USA > Indiana > Lake County > Encyclopedia of genealogy and biography of Lake County, Indiana, with a compendium of history 1834-1904 > Part 44
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Mr. Gabriel F. Sutton, the father of this family, was a factor of great importance in the life of Lake county and a man whose influence will not soon be lost to the world in which he lived. He was born near Conners- ville, Indiana, and was reared to farming life and educated in the common schools. He was throughout life a man of sound judgment and substantial character, and was successful in whatever he undertook. He followed teach- ing in this state for a number of years. He was an old-line Whig during the carly part of his political career, and later upheld the banner of true Republicanism. He died about 1900, and his remains are interred in the Lowell cemetery, where his devoted wife and children have erected a beau- tiful monument sacred to his memory. He and his wife were members of the Christian church at Lowell. He had begun life in Rush county with very little capital. and at his death his estate comprised three hundred and twenty-five acres in Lake county and six acres in the village of Lowell. with one hundred and forty acres in Jasper county, besides personal effects, and was valued at forty thousand dollars. The ancestry of this honored citizen is traced back to old England.
Mr. Otto Sutton was reared in Lake county, receiving his education in the public schools, although he is indebted mainly to his own efforts and personal application for the training and insight into practical affairs of the world. He has always resided on the parental homestead. and since his father's death his mother and sister have continued to live with him. He was happily married on Christmas day of 1903 to Miss Maggie Einspahr. She is a native of West Creek township, and comes from one of the prom- inent German-American families of the township, being a lady who stands high in the social scale. She was educated in both the German and the Eng- lishi languages.
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
Mr. Sutton is a stanch Republican, cast his first vote for James A. Gar- field. since which time he has never faltered in his allegiance to the party. He has been selected as a delegate to the county conventions, and is a mem- ber of the district committee. He affiliates with Castle Hall Lodge No. 300, Knights of Pythias, at Lowell.
GABRIEL F. SUTTON.
Gabriel F. Sutton, deceased, was born October 27. 1822, in the vicinity of Connersville, Fayette county, Indiana. While he was yet in his infancy his parents moved to Rush county. Indiana, where he grew to manhood. On January 1, 1846, he was united in marriage to Almeda Hall, who survives him. To this union were born eight children: Festus P., Maggie J., Mary A., John H., Henry M., Emerson O., Elsworth G., and Viola M. With the exception of Henry M., who died in his infancy, all remain to mourn the father's loss. Brother Sutton came to Lake county. Indiana, in the year 1862, and from that time until his death evinced the true spirit of citizen- ship in every detail. He united with the Christian church in early man- hood, and filled its pulpit very acceptably many times. He was a loving hus- band. a kind and indulgent father. a true friend and neighbor, a stanch believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and died in peace with God, December 17. 1899, at the age of seventy-seven years, one month and twenty days. His funeral occurred from the Christian church at Rensselaer at II a. m., Wed- nesday, December 20. 1899. Rev. A. L. Ward, pastor of the Christian church at Rensselaer, officiating. His mortal remains were laid away in the Lowell cemetery, there to rest in quiet slumber until the morning of the great resurrection.
"Through all pain at times he'd smile. A smile of Heavenly birth, And when the angels called him home, He smiled farewell to earth. Heaven retaineth now, our treasure : Earth the lonely casket keeps, And the sunbeams love to linger Where our sainted father sleeps."
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GABRIEL F. SUTTON
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IHISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
JAMES H. LITTLE.
James H. Little is a member of a very prominent family in the annals of Lake county, and is the second son of the third successive generation that has found lodgment and prosperous position in this county. He is a pros- perous agriculturist of West Creek township, in which same township he was born on February 27. 1863. being a son of Joseph A. Little. His father was one of the true, broad-minded and successful men of this county. and the following account gives the outline of his worthy career :
"There was joy in the home of Thomas Little on the 24th of May, 1830. that came not alone from the beauty of the season, but more largely front the fact that on that day a male child came to add the blessings of its presence to the family circle. The family at that time lived in Webster township. Merrimac county, New Hampshire. In accordance with the faith of the parents the child received its name in connection with the ordinance of baptism. and for nearly two generations the name of Joseph Ames Little has been a synonym for industry, integrity and kindness. The young man came west with his parents in 1855. From that time until his death his home was mostly in West Creek township, Lake county. He united with the Presbyterian church at Lake Prairie in 1859. He was not profuse in profession, but those who knew him best had strongest trust in his Chris- tian character. In 1859 he married Miss Mary Gerrish. Six of their chil- dren survive him. During the years 1886-7 he was a member of the legis- lature of Indiana.
"On the morning of February 19. 1892, the angel of death entered this home. At the call of that imperious visitor the soul that through years of constant suffering had grown weary of earth's sorrows left its pilgrimage to the rest that remaineth for the people of God. On February 22, 1892, the deceased was laid to rest in the Lake Prairie cemetery."
Mr. James H. Little is classed as one of the leading agriculturists and stock-raisers of West Creek township, and he makes a specialty of Dur- ham cattle. He received his education in the common schools, and was also a student for a short time in Wabash College. He graduated from the school of agriculture in Purdue University in the class of 1890, and has ever since devoted himself enthusiastically and profitably to the practical
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
work of farming. He is one of the few men who have received special train- ing for the science of agriculture, and in proportion to his advantages he has made his pursuits a means of success and profitable endeavor. His stock farm is a model of its kind and size.
In June, 1894. he married Miss Bessie Spry, and three children, two sons and one daughter. have been born to them, all living, as follows: Joseph A. and Seth S., of school age, and Hester E., the youngest of the house- hold. Mrs. Little was a native of the Bluegrass state of Kentucky, and was reared for the most part in Illinois and Indiana. She attended the State Normal School at Terre Haute, and for five years before marriage was a successful teacher, and since entering upon her domestic duties she has proved an equally able and worthy helpmeet to her husband. Mr. Little is a stalwart Republican, and cast his first presidential vote for Benjamin Har- rison and has always supported the principles of Republicanism. Both he and his wife are members of the Lake Prairie Presbyterian church in West Creek township, and he has been one of the elders and also superintendent of the Sunday school. His wife has also taken an active part in church and Sunday school work in different places, and was superintendent and a teacher in the Pine Grove Sunday school. Mr. Little owns four hundred acres of land all in West Creek township, and his residence and buildings are a credit to the entire township. He and his brothers, Lewis and Jesse, are among the foremost and most influential citizens of this county, and these annals would be incomplete without mention of their life and work.
WILLIAM N. HAYDEN.
Emerson has said that the true history of a nation is best told in the lives of its most prominent citizens and residents, and in Mr. William N. Hayden, the trustee of West Creek township and a prosperous farmer. we have a representative of one of the most prominent families of the county of Lake. He is a native of Lake county, was born May 24, 1855, and is the youngest of the fourteen children born to his father by two marriages, he being the only son and child of the second union. His parents are Ne- hemiah and Saralı (Smith) Hayden, and the full record of this worthy family in the earlier generations is given in connection with the biography of the elder Hayden in another portion of this volume.
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
Mr. Hayden was reared in Lake county and was educated in the com- mon schools. He was brought up to agricultural pursuits, and in the con- tinuation of these has made his best success. His commencement in life was not remarkably auspicious, and possibly he and his wife had not more than four hundred dollars cash capital when they set their feet upon the highroad of life and began to tread their way through circumstance and earnest endeavor and useful purpose to a worthy and successful goal. He was married to Miss Maria J. Edmonds, on August 21, 1876, in Crown Point. They began as renters, and continued in that way until they had a secure start, which was not long. They then located on eighty acres which they had purchased, going in debt for most of it, but their frugal industry and enterprise more than offset the debt. They thus began life happy but not full-handed, and by their continued co-operation and faithful toil from year to year they added to their possessions until now they own in fee simple two hundred and seventeen acres of fine land, all in West Creek township. And the best part of the record is that they have gained this property by their own industry and efforts.
Mrs. Hayden was born in Lake county, March 13, 1858, the youngest of the six children of Melvin and Sarah (Leffler) Edmonds. Her brothers and sisters are: Nelson, a resident and retired farmer of Lowell, and married : Nancy, who is the wife of Charles Morgan, a farmer and resident of West Creek township: Charles, who was a soldier and an active par- ticipant in the battles of the Civil war, and is now a resident of Kansas : Mary, who is the wife of Wallace Hayden, a resident and retired farmer of Lowell; Eli, who for many years followed farming and is now a resi- dent of West Creek township, and is married. Mrs. Hayden's father was a native of Canada, and died in 1874 at the age of sixty-three years. He followed farming, and in politics was a Republican. Mrs. Hayden was reared in Lake county and received her education in the common schools.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hayden have been born two children, a son and a daughter, both living. Jodie M. is a citizen of West Creek town- ship and a prosperous young farmer. He married Miss Lura Pulver. He completed his education in the common schools of this county, had two years' work in the Lowell high school. and also took a business course in the Dixon Business College at Dixon. Illinois. For two years he
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was telegraph operator at Lowell for the Monon Railroad. Edna S., the daughter, is at home. She finished two years of high school work, and at the age of seventeen she took the teachers' examination and passed creditably. But on account of being so young she did not begin active work in the teach- ing profession until she was eighteen. She has taught three years in her home township, and has been very successful in her work. She has also studied music.
Mr. Hayden is a Republican in politics, and cast his first vote for Hayes, having upheld his party's principles ever since. In 1899 he was elected town- ship trustee of West Creek township. He has the supervision of fourteen schools in addition to the numerous other duties of this important office. He has about seventy-five square miles of territory to cover in this township, and he devotes himself assiduously to his administrative duties. He is a member of Cedar Camp No. 5155. Modern Woodmen, and has held office in this order. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Lowell. Mr. and Mrs. Hayden are citizens of high social stand- ing, and it is with pleasure that this brief history of their lives can be placed in this genealogical record of Lake county.
CHESTER P. PIXLEY.
Chester P. Pixley is a member of a prominent family of the name who have resided in Lake county since the middle of last century, and whose identification with its industrial, social and intellectual interests has been a factor for progress and improvement along all lines. Mr. Pixley belongs to the younger class of men who have so energetically taken hold of affairs in West Creek township and increased its reputation as the banner township of the county, and his energy and fine management have given him a large amount of success in life.
Mr. Pixley was born on the old homestead in this county where he still resides, on October 9, 1863. His parents were William H. and Nancy Ann ( Scritchfield) Pixley, and he was the third in their family of ten children, six sons and four daughters, eight of whom are still living. as follows : Alice, the wife of Charles 1. Taylor, a prosperous farmer in West Creek township; Chester P .; Mary, the wife of C. P. Edgerton, a farmer of Cen- ter township; Edwin, married. and a jeweler of Lowell; Martha, wife of
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
Obediah Vinnedge, of Creston, Indiana: Calvin, a jeweler of Lowell; Clara. who was educated in the Lowell high school and is a teacher in West Creek township: and Milo MI .. a salesman in F. E. Nelson's store in Lowell.
William H. Pixley, the father, was born in Lake county, Ohio, October 10, 1824, and died January 6. 1897. He was reared in his native state .. graduated from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, was a teacher during his youth, and spent most of his life in farming and stock-raising. During the fifties he and his father came to Lake county, and he and his father laid claim to over seven hundred acres of government land. He erected his home on the very farm where his son Chester now resides, and he lived there until his death. He was a prominent and well known man in the community, was noted for his fairness in all business transactions, and honored for his judgment and worth. He adhered to the Whig party till its dissolution, and from then on till his death voted mainly with the Demo- crats, although he supported Lincoln, and was later a warm advocate of the greenback principles and a great admirer of Peter Cooper. He was a prom- inent official in the Masonic fraternity at Lowell. His wife was a native of Kentucky and came to this county from her native state when about thirteen years old. She was one of thirteen children in the Scritchfield family, and one died recently at the age of seventy and eleven are yet living, making a remarkable record for longevity. Both father and mother Pixley are in- terred in the Creston cemetery, where a monument stands sacred to their memory.
Mr. Chester P. Pixley was reared in West Creek township and was educated in the common schools, and has made the tilling of the soil his chief occupation. He remained at home with his parents for some years after reaching his majority, and on December 6. 1899, was married to Miss Lydia A. Taylor. They have one little daughter, Mae Belle by name. Mrs. Pixley was born in Crown Point, Indiana, February 9. 1873. being the eldest of six children. three sons and three daughters, of John R. and Susan ( Strong) Taylor. She has four brothers and sisters living: Hamlet, a farmer of West Creek township, and married; Maude, wife of John Wheeler, of the same township; John A., a farmer of West Creek township: and Cora E .. who married William E. Schofield, of Griffith, this county. Mrs. Pixley's father was born in this county March 13. 1846, was reared as a farmer and
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
educated in the common schools, and is still living in the county. He was a member of the Twelfth Indiana Cavalry, enlisting from Crown Point for three years, and was in various battles and received some wounds during the war, being honorably discharged November 10, 1865. He is a Repub- lican in politics and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Crown Point. Mrs. Pixley was educated in the common schools and took three years in the Crown Point high school, after which she was one of the success- ful teachers of Lake county for six years, being a teacher in one school for five years. She has also taken work in music.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Pixley settled on the old Pixley homestead and have since made this their happy home, where they are held in high esteem for their social and individual worth and where they have a large circle of friends around them. They have one hundred acres of the choice land of the township. Mr. Pixley is an enthusiastic stock farmer, and raises some fine Norman Percheron horses and Poland China hogs, and is doing his share toward bringing the stock of the county up to higher standards. He is a Democrat in politics, has been a delegate to the state conventions, and has loyally supported the party at all times.
JESSE LITTLE.
Jesse Little is a scion of one of the most prominent families of West Creek township, and he has himself in a most commendable manner carried out the traditions of the family history and made his own career in the town- ship a conspicuous example of industry and sagacious business management as well as public-spirited citizenship.
Mr. Little was born on the old homestead on which he still resides, in West Creek township, January 17. 1868, and was the fourth in the family of children born to Joseph and Mary (Gerrish) Little, whose history in detail will be found on other pages of this work. Mr. Little was reared in his home township, with his early education acquired in the common schools, and he afterward entered Purdue University and in 1894 graduated from: the agricultural department. He is thus a twentieth-century farmer, one who believes in making the tilling of the soil a science just as the pursuit of any other profession, and he combines with the necessary practical experience and good common sense of the old-time husbandman the skill and experi-
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mental knowledge derived from thorough study of all the conditions tending to retard or promote the success of farming. While in college he took a foremost part in athletics. and played tackle on the Purdue football team, being so vigorous and well trained that he always escaped injury.
August 28, 1898, he was married to Miss Martha Buchanan, and the two children of this marriage are Mary and Earl B. Mrs. Little was born in Porter county, Indiana, was educated in the high schools at Hebron and Crown Point, and was then a student for two years at the ladies' seminary at Oxford, Ohio. She was a successful teacher in Porter and Lake counties, and for two years taught in the city schools of Hammond. Her father is now deceased, and her mother is a resident of Hebron.
Mr. Little is a stanch Republican, having cast his first presidential vote for Harrison. He has also served as a delegate from his township to the district convention. He and his wife are members of the Lake Prairie Pres- byterian church, and have always contributed to the benevolences worthy their consideration. He and his brother James have about one thousand acres of the fine bottom land of West Creek township, and he resides on and owns his interest in the old homestead of two hundred and forty acres. He has been unusually successful in raising stock, and in whatever enterprise of the char- acter that he has undertaken he has achieved a large measure of prosperity.
T. A. WASON.
T. A. Wason is one of the prosperous farmers and stockmen of West Creek township. and during the nearly sixty years since he came into the world he has gained a most creditable success, has lived uprightly and on good terms with his fellow men, and while industriously and faithfully performing the duties of life he has also enjoyed the comforts and content- ment of a worthily lived career.
He was born at Vevay, in Switzerland county, Indiana, September 23. 1845, and is the eldest and the only one surviving of the three children born to Hiram and Elizabeth (Abbott) Wason. His parents both passed away in Lake county in the same year, 1898. His father was born in Hills- boro county, New Hampshire, and was educated for the Presbyterian min- istry. He was the first pastor of the Lake Prairie Presbyterian church in West Creek township. He was a strong Republican, and voted for the
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first presidential candidate of that party. His wife was also a native of the same locality of New Hampshire.
Mr. T. A. Wason came with his parents to Lake county in 1857, his father purchasing eighty acres of land in West Creek township. He was educated in the common schools of the township, and was a student in Wabash College in Crawfordsville for three years. He taught for two win- ters in West Creek township, and also passed one season in the employ of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Company. He entered into part- nership with his father in farming and stock-raising, and at the present time he owns two hundred and sixty acres of the fine land of Lake county. In 1899 he ereeted a beautiful briek residence on his estate, one that is a credit to his individual enterprise and to the entire township.
Mr. Wason has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Julia Brannan. and they had one daughter, Julia B., who resides at home, and who has completed the common school course and was a student in the high school at Crown Point. Mr. Wason was bereaved of his first wife, July 17, 1876, and was afterward married to Miss Emma S. Peach, who was born in New Hampshire but was reared in Lake county. She was a successful teacher in Eagle Creek township for a number of years. To this marriage have been born three children: Henry Boyd has finished the eighth grade and is about to take up high school work, and he is very fond of literature as well as of athletics: Isabelle is also ready for high school and is also a student of instrumental music: Faith is in the seventh grade. Mrs. Wason. the mother of these children, died in May. 1894. She was a lover of home and a good and faithful wife, and her memory is still sacred in the hearts of those who were closest in friendship and ties of kindred. She was a member of the Lake Prairie Presbyterian church.
Mr. Wason is a stanch Republican, and cast his first presidential vote for General Grant. He has had no time to accept public or official responsi- bilities, as his business interests have absorbed all his time. He affiliates with Colfax Lodge No. 378, of the Masons, at Lowell, and is also a mem- ber of the lodge of the Knights of Pythias at the same place. He and his family are all members of the Presbyterian church in West Creek town- ship. He has traveled about the country a good deal, and has visited both the New England states and the northwest.
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FRANK RICHARDS.
In the tillers of the soil and the garnerers of the crops have always rested the main strength and hope of a nation, and the substantial character of any community is best judged by the personnel of its farming population. Lake county is particularly well favored in this class of men, and among the more recent arrivals to swell the enterprising agricultural element is the solid and substantial citizen Mr. Frank Richards, who is now one of the most active and intelligent farmers and stockmen of West Creek township.
Mr. Richards was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, March 12, 1856, being the eldest of six children, four sons and two daughters, born to Will- iam C. and Mary (Campbell) Richards. He has just one brother living, Samuel, a resident of Valparaiso. His father was born in Onondaga county. New York, in 1822. and died in 1875. He was a surveyor by profession, and was educated at Elbridge Academy. He also followed the vocation of teaching in New York, Indiana and Illinois, and was always known for his superior intelligence and breadth of mind. He was a Republican in politics. His wife was a native of Ohio, and she passed away in 1899.
Mr. Frank Richards was reared on a farm, and his education has been mainly self-acquired, and he has been the architect of his own fortune. He remained with his parents, giving them his time and wages, and at the age of twenty-one he had just a team of horses and a plow as capital for his life career, so that what he has since made is the result of his own diligence and prudence. He has had full regard throughout life for the principles of in- tegrity and rectitude, and he is amply rewarded in the confidence and trust in which he is held by friends and business associates. He began his farm- ing career as a renter, and continued so for twenty-one years in the states of Illinois and Indiana, and during this time he lived comfortably, provided well for his family, and increased his store of world's profits. In 1901 he purchased one hundred and eighty-eight acres in West Creek and Cedar Creek townships, and went in debt for a large amount of the purchase price. During the first year he paid fourteen hundred dollars on the place in addi- tion to the interest. and in a short time will own his fine property free of incumbrance, and its possession will be a fine reward for his life of careful management and industry.
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