USA > Indiana > Lake County > Encyclopedia of genealogy and biography of Lake County, Indiana, with a compendium of history 1834-1904 > Part 50
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Dr. Bacon was born in Orleans county, New York. February 22, 1840. His father. Benjamin Bacon, was a native of Washington county, New York, and was a farmer by occupation. He died in the Empire state in his seventy- fifth year. His wife died when the Doctor was only three years of age, and the boy was reared by B. G. Merrick. He pursued a common-school educa- tion and started out in life for himself at a very early age. When a young man of twenty-one years he responded to his country's call for troops, enlist- ing on the 24th of April. 1861, as a member of Company G. Second Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He was a private and with that command served for three months. In 1862 he re-enlisted in the One Hundredth Illinois Volun- teer Regiment and served for three years. In 1864 he was transferred to the regular army as hospital steward, and thus continued his connection with the Union troops until the fall of 1865, when he was discharged on a general war order. His clothing was pierced by five bullets at the battle of Chicka- mauga, but he sustained no personal injury. During the years of his active service he was in many important battles, and never faltered in the perform- ance of duty or in his allegiance to the old flag and the cause it represented.
In May. 1866, Dr. Bacon came to Lowell, and here took up the study and practice of medicine. He had attended lectures at Nashville, Tennessee. during the war and had begun practice on his arrival in Lowell, at the same time continuing his reading in order to perfect his knowledge of the healing art. He is a graduate of the Chicago Medical College of the class of 1873, and has been in constant practice in Lowell for thirty-five years, during which
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time he has enjoyed a large patronage, and is now an extremely busy man. He is widely known as an industrious and ambitious student. and his profes- sional career has been marked by continuous advancement. He also has other interests in Lake county, being one of the directors of the State National Bank, of Lowell. He likewise owns farm property and real estate in Chicago.
On the 3d of June. 1868, Dr. Bacon was united in marriage to Miss Martha B. Sanger, a daughter of James H. and Martha (Cleveland) Sanger. Mrs. Bacon was born in Lake county and by her marriage has become the mother of two children : Sylvia L., who is the wife of S. C. Dwyer, an attorney at law of Lowell; and Grace M., the wife of Dr. A. L. Spindler, a dentist of Chicago Heights.
Dr. Bacon is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, the Masonic lodge and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is now one of the trustees of the first named. He has been active and influential in community affairs, was a school director for eleven years and is now president of the pension board, of which he has been a member for thirteen years. His first presidential vote was proudly cast for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and since that time he has supported each presidential candidate of the Republican party. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. takes a very active and helpful part in its work and has served as one of the church trustees for thirteen years. Dr. Bacon has been the builder of his own character as well as his owr fortune. He started out in life for himself at an early age, and is a self- educated as well as self-made man. In his profession he has gained prom- inence and success and in private life he has won that warm personal regard which is the evidence of many sterling traits of character.
BERNARD F. CARLIN.
Emerson, the Sage of Concord. has said that the true history of a nation is best told in the lives of its aggressive and progressive citizens, and what is trite of a nation is likewise true of the units of a nation, the county and township. Lake county has reason to congratulate herself because of a man of this type who has recently located within the county boundaries, for in Mr. Bernard F. Carlin are found the qualities which make for success per- sonally and collectively and which are beneficial to the general tone and standard of any community. Coming as he does from the great agricultural
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state of Illinois. Mr. Carlin will be in his proper element as a factor in the rich agricultural enterprises of Lake county, and will make his influence felt not only in a personal way and as a public-spirited citizen but as a power and producer of wealth in the material affairs of the county.
Mr. Carlin was born in Lexington, McLean county, Illinois, May 8, 1869, and is the fifth in a family of eight children, four sons and four daugh- ters, born to Bernard and Bridget ( Murray) Carlin. Six of this family are still living: Anna is the wife of P. H. O'Neill, a wealthy stockman of Faulkton, South Dakota, and they have five children: Patrick J. is in the real estate and insurance business at Kankakee, Illinois, and lie married Miss Carrie Klein; Mary is the wife of J. E. Herrington, a farmer at Fair- Jury, Illinois, and has three daughters: Bernard and Katie are twins, and the latter is the wife of John P. Degnan, of West Creek township, and has two children; John, the youngest, is also in the real estate and insurance busi- ness at Kankakee.
The life of Mr. Carlin's father is an interesting narrative of self-achieved success. The senior Bernard Carlin was born in county Mayo, Ireland, in 1830, and is now living in advanced age in Fairbury, Illinois. At the age of twenty-two he set sail from his native land and landed in New York, a stranger in a foreign land, with less than twenty-five dollars in his pocket. For a time he was a wage-earner in Philadelphia at fifty-five cents a day. In 1854 he came to Chicago, when that then small city lacked fifty years of growth before it should become the present-day metropolis. From there he sought employment in New Orleans, and after eight months arrived in Bloomington, Illinois, in 1855, where he remained until 1862. In the latter year he came to Lexington. Illinois, and began sawing wood for the Chicago & Alton Railroad. He was always willing to accept any labor that would earn an honest dollar, and his industry and perseverance are the grounds for his success. He lived at Lexington until 1870, and during four years of this time he was engaged in farming. In 1859 he had married Miss Bridget Murray, who was born in Galway, Ireland, and who died October 3. 1894, when nearly sixty years old. Both he and his wife were devout Catholics, and he assisted in the building of St. Joseph's church at Chenoa, Illinois, where he lived so many years. In politics he still casts his vote for the Democratic candidates.
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Mr. Bernard F. Carlin was reared in Chenoa, Illinois, and besides a good practical education in the public schools he took the teacher's course at Val- paraiso College for two years. In 1895 he and his brother Patrick began dealing in live stock and in the butcher business at Chenoa, and continued that with success beyond their expectations until 1899. In November, 1899, Mr. Carlin embarked in the grocery business at Fairbury. with his brother Jolin, and continued this line of enterprise also very successfully for three years. While in this business he and his brother purchased seven hundred acres of land in West Creek township, Lake county, and it is to a part of this that Mr. Carlin has recently decided to devote his attention as a practical farmer. Prior to this purchase of Lake county land he and his brother had bought out the interests of the other heirs in the old homestead in Livingston county. Illinois, but they have since disposed of this property.
September 5, 1899, Mr. Carlin married Miss Katie F. White, and they are the parents of three children, Katherine, Jolin B. and Walter P. Mrs. Carlin was born in Lexington, Illinois, June 26, 1873, being a daughter of John and Katherine (Doody) White. There were four daughters in the family, and two besides Mrs. Carlin are living : Anna, who was educated in the public schools, is a resident of Lexington, Illinois; Mary, who was edu- cated in the Lexington high school and completed all but three months of the course at the Illinois State Normal University, is a resident of Lexington, and is a teacher in the public schools of Pontiac. Mrs. Carlin was reared in the vicinity of Lexington, receiving her education in the schools of that city. and for seven years was a teacher in the McLean county schools. Her father, John White, was born in county Tipperary, Ireland. in 1821, and is living at the present writing in Lexington, being eighty-three years old. He came to America in young manhood, landing in this country with but a shilling to his name, and the greater part of his life has been spent in the employ of the Chicago and Alton Railroad. He has also followed farming. and has been very successful in his life work. He is a Democrat in politics. His wife was born in Queen's county. Ireland, in 1844. and came to America when she was two years old. She died June 1, 1904.
Just before disposing of his business interests in Fairbury, Mr. Carlin was appointed joint agent of the Pacific and the Adams express companies at that place. and remained in that capacity one year. He resigned April 16,
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1903, and took a district agency for the Continental Insurance Company, and continued in this business until November. 1903. At the latter date he and his family located in West Creek township. Lake county, and during the past year he has been devoting his time and attention to farming and stock-raising, which pursuits he intends to carry on perhaps permanently. His favorite stock are the Durham cattle and the Poland China hogs. He has already shown great sagacity in the management of his enterprises, and is taking full advantage of the great opportunities offered to the stockman and farmer of Lake county.
Mr. Carlin is independent in politics, and usually scratches his ballot according to his own best judgment of the men and principles at stake. Fraternally he is a member of the Court of Honor No. 206, at Fairbury, and the Yeomen of America in the same place. He and his wife are members of the Catholic church at Lowell.
DAVID C. PULVER.
There are few living Lake county citizens who can claim their birth as having taken place in this county over sixty years ago, and among that few is Mr. D. C. Pulver. He and his noble wife are held in the highest esteem by all who know them. and they have made themselves factors of influence and worth ever since entering upon their active careers in this county.
Mr. Pulver was born May 21. 1842. and is the youngest of the seven children, four sons and three daughters, born to David and Mercy (Tobias) Pulver. Besides himself. there are two of the children still living, as follows : Eunice, the wife of Edward Ashton, of Lowell: and Lodemia, wife of Henry Farrington, of Wessington, South Dakota. The father of the family was born in Pennsylvania in 1795, four years before the death of General Wash- ington, and died December 27. 1843. He was reared to farming pursuits, and educated in the old-time schools existing during the carliest years of the past century. His death occurred when his son David was but six months old, so that the latter never knew the energizing influence of his father. The mother of Mr. D. C. Pulver. also a native of Pennsylvania, was born Sep- tember 2. 1805. and died October 24, 1881, she and her husband being married on November 5. 1826. In the year 1841 this worthy couple came west and took up their residence in Lake county, at a time when the country hereabout
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was practically a wilderness. David Pulver bought one hundred and ten acres of raw land in West Creek township, and the first home that sheltered the family was a log cabin. In those early days, about the time when David C. was a baby, the Indians were still roaming freely over this part of north- western Indiana, and one day the red men came to the Pulver home and stole the daughter Eunice, keeping her in their possession for two or three hours before she could be rescued. Deer often fled across the premises, and the howl of the wolf could be heard for many years after their settlement. The town of Lowell had not yet been founded, and while there are now nearly twenty important railroads through the county, the boy David had attained the age of eight or nine years before the wild shriek of the locomotive roused the echoes with its unwonted sound.
Mr. Pulver was thus born and reared in Lake county and has made his home in West Creek township all his life. He was educated in such schools as were common in this county during his youth, and he still distinctly recalls the little log cabin school which stood half a mile from the old homestead. It was about fourteen by eighteen feet in size, was roofed over with the pioneer "shakes" as the rough predecessor of shingles. The seats were rough slabs supported by four legs, and the desk for the larger pupils was a board extend- ing around the room. The building was heated with a cast-iron stove. Both Mr. and Mrs. Pulver have used the old-fashioned goosequill pens, and their lives are a strange blending of the pioneer experiences with twentieth century prosperity and convenience.
Mr. Pulver remained at home and cared for his mother until her death. On February 25, 1869. he was united in marriage with Miss Ursula Vandecar. and the five children born to this union are as follows: Cora, who was edu- cated in the common schools and was a teacher for three years in Lake county, is the wife of E. Van Alstine, a farmer of Roanoke, Huntington county, Indiana, and they have three children, Oakes, Ursula and Elton. Charles W., who after the public school education took the normal course at Valparaiso College, learned the jeweler's trade at the big watch factory at Elgin. Illinois, and is now a successful merchant of Lowell: he married Miss Edith Hull. Lura completed the eighth grade of school work and is now the wife of Jodie Hayden, a prosperous farmer of West Creek township. Earle, at home, has also completed the eighth grade. Jessie, at home, did.
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in addition to the work of the common schools, one year's work in the Lowell high school. Mrs. Pulver was born in Cedar Creek township, Lake county. June 15, 1847. being a daughter of Peter and Wealthy (Clark) Vandecar. There were just two children, and her sister is Lovisa, wife of William Hal- stead, a farmer at Topeka, Kansas. Mrs. Pulver was reared and has spent all her life in this county. She is a lady of cordial greeting and accomplished in the best activities of the world, and has been an able helpmate to her husband.
Mr. Pulver was among the Lake county citizens who offered their serv- ices during the great rebellion. August 9, 1862, he enlisted at Lowell, in Company \. Seventy-third Indiana Volunteers, under Captain Fry. The regiment was organized at South Bend, and was sent to Louisville, Kentucky. He was under the command of General Sherman during his army career. He was taken sick at Siloam Springs, Tennessee, and was forced to leave the service permanently, being finally discharged March 9, 1863.
Mr. Pulver is a stalwart Republican, and since casting his first presi- dential vote for Lincoln has supported every candidate of the Grand Old Party. He is a member of the Grand Army post at Lowell. Mrs. Pulver is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he has contributed his share to the benevolences and charity. Mr. and Mrs. Pulver have lived in this county so long that not only have they been witnesses to its growth and development from a wild country, but they themselves are well known and held in highest esteem throughout the county. They have a most hospitable home, and it is ever open to their many friends. They have in their possession one of the oldest Bibles in the county, one that was published in 1817. Another valuable heirloom from the preceding generation is one of the old double coverlets, woven by his mother fully three quarters of a century ago. Mrs. Pulver has a silver cup that has been handed down from generation to generation. it having been made in Sweden as far back as the seven- teentli century.
SAMUEL A. LOVE.
Samuel A. Love, of the well-known firm of Love Brothers (Samuel A. and James H.) at Leroy, belongs to the representative class of citizens in whose personal histories, as the sage of Concord has said, lies the truest
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history of community, state or nation. Mr. Love has passed so many years in Lake county, has enjoyed such a high reputation as citizen and business man. and become so well known to all that no introduction is necessary to place his real character before the mind of Lake county people.
He was born on St. Martin's island in Lake Michigan, on March 17. 1859, and is the fourth in the family of eight children, five sons and three daughters, born to Samuel and Ellen Jane ( Mundall) Love. J. E. Love, of Lowell, who is represented elsewhere in this volume. is the eldest of the six living children ; William is a hay merchant at Lowell; Samuel A. is the next oldest ; Mary A. is the wife of A. M. Phillips, a farmer of Winfield township; James H., the other member of the firm of Love Brothers, and present trustee of Winfield township, is also given place in this history ; and Peter K .. the youngest, is a farmer of Winfield township.
The father of the family, Samuel Love, was a Seoteh-Irishman, born in Ireland about 1830, and he lived to be seventy-two years of age. He was reared in his native land and before coming to America followed the trade of weaver. When he came to this country he was without money, but with a large stock of honest industry, and he maintained an honorable posi- tion in the world. He came west and made his home in Detroit for a time, and was a sailor on the great lakes and also a fisherman. He located in Cedar Creek township, Lake county, about 1868, purchasing real estate near Creston, and he resided there five or six years before making his final abode in Winfield township, where he spent the rest of his life. He was an ardent Republican in politics, and had formerly been a Whig. He supported all enterprises for the publie welfare. and was especially interested in the promo- tion of temperance. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, aiding in the erection of their local edifice. Mrs. Love, the mother, was born in the same part of Ireland as was her husband, also about 1830, and is now living at Leroy at the age of seventy-four years.
Mr. Love became a resident of Lake county when about ten years old, so that his entire active career has been spent in the county. He was brought up and remained on the farm until he was seventeen years old. and since then has been engaged continuously in the mercantile business. His educa- tion was obtained in the local schools, and personal application was the source of his best advancement. At the age of seventeen he became associated in
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business with his father, and continued so until he was thirty-one years old. In 1890 he and his brothers James H. and P. K. formed a partnership and went into the hay and grain business, and the style of the firm has since been known as Love Brothers, although P. K. has since retired. The people of Leroy and surrounding country appreciated the fair dealing and the enter- prising spirit of the brothers, and their business has been throughout large and successful. In recent years they also buy and sell live stock.
Mr. Love's wife was Miss Matilda J. Stewart, and they had three children, the two now living being Marguerite, who is in the fifth grade of school and has taken music, and Samuel ... Jr. Mrs. Love is a native of Lake county, was educated in the common schools and the Crown Point high school, and for some years before her marriage was a successful teacher in the county. She was a daughter of Charles and Rebecca ( Simpson ) Stewart. her father being deceased and her mother a resident of Leroy.
Mr. Love is a Republican, and has supported true Republicanism since casting his first vote for Garfield and has been active in local party and public affairs. He was elected to the office of township assessor, and before his term expired, in 1887. he was elected trustee, holding that office seven years and five months. In 1900 he was elected county commissioner, which is the most responsible office in the county. During his term of office he was a moving spirit in the erection of the one hundred thousand dollar court house at Hammond, also in effecting many repairs and improvements to the county building at Crown Point. The county affairs, both fiscal and admin- istrative, are in the best condition of their history, and, with the Hammond court house finished and out of debt, the county levy has been reduced from twenty-five and a quarter to sixteen and a quarter cents on the hundred dollars, which is certainly a good showing for Lake county. Mr. Love fraternizes with the I. O. O. F., Lodge No. 195, at Crown Point, and with Court No. 17 of the Independent Order of Foresters at Leroy. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a steward and also the present superintendent of the Sunday school.
JAMES H. LOVE.
In the various members of the Love tamily Lake county has found during the last thirty-five or forty years some of its most excellent types
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of citizenship and manhood, and one of the most progressive of these is Mr. James H. Love, of the firm of Love Brothers, dealers in hay, grain and live stock at Leroy. Mr. Love has lived in this county practically all his life, and besides proving his ability and enterprise as a business man has also made himself especially useful to his township in the office of trustee. which position he holds at the present writing.
Mr. Love was born at Washington Harbor, Michigan, August 27, 1864. and is the sixth of the eight children born to Samuel and Ellen Jane (Mundall) Love. In the life history of the other member of Love Brothers, namely, Samuel A., will be found further particulars concerning this family, of which both parents and children have played such useful parts in the affairs of the county.
Mr. Love was about six years old when his father and mother moved from Michigan and took up their residence on a farm near Creston in Cedar Creek township. this county. whence later they moved to Winfield township. James H. Love received a practical training in the public schools of the country and at Crown Point, and as he was reared on a farm he gained experience in agricultural affairs. Like his brother Samuel he was asso- ciated in business with his father for a time, and when he was twenty-six years old he entered into business with his brothers Samuel and Peter. Peter has since left the firm, and the extensive trade is now carried on as Love Brothers. Theirs is one of the foremost enterprises of the kind in the east part of the county, and the annual volume of business transacted is a credit to the enterprising brothers, who have built up a substantial success by their own well directed endeavors. Besides his connection with the business Mr. Love owns a good residence in the town of Leroy and also one hundred and twenty acres of excellent land in Eagle Creek township.
March 29, 1888, Mr. Love married Miss Sallie B. McKnight, and three children were born to them, the two living being: Rosa E., who is in the eighth grade of school and has taken music: and Mary Ellen, who is the baby of the household. Mrs. Love was born in Lake county and was reared and educated here. and her parents, James and Belle ( Stewart ) McKnight, are still living and residents of Leroy. Her father was born in Pennsylvania. and was a member of the famous old Ninth Indiana Regiment during the
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Civil war, having veteranized and served till the close of hostilities. He is a Republican in politics.
Mr. Love cast his first presidential vote for Benjamin Harrison, and has stanchly upheld the principles of the Grand Old Party ever since. He was elected a trustee of Winfield township in 1900, and is the present incumbent of that office. He has erected two new schoolhouses. has put in six stone arches for bridges besides two wooden bridges, and has handled the administrative affairs of his township in a way to reflect greatest credit upon his official term. The finances of both township and county are now in excellent shape, and through the loyal efforts of such officials as Mr. Love Lake county presents a history of sound and substantial public administra- tion. Mr. Love affiliates with the Knights of Pythias, Castle Hall No. 405, at Hebron, and is one of the trustees. He is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters, being on the high board of directors for the state of Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Love are both worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Leroy.
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