active connection with carpen- tering he invested the capital he had acquired in a mercantile enterprise in Lowell, becoming a partner of his brother James. This business connec- tien was formed in 1900, and they now carry a large and well selected line of general merchandise. Mr. Grant of this review is also a stockholder in the Lowell National Bank and his efforts are an important factor in promoting commercial activity and prosperity in his town.
In 1893 Mr. Grant was united in marriage to Miss Gracie Nichols. a daughter of W. C. and Mary Nichols. They have one son, Byrl. Mr. Grant is a stanch Republican, taking an active interest in the work and success of his party. and in 1900 he was elected township trustee, which position he is now filling. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias lodge No. 300, at Lowell. and with the Masonic order. Having spent his entire life in Lowell he is well known in this portion of the county, and his life history is as an open book which all may read. His friends entertain for him warm regard. for he has ever commanded their respect and confi- dence, and because of his prominence in public and business affairs he well deserves mention as one of the representative citizens of this part of the state.
ALBERT FOSTER.
Albert Foster, ex-trustee of West Creek township, for many years actively engaged in agricultural affairs and now a resident of Lowell. belongs to the well-known Foster family which for two-thirds of a century have
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been conspicuous in the development of the county's material resources. The landed possessions in the Foster name are among the largest single estates in the county. Besides being accumulators of property, they have been producers of wealth, and from the time of the father who located here during the pioneer days the influence and works of the family members have always been on the side of progress in social, intellectual and institutional affairs. What has been accomplished by this family will always remain as a test and mark of their merit and worth as citizens, and Mr. Albert Foster has not been one of the least of the name in conferring great good upon the county of his nativity.
Mr. Foster was born in West Creek township on Christmas day of 1856. His parents were George L. and Lucy Jane (Hathaway) Foster, and he was the fifth of their ten children, five sons and five daughters, nine of whom are still living, as follows: Edwin L., who is married and engaged in the oil business at Jacksonville, Illinois: Volney, married and a farmer in prosperous circumstances in West Creek township; Edson, married and a resident of Chicago Heights, Illinois; Albert; Eliza, wife of Arthur Farley, a farmer of Lowell: Emeline, wife of F. E. Nelson, the banker at Lowell; Martha, wife of Frank L. Smart, who is principal of the Dubuque, Iowa, high school, and who was educated at Valparaiso and in Harvard College; Mariilia, wife of S. A. Richards, of Valparaiso: and Julia, wife of George Bailey.
George L. Foster was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, April 10, 1821, and died in Kansas, May 12, 1877. He was a farmer and stockman and for some time was a cattle drover. He was a self-educated man, gifted with a retentive memory, and had great individuality and force of charac- ter. His active career began at the early age of fifteen, when he left his father's home and went to work on the Erie canal. He came home at the end of nine months and gave his parents, in addition to his regular wages, twenty dollars that he had picked up as extras. His father returned to him this twenty dollars, and thus capitalized he started out on foot for the distant destination of Lake county, Indiana. When he arrived in this county, in 1836 or '37, he had eleven dollars in cash, so that he began at the foot of life's ladder. For ten years he was a wage earner. About 1841 he entered a tract of eighty acres in section 7, West Creek township, consisting of pure
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virgin soil. and his first domicilium was a log cabin, the material for which was cut from the Kankakee swamp trees. Not to enter into details. he pros- pered to the extent that he owned over one thousand acres of land in this county, all in one body, besides eleven hundred acres in Kansas. This land has never passed from the family, and the descendants instead of selling any of it have added much more to it.
Mr. George L. Foster was a very remarkable man in many ways, and he was uniformly successful in all his undertakings. During the California gold excitement he started for the Eldorado, but got only as far as Pike's Peak. Later, however, he went on to the coast, returning by way of the Isthmus. Politically he was an old-line Whig and then joined the Re- publican party at its birth, being a warm admirer of Abe Lincoln. In official capacities he served as county commissioner of Lake county during the war, 1861-65, and was a strong supporter of the Union. He had a decision of character and a firmness that elevated him above the rank and file and gave a distinctive stamp to both word and action. He and his wife were both members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he assisted in the erection of both houses of worship of that denomination in West Creek township, the last one being built in 1867. His wife, Lucy ( Hathaway) Foster, was born in the Hudson river valley of New York, April 20, 1828, and she died November 30, 1876. Both the Foster and Hathaway families were of pure English stock, and grandfather Elijah Dwight Foster was one of the famous minute-men of the Revolution.
Albert Foster was reared in western Lake county, and his early educa- tion stopped with the common schools, after which he trained himself mainly by personal application. He was only twelve years old when he left the parent nest and tried his young wings in independent flight. Ile was im- bued with the desire that comes to all vigorous-minded boys. to travel and see the world. As he says, when he should have been at home under his mother's care, he was far in the west in New Mexico and Arizona, and spending two years in the silver mines of Colorado. He later returned and had already got quite a start in life by the time he reached his majority and was in the mind of settling down in life.
On December 30, 1877, just after he had passed his twenty-first birth- day, he was married to Miss Mary E. Sponslor. They have been happily
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wedded for more than twenty-five years, and six children. three sons and three daughters, have been born to them. Clyde D., the eldest, graduated in the class of 1896 from the Lowell high school. secured his teacher's cer- tificate, taught in his home township two years, was principal at Shelby one year, principal of the Franklin school at Hammond two years, and then entered the literary department of Northwestern University and is still carrying on his studies: he is a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fra- ternity and is a member of the Masonic lodge at Lowell; during the present scholastic year of the university he was unanimously elected president of the class, which honor conferred on him was graciously yet modestly received. Emma Stella graduated in 1901 from the Lowell high school and is now taking the teacher's course at the Ypsilanti ( Michigan) Normal, being espe- cially interested in elocution. Hattie L., a graduate from the high school in 1903. is also at Ypsilanti. Arthur Lyman graduated from the Lowell high school in 1904 and pursuing normal studies at the Valparaiso College is now a teacher in Lake county. Mr. and Mrs. Foster have not spared means or effort in giving their children the best of training and educational advantages, and they should be congratulated on the excellent results already apparent.
Mrs. Foster was born in Hardin county, Ohio, December 29, 1852. and was reared in that state and educated in the ladies' seminary at West Geneva. She was a teacher for a number of years in her native state and also in Kansas. Her parents, both now deceased, were Jacob and Mar- garet (Slonacker) Sponslor, and she has five brothers living.
For twenty-one years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Foster resided upon their homestead in West Creek township, where they have a fine estate of three hundred and ten acres, besides some property that Mrs. Foster owns in Ohio. In 1898 they moved into Lowell, where they erected one of the most pretentious homes of the town, and have been citizens there ever since. Their home is finished in hardwood and Georgia pine, is heated by furnace. is prettily furnished, and, best of all and its chief charm, is the abode of hospitality and a place of welcome for their many friends.
Mr. Foster has been prominent in civic affairs in his township, and is one of the leaders in matters pertaining to the general welfare. He is a stalwart Republican, having cast his first vote for Garfield. In August.
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1895, he accepted the office of trustee of West Creek township, and during the five years and three months of his tenure of this office many of the most important public improvements effecting the people and material progress were brought about. He caused the erection of several of the fine modern school buildings in the township, which would be a credit to any community, and during his official career, also, the West Creek high school was organ- ized. and education in general received a most stimulating influence in all directions. In 1900 he was appointed by Judge Gillette as drainage commis- sioner in Lake county. He has often been selected as delegate to his party's county, district and state conventions. Fraternally he affiliates with Colfax Lodge No. 378, F. & A. M., and served as worshipful master one year. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, No. 300, at Lowell, and belongs to the uniform rank of that order.
THOMAS J. STEARNS.
From an early period in the development of Lake county Thomas J. Stearns has resided in this portion of the state and is now living at Lake Station. His interest in public affairs has been manifested in active co-oper .. ation in all movements for the general good and he has long been a witness of what has been accomplished in this county as it has emerged from pioneer conditions to take its place with the leading counties of the commonwealth.
Mr. Stearns was born February 28, 1842, upon a farm in Porter county. Indiana, about six miles west of Valparaiso. His father. Joseph Stearns. was a native of Rhode Island and was reared in New York, whence he went to Porter county, Indiana, about 1838. In 1852 he came to Lake county, casting in his lot with the early settlers of Hobart township, where he per- formed the arduous task of developing a new farm from wild and unbroken land. He served for several terms as trustee of Hobart township and in public affairs took an active and helpful part. He was also an interested and zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his labors promoted the cause of Christianity in his neighborhood. He died when in his seventy- ninth year and left behind an untarnished name and a most honorable record. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Rhoda Wilson, was a native of Ohio and was of Irish descent, while Mr. Stearns was of English lineage. She was reared in the Buckeye state and lived to be about sixty-nine years of
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age. To them were born thirteen children, nine of whom reached years of maturity, while two are yet living, Thomas J., and Mrs. Rhoda Toothel, of Hobart.
Thomas J. Stearns was the next to the youngest in the family, and he was brought to Lake county, Indiana, when but ten years of age. His edu- cation was acquired in the old time district schools, and in the summer months he worked at farm labor until he had gained broad and practical knowledge concerning every department of agricultural work. He continued at home with his parents until 1861, when, feeling that his first duty was to his country, he donned the blue uniform and enlisted in the Fourth Indiana Battery as a private. He served for three years and one month, and six months of that time was spent in a rebel prison. He was first incarcerated at Libby and afterward at Belle Isle. He took part in the battles of Shiloh, Stone River. Lookout Mountain, Perryville and many other engagements, but never received a wound, although he was often in the thickest of the fight.
After being honorably discharged at Indianapolis, Indiana, Mr. Stearns returned to Hobart, Lake county, since which time he has continuously re- sided in this part of the state, living a part of the time in Hobart, where he was engaged in conducting a hotel and also in the grocery business. He has likewise followed farming, and he was a guard in the Northern prison for a year. He has manifested energy and enterprise in every work that he has undertaken, and he is now engaged in the real estate and insurance business at Lake Station.
In 1864 Mr. Stearns was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Crowthers. They became the parents of two children. but both are now de- ceased. In 1871 Mr. Stearns married his present wife, who bore the maiden name of Ella Stillwell, and was a native of New York. Her birth occurred in Schoharie county, August 3, 1845, and she is a daughter of Smith T. and Hannah (Banks) Stillwell. She was nineteen years of age when she came to Lake county and here she has since resided. Mr. Stearns has firm faith in the principles of the Republican party and is a recognized leader in its local ranks. He is now serving as township assessor, and for twelve years he was justice of the peace. He is also notary public and has acted in that capacity for twelve years. He belongs to Hobart Post, No. 411, G. A. R., and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. During fifty-one years he has made
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his home in Lake county, so that he is very familiar with its history and has been a witness of nearly all of its growth and development.
CHARLES C. GIBSON.
Charles C. Gibson, who is acting postmaster of Tollesten and is pro- prietor of the Hotel Gibson, was born in Chicago. September 25, 1835. His father, Thomas Gibson, was a native of Columbus, Ohio, and became a resi- dent of Chicago in 1834, three years before the incorporation of the city. It was then but an embryo village, and the most farsighted could not have dreamed of the marvelous development and growth which awaited it. Thomas Gibson conducted a hotel on the beach called the Lake House. He remained there until 1838. when he removed to Lake county. Indiana, and here again engaged in the hotel business at what was then known as Grass Ridge. He was one of the first settlers of that place and kept a stage house. for there was no railroad through this part of the country at that time and. in fact, few wagon roads had been laid out. Mr. Thomas Gibson afterward opened a hotel one mile east of where Tolleston now stands, and he there re- mained until his death, which occurred in the year 1850. His widow after- ward conducted the hotel until 1860, when she opened the first hotel at Tolles- ton. In 1879 she sold that property and enjoyed a well merited rest up to the time of her death, which occurred in 1900. Mrs. Thomas Gibson bore the maiden name of Maria Neil. and was born in Ireland, whence she came to the United States as a maiden of thirteen summers. By her marriage she had six children, two sons and four daughters, all of whom reached mature years, but only three are now living. the sisters of our subject being Mrs. Elizabeth Baird, who resides at Hunnewell. Shelby county, Missouri : and Mrs. Julia B. Follette. who is living in Chicago.
Charles C. Gibson, the eldest of the children and the only one now liv- ing, was reared under the parental roof and was but three years old when brought by his parents to Lake county. After his father's death he assisted his mother in the hotel business and later entered the service of the Pittsburg. Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad Company, with which he was connected for about seventeen years. He entered the service as a brakeman and was afterward promoted to the position of conductor. He was also for a time with the Michigan Central Railroad Company and also with the North-
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western Railroad Company, and throughout his railroad service proved him- self a most capable, efficient and faithful employe. Mr. Gibson is also en- gaged in farming, having carried on agricultural pursuits in Lake county for about six years or until 1900, when he opened Hotel Gibson, at Tolles- ton. He has since conducted this hostelry and has made it one which is creditable to the town. He has a thorough and practical training concern- ing the best methods of carrying on the hotel business, and his earnest desire to please his patrons has secured him a continuance of a liberal patronage.
On the 2d of September, 1860, Mr. Gibson was united in marriage to Miss Henrietta Combs, a native of Canada, who was born in Hamilton ou the 18th of September, 1844. She is a daughter of David and Eliza (Wood- ruff ) Combs. Mrs. Gibson was reared in Chicago, to which city she was taken by her parents in her early girlhood days. By her marriage she has become the mother of three children, two sons and a daughter: Walter, who follows farming in Lake county, Indiana ; Florence, who is the wife of Harry Miles, of Michigan City, Indiana; and George, a blacksmith by trade, who is now engaged in business along that line in California.
Mr. Gibson has spent the greater part of his life in this county and is the oldest living resident of his portion of the county, his connection there- with covering sixty-seven years. He is therefore well known, and the circle of his friendship has broadened as the circle of his acquaintance has been extended. He is a man of many strong characteristics, and his good qualities have won for him the regard of his fellow men. His political allegiance is given to the Democracy, but he has never had time nor inclination to seek public office.
STEPHEN MEYERS.
A native of Germany, Mr. Meyers was born in Prussia, on the 22d of June, 1842. a son of Mathias and Elizabeth Meyers. both of whom were natives of Germany, where they resided until 1858, when they crossed the Atlantic and established their home upon a farm in Hanover township, Lake county. Indiana. the father there carrying on agricultural pursuits for a number of years.
In the public schools of Germany Stephen Meyers acquired his educa- tion and when sixteen years of age he accompanied his parents to the new world. The remainder of his minority was spent on the old homestead farm
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A. J. SWANSON, TRUSTEE HOBART TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL
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in Hanover township, and practical business methods became familiar to him through the assistance which he rendered his father in the cultivation of the fields and the sale of the crops. In 1886 he engaged in the saloon business at Hanover Center, and for thirty-two years he actively continued that busi- ness in Hanover township. He also became the owner of a farm. As the years passed he added to his financial resources and he is now loaning money and buying commercial paper.
On the 28th of August, 1866, Mr. Meyers was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Bechtloff. a native of Germany, who came to America in April, 1866. They have four living children: Mathias, Stephen, Katie and Frank.
Mr. Meyers has been somewhat prominent in community affairs. He was elected assessor of Hanover township and filled the position for five years. He was also chosen by popular suffrage to the office of trustee and served for six years. He has been a resident of Lake county for forty-six years, his family locating here in pioneer times. He and his family are members of the Catholic church and are well known in the county. Leav- ing Hanover Center, Mr. Meyers established his home in Crown Point, and is well known in the city and throughout this portion of the state where he has so long resided.
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