USA > Indiana > Lake County > Encyclopedia of genealogy and biography of Lake County, Indiana, with a compendium of history 1834-1904 > Part 55
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Dr. James G. Van DeWalker was about eleven years old when he left New York state and came to Indiana with his father, and he grew to manhood on the farm in LaPorte county. He attended the district schools, and later studied by the light of a tallowdip, and in the main he is a self-educated man, having gained by hard efforts all the advantages for education and in- tellectual development. After leaving home he studied with an uncle. Dr. Pierce, of Momence, Illinois, and up to the time of the Civil war did a small practice. Ile enlisted in 1862 in Company B. Twelfth Indiana Infantry, and served till the close of the war. He was in the battle at Richmond, Ken- tucky, in the siege of Vicksburg, at Jackson, Mississippi, at Missionary Ridge, and all the fifteen engagements of the Fifteenth Army Corps during the Atlanta campaign. He was then with Sherman to the sea. thence up
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through the Carolinas, the last battle being at Bentonville. In 1863 the officers had learned that he was a physician, and put him on duty as hospital steward, and he was assigned to General John A. Logan's, Fifteenth Army Corps headquarters, where he served till the close of the war in 1865.
After the war he practiced medicine at Lisbon, Noble county. Indiana, until 1868: from then until 1875 was at Lafayette: until the fall of 1878 was at Medaryville, Indiana : then moved to Davenport. Nebraska, and prac- ticed until 1882, in which year he took up what has proved his permanent location at Hammond, where he has carried on a successful practice ever since. Right after the war he also studied law, and was admitted to the bar in Pulaski county. Indiana, in 1876, and practiced that profession there until 1878. and also in Nebraska. He had served as marshal of Valparaiso in 1856.
March 22. 1856. Dr. Van DeWalker married Miss Mary Beattie, who died January 21, 1891. On March 31. 1892, he married Mrs. Jennie Simp- son, the widow of Robert Harrison Simpson and a daughter of Daniel and Ann ( Shannahan) Foley. Dr. Van DeWalker is a member of the First Congregational church. He affiliates with Calumet Lodge No. 601. I. O. O. F .. and John A. Logan Encampment No. 95. He belongs to the Colonel Robert Heath Post No. 544. G. A. R., of the Department of Indiana. He is a member of the Lake County Medical Society, an honorary member of the Nebraska Eclectic Medical Association, and a charter member of the Indiana State Eclectic Association. In politics he is a Republican. He was secretary of the board of health of Hammond for eight years, was county physician twelve years and county coroner two years. He has also been pension attorney for a number of years. He bought his present home and added improvements, and also built his office on the same lot.
JOSEPH STARK.
Joseph Stark is a representative of the best ideals in agriculture, citi- zenship and personal character, and as such he is held in the highest esteem in Lake county, and especially throughout West Creek township, where the years of his activity have been passed.
He is a native of St. John township, this county, and was born December 30. 1859. being the fourth in a family of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, born to Joseph and Mary Ann ( Merrick) Stark. There are
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nine of the children still living, as follows: Afra, who is the wife of Matthew Herman. a farmer of St. John township: John, who is a prosperous farmer of West Creek township, and who has a sketch elsewhere in this book : Mary, the wife of Jacob Klassen, a retired farmer of St. John : Joseph : Frank, a resident farmer at St. John, who married Miss Amelia Koeblin; George, who resides on the old homestead and who married Miss Rosa Thiel ; Michael, who is a butter-maker at St. John, and married Miss Mary Schreiner : Peter, a farmer of St. John, who married Miss Lizzie Klassen ; and Frances, who resides with her mother at St. John. The children were all confirmed in the Catholic church. and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Stark are members of St. Martin's church at Hanover Center.
The senior Joseph Stark, the father of this large family, was born in the province of Bavaria, Germany. December 30, 1824. and died March 17. 1879. He was deprived of his mother's care when six years old, and at the age of thirteen began to earn his own way in life. He worked day and night in a mill until he was twenty-two years of age, and his wages were wonderfully meager when compared with those paid by twentieth century American prosperity. He had a common school education in his native tongue, but in the main was self-trained and self-educated. He was always reckoned as a man of character and solid manhood. At the age of twenty- two he took passage on a sailing vessel at Bremerhaven, bound for the free land of America, and at the end of six weeks he landed in New York city. At this stage of his career he was three dollars in debt. and the first thing he did in the new world was to work three days and clear himself of this incumbrance. He then worked his way to Chicago, where he was employed on the docks until cold weather, when he obtained work from a minister, being, in fact, willing to accept anything that would earn him an honest dollar. After remaining in Chicago for thirteen months he enlisted as a soldier in the Mexican war, and served throughout that important struggle. After the war he traveled through South America, where he was very much pleased with all he saw, and thence he returned to New York by ship and finally arrived in Chicago again. He and two other men purchased teams and drove through to California, but on the great salt desert the horses perished. and the remaining distance they were compelled to cover on foot. Mr. Stark was in California thirteen months, and during that time he dug out of the
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ground three thousand dollars in gold. He returned on foot to Chicago. got married, and for a year farmed on rented government land at Home- wood. Illinois. He came to St. John in Lake county, about 1859, and lived here till the end of his useful and busy life. He owned four hundred and forty acres in St. John township, and when it is recalled how he started out in young manhood with less than nothing, and before he had reached the meridian of his career, had gained a competency for those days, he must be recorded in this history as one of the truly successful and worthy men of the past who have made Lake county what it is at the present. In politics he was a loyal Democrat, and he and his wife were devout Catholics. His wife. Mary Ann Stark, was born in Alsace. Germany, in June, 1836, and is now living in St. John. a hale and hearty old lady.
Mr. Joseph Stark, who was born on the same day of the month with his father and who received the latter's name, was reared and has spent prac- tically all his life in Lake county. His education was obtained in the parochial schools. He has made farming and stock-raising his vocation, and has been more than ordinarily successful in all his enterprises.
He remained at home and cared for his mother until he was twenty- five years old, and on February 5, 1885, he married Miss Susan Thiel. They have been made happy by the birth of ten children into their home, four sons and six daughters, and all but one of these are still living, as follows : Tillie S .. who is in the seventh grade of school and is a piano student : Frances M., who is in the eighth grade and also a music student : Josephine is in the eighth grade and takes music: George, who is now in the German school; Edward J., who is in the fifth grade: Joseph, in the fourth grade; Oliva E .: Madeline M .: and Christina B., the baby of the family. Mrs. Stark was born in Lake county. March 17. 1864, and was educated in the parochial schools. Her parents were Mathias and Susan ( Laurerman ) Thiel. Her father was born near the Rhine river, and was eleven years old when he accompanied his parents to America and to Lake county, and he lived in this county until his death, on November 10, 1901. At the time of his death he owned a farm of one hundred and forty-eight acres in St. John township. and also had real estate in Hammond. He was a Democrat in politics, and he and his wife were Catholics. There were eleven children in the Thiel family, and ten are living, six of them residents of Lake county, and those
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elsewhere are: Katie, wife of George Thielen, a farmer of Cresco, Howard county, Iowa : Mathias L. is a merchant of Chicago, and is married : Frank. who was born June 2. 1870, and was educated in the parochial schools, is a resident of Chicago, and married Miss Lena Keilman, who was born in Lake county. November 17, 1873, and educated in the common schools, both of them being Catholics: and Andrew, who is a merchant of Chicago, and is a married man.
Mr. Stark is independent in politics, casting his vote for the best man in his judgment. He is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in West Creek township, and on this he has recently erected a beautiful and comfortable farm residence. The farm is improved with good buildings and other conveniences, and the entire place has a progressive and prosperous appearance. He is a stock fancier, and takes much pride in his fine cattle and hogs. He is a shareholder in the West Creek creamery, which is located near his property.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WILLIAM CLINTON MURPHEY. CORPORAL, COMPANY B. ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-NINTH INDIANA INFANTRY IN THE CIVIL WAR, MERCHANT AND BANKER.
The Murphey family in Henry county is as old as the county itself. The family came originally from North Carolina, for it was in the old North State that Miles Murphey and Dorothy Evans were united in marriage. They were the parents of sixteen children, six of whom died in North Caro- lina. About 1820 the family determined to emigrate to Indiana, and, coming to this state, they settled first in Wayne county, bringing their ten surviving children with them. In the spring of 1822, the same year that Henry county was organized, the family moved to what is now Henry county and settled on Flat Rock, two and one-half miles southeast of the present town of New Castle. One of the ten surviving children was a son, named Clement. born in North Carolina. December 23. 1808. In 1827. near New Castle, he married Huldah Bundy, also a native of North Carolina, and soon thereafter settled on a piece of land and started out to make a farm in Prairie township, about four miles northeast of New Castle. Clement and Huldah Murphey were the parents of fifteen children, eight boys and seven girls, viz. : Joel L., Hiram B .. Francis M., Robert P., Eli C., William C., Miles E. and John F.
Mr. Manthey.
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The daughters were named Elizabeth, Sarah J., Mary, Martha, Eliza J., Huldalı E. and Catherine. Clement Murphey became a prominent farmer and was one among the most successful agriculturists that ever lived in Henry county. He and his wife were upright, religious people and took great interest in church and educational matters. They were very highly respected by all who knew them, and the good name which they left behind them is a valuable legacy to their children. In 1860 Mr. Murphey retired from his farin and moved to New Castle, where he and his excellent wife continued to reside until the day of their deatlı.
William Clinton Murphey, the sixth son, is the subject of this sketch. He was born on his father's farm above mentioned, January 1, 1842. He lived with his parents, working on the farm and attending the public schools. until 1860, when he accompanied his parents to New Castle. He early de- veloped mercantile and business qualities of a highi order. In the fall of 1860 he became a clerk in the hardware store of his brother, Joel L., in New Castle, and soon after obtaining his majority in 1863. he had a hard- ware store of his own. Later he moved to Middletown in Henry county. and engaged in the dry-goods trade, remaining there for a period of about two years, when he returned to New Castle, where he continued in the dry- goods business until the summer of 1868, when he engaged in the grocery business, which he operated until the fall of 1871. In the fall of this year came the turning point in Mr. Murphey's business career, for at this time he was induced by Mr. George Hazzard of New Castle to dispose of his grocery store and engage in the banking business.
A firm was formed consisting of George Hazzard. William C. Murphey and Reuben Tobey, under the firm name of Hazzard, Murphey and Co., op- erating a private bank, known as the Citizens Bank of New Castle, with a combined capital of $40,000, ten thousand dollars of which was contributed by Mr. Murphey. This venture was highly successful, so much so that in the summer of 1873 these partners, with some new capital solicited in Henry county, were able to and did organize, under the laws of the state of Indiana, the Citizens State Bank of New Castle, with a capital of $130,000, of which bank Mr. Murphey was made cashier.
In 1874 there was not a banking institution of any kind in Lake county. Indiana. Now there are, perhaps, twenty such organizations in the county.
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Neither was there a banking institution of any kind on the line of the Penn- sylvania railroad, between Logansport and Chicago. This unoccupied terri- tory was certainly an inviting field, and accordingly Mr. Murphey disposed of his interests in the Citizens State Bank of New Castle. when he together with Martin L. Bundy, George Hazzard and Augustus E. Bundy of New Castle, and John Brown, William W. Cheshire, David Turner, James Burge, James H. Luther and perhaps one other of Crown Point, the latter taking $1,000 each in the capital stock, organized the First National Bank of Crown Point. with a capital of $50,000, Mr. Murphey becoming vice president. Later the other parties from New Castle sold their stock in the bank, and Mr. Murphey became cashier, a position he held until physically disabled for further service. With this bank Mr. Murphey was continuously identi- fied as the controlling spirit from the date of its organization until the close of his business career. Under his management the bank was highly success- ful. It accumulated a surplus fund equal to its capital, and so desirable was the stock as an investment that it readily sold for two hundred and fifty dollars a share. The par value of the shares was one hundred dollars each. It was in Crown Point that he made his great reputation as a prudent and sagacious business man and banker, and it was there also that he accumulated the fortune of a quarter of a million dollars which he left at the time of his death.
In the Civil war Mr. Murphey was not forgetful of the patriotic duty which every citizen owes to the government, for he became a soldier in Company B, One Hundred Thirty-ninth Indiana Infantry, being mustered into the United States service as a corporal June 5, 1864, and mustered out September 29, 1864.
At New Castle on the 29th day of November. 1866, he was married to Alice Ione, second daughter of Joshua and Nancy Holland, old and highly respected citizens of Henry county. Mrs. Murphey was a native of New Castle where she lived all her life. She was highly esteemed by all who knew her. She died December 22, 1869, and her body now lies at rest in beautiful South Mound cemetery. From this union there was one child, a daughter, Anna Florence, born October 12, 1867. This loving child was not permitted to reach her full estate, for while at the Oxford (Ohio) Fe- male College, she was suddenly stricken and died. February 22. 1885. Her re-
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mains were laid at the side of her mother in South Mound cemetery. Her death was a great shock to her father, who never fully recovered from the great loss then inflicted.
On November 22, 1882, Mr. Murphey again married. this time to Louise M. Luther, nec Louise M. Whippo, now his surviving widow, a most esti- mable woman, highly educated and who was born at Dublin, Wayne county, Indiana, September 9, 1844. It was after Mr. Murphey's union with Mrs. Luther that his greatest success and prosperity came to him. She proved in every way a true wife, a good companion and a great business helpmeet. It was with the most tender solicitude that she cared for Mr. Murphey during his last years of almost total helplessness and supervised his business affairs. Mr. Murphey died July 21, 1898, at Crown Point, Indiana.
On August 3, 1895, while engaged in the duties of his position at the bank, Mr. Murphey was stricken with paralysis. For days he hovered be- tween life and death, but finally a change for the better came, and as soon as he was able to travel he was taken to southern California, where with the warm sun and genial climate he rapidly improved and in May was able to return home. But in November he returned to California, spending the winter in Los Angeles. In May he again came home, but soon left for Mt. Clemens, Michigan, where he hoped to find his health restored. He did receive some benefit, but in the fall again went to California, remaining until spring. He was failing before his departure for home, and on his return was confined to the bed for some days, but for ten weeks he was able to be out and meet his old friends. but finally the fatal disease was more than his heroic efforts could overcome and death claimed its own.
For many years Mr. Murphey had been an earnest advocate of crema- tion, as the proper method of disposing of the dead, and, in accordance with his often expressed wish and direction, that disposition was made of his remains, and his ashes deposited by the side of his wife and only child in South Mound cemetery, New Castle.
No man that ever lived in Lake county, for that matter in northwestern Indiana, left behind him a more enviable reputation for prudence, sagacity and sterling integrity than William Clinton Murphey. His judgment was the controlling factor in all disputed business affairs, throughout Lake county. He was an excellent person for one in doubt to consult, for he could take
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up the case and point out the uncertainties as well as the winning points. His advice was sought far and wide. He was a man of polished manners and pleasing address. His memory will long be cherished by all who knew him.
ALBERT C. HUBER.
The prosperity of any city or locality depends upon its commercial and industrial activity, and the early upbuilders of a town are they who suc- cessfully conduct business enterprises. A representative of this class is Albert C. Huber, who is now engaged in dealing in groceries, market supplies and coal in East Chicago. He is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Seneca county, that state, on the 14th of February. 1874. Little is known concerning the ancestral history of the family save that the Hubers are of German lineage. The paternal grandfather spent his entire life in Germany, and in that country Michael Huber, the father of Albert C., was born, the place of his nativity being Luxemburg. In early life he learned the wagon- builder's trade and about 1830 he came to America, locating in Berwick. Seneca county, Ohio, where he was engaged in wagon building. There he died in the year 1876. His wife survived him until January 13, 1903, and passed away at the ripe old age of seventy-four years. Both were communi- cants of the Catholic church. Mrs. Michael Huber, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Sachas, was also a native of Luxemburg, Germany, and was a daughter of Nicholas Sachas, who was born in Germany and came to the United States in 1830 with a small colony of people that established a settlement in Seneca county, Ohio. He was a carpenter and bridge builder. and in Seneca county spent his remaining days, departing this life at an advanced age. In his family were five children.
To Mr. and Mrs. Michael Huber were born ten children, five sons and five daughters, of whom five are yet living, namely : Elizabeth A., a resident of Pullman, Illinois ; Mary, who is the wife of D. H. Chapman, of Kensing- ton, Illinois; Michael W., who is living in Austin, a suburb of Chicago: Ida. the widow of Thornton Berry, and now of Pullman, Illinois; and Albert C., of this review.
Albert C. Iluber resided in Seneca county, Ohio, until sixteen years of age and in his boyhood days attended the parochial and public schools
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there. When nineteen years of age lie began learning the tinsmith's trade, which he followed continuously until 1899. He then turned his attention to the grocery business in East Chicago, forming a partnership with Thorn- ton Berry under the firm style of Huber, Berry & Company. This rela- tionship was maintained until 1902, when Mr. Berry died, and since that time the business has been conducted under the firm style of A. C. Huber & Company, his sister Elizabeth becoming his partner. He has a well appointed grocery store, and in addition also conducts a meat market. The tasteful arrangement and neat appearance of the store secures a good patronage, and Mr. Huber is always able to retain his customers because of his honorable business methods. He is likewise connected with the Lake Coal Company as a partner. In 1903 he established the Empire restaurant in East Chicago, but later sold out to Leo McCormack.
On the 12th of February, 1901, Mr. Huber was united in marriage to Miss Caroline M. Reiland, a daughter of John S. and Henrietta ( Meisen- bach) Reiland. They have one daughter, Helen Ruth Huber. The parents hold membership in the Catholic church, and fraternally he is associated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and with the Royal League. Politically he is a Republican, having firm faith in the principles of the party as set forth in its platform. He is now serving as president of the board of education in East Chicago and is a citizen whose interest in the welfare of the town is deep and sincere and is manifested by active co-operation in many movements for the general good. He is yet a young man, but has already attained creditable success through honorable effort, untiring industry and capable management, while in private life he has gained that warm personal regard which arises from true nobility of character, deference for the opinion of others' kindness and geniality.
CHARLES GROMANN, M. D.
In the German element of her citizenship Lake county has found a fac- tor of uplift and progress toward substantial ideals such as no other race has brought to the county, and this history would lack one of its most essential parts should the work and lives of the German-Americans be neglected. Dr. Gromann, whose professional career has made him so familiar to numerous families of the county, is a native of the little province of Lippe-Detmold,
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Germany, where he was born December 2, 1823. He is the younger of two children born to Philip and Dorothea (Witte) Gromann, and is the only survivor of the family. The father was born in the same province in 1794 and died in 1867. He was a brick-maker by trade, and was a successful man throughout his life. He and his wife were Lutherans.
Dr. Gromann was reared in his native land to the age of twenty-five years. He was formerly a druggist by occupation, having taken a practical course in a store under an experienced pharmacist. In 1849 he concluded to come to America. He sailed from Bremerhaven, being six weeks on the voyage to New York, and from the latter city he went to Chicago, thence to Dalton, Illinois, where he and his brother-in-law purchased land and re- mained until the spring of 1853. Then the Doctor came to Hanover town- ship, Lake county, and purchased eighty acres of raw land. His first resi- dence there was a log cabin which he himself built, and he has seen deer and wolves roaming about in this county. In fact, he one day killed two deer within a half an hour, shooting them with a shotgun, and also shot a bear from the window of his cabin. It was his intention to follow farming as his permanent occupation, but his healthi was poor and he took up the study of medicine. He went to Chicago and entered the office of Dr. Julius U11- rich, with whom he carried on his studies, and he later came to Hanover township and began the medical practice which he has continued in this county for half a century. He is a genial and cordial gentleman and well preserved for his years, and his career has been such as to win him esteem in all circles. Dr. Gromann has been married three times. His first wife was Miss Caroline Kluckhohm. They became affianced in Germany, but were married in Chicago. Eleven children, six sons and five daughters, were born of this union, and nine are living, as follows: Wilhelmina, the eldest; Henry, of Crown Point; August, a physician in Iowa ; Sophia and Caroline, twins, both wives of ministers ; Charles : Louise: Fred; Anna. The mother of this family died in 1869, and Dr. Gromann's second wife was Miss Sophia Ort- meyer. Five children, one son and four daughters, were born of this union, and the three living are: Paulina, a professional nurse : Julia, wife of George Piepho, a prosperous farmer in Hanover township: and Dora, the youngest. This second wife passed away on February 5. 1897. On March 20, 1901, Dr. Gromann married Mrs. Charlotte (Bernhardt) Sauer, who was born
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