USA > Indiana > Lake County > Encyclopedia of genealogy and biography of Lake County, Indiana, with a compendium of history 1834-1904 > Part 56
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near the city of Wiesbaden, Germany. November 1, 1837, being a daughter of Jacob and Philopena ( Weltert) Bernhardt. There were nine children in the Bernhardt family, but only two are living, and Mrs. Gromann is the only one in America. She was educated in her native land, and is a Lutheran in religion. Her first marriage took place in Germany. In 1867 she came to America, and from Cincinnati later moved to Chicago. Mrs. Gromann is a genial and cordial lady, and with such a jovial companion as the jolly Doctor their home is truly a happy one. Their cosy, comfortable home is open to all their friends, and good cheer and congenial company are always to be found there.
Dr. Gromann is a stalwart Republican, and has supported the candidates of the G. O. P. since casting his first vote. Officially he was elected to the office of township trustee and served as such for nine years, during which period he erected the schoolhouse in Brunswick, and both before and since the cause of education has always found in him a true friend. He was form- erly a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his good wife are members of the German Methodist church society, and they are well known and highly esteemed in their home town of Brunswick and also throughout the neighborhood.
JOHN KRUDUP.
The Germans form one of the most prosperous elements of state or nation, and are especially noteworthy for the part they have played in the substantial and enduring development of Lake county. Mr. Krudup was born in Hanover township, Lake county, April 19. 1870, and is the youngest of the seven children, four sons and three daughters, born to Herman H. and Anna Elizabeth (Wilke) Krudup. There are four of the children still living. The eldest, Johanna, is the widow of John H. Meyer and a resident of West Creek township. Herman, who is married, is a salesman in a wholesale grocery house of Chicago. William F., married, is a dealer in harness and hardware at Gibson City, Illinois. And John is the youngest.
Herman H. Krudup, the father, was a native of Germany, born in 1828. He was a farmer by occupation. He was married in Germany and about 1858 he came to America, arriving at New Orleans and making the trip up the Mississippi and the Ohio to Cincinnati, being
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two months and six days on the water. When he came to Indiana he began as a farmer. He purchased eighty acres of land, going in debt for part of it, and by diligence he not only paid for it, but added to his property until he had one hundred and sixty-seven acres, and fifteen acres of timber- land. This land is now the property of Mr. John Krudup. The father was a Republican in politics. The mother was a native of Prussia, Germany, born in 1832, and her death occurred in 1892.
Mr. Krudup was reared to the life of a farmer. and received his educa- tion in the common schools of the county, personal application being a prin- cipal factor in his success from the beginning of his career. At the age of twenty-one he began without capital, and at the age of twenty-seven he re- ceived his share of the estate. He has been careful and frugal, and has accu- mulated a good property and become well known for his effective business management. In March, 1904. he purchased the stock of merchandise of Hon. John Beckman, at Brunswick. This was a well established general merchandise business, the stock consisting of dry-goods, shoes, staple and fancy groceries, queensware and other general goods. Mr. Krudup is a young and progressive business man, affable and genial. and his integrity and character and reputation for honesty and fair dealing are well known throughout his native community, where the people have all confidence in him, and his business career begun under such favorable auspices is certain to lead to success.
March 17. 1898, Mr. Krudup married Miss Carrie Russell, and two daughters have been born to them, Emma M. and Edna J. Mrs. Krudup was born in Hanover township, this county, March 17. 1871, and was reared in the county and educated in the common schools. She is a daughter of Christopher and Johanna Russell, the former now deceased, and both her parents were born in Germany.
Mr. Krudup is a stalwart Republican, having cast his first presidential vote for Benjamin Harrison, and having supported each candidate since. He and his wife are church members and arc young people who stand high in the estimation of all who know them.
JOHN N. BECKMAN.
The German-American has played a conspicuous part in the affairs of this nation, and Lake county has been especially benefited by their presence
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and activity in the important industries and social and public affairs. As a class these people have been noted for their pluck, industry and accumulative methods, and their love for home and community makes them citizens par excellence.
Mr. Beckman is a man who needs no introduction to the citizens of Lake county in mercantile and political circles. He is a native of Hanover town- ship, Lake county, where he was born October 26, 1856. He is the eldest of nine children, three sons and six daughters, born to Herman C. and Elizabeth (Fink ) Beckman, and eight of them are still living. Gesina M. is the wife of Dr. A. Groman. of Odebolt, Iowa, and their son, Herman C., is a graduate, with honors, in the class of 1904 from Yale University; Mrs. Groman was educated in the common schools and by individual study and application. Elizabeth K. is the wife of William II. Rohe, a banker and druggist of Crete, Illinois. Anna M. is the wife of H. H. Gansbergen, a music publisher, with Root and Company of Chicago. Hermina, a lady of charming and lovely character and disposition, is a bookkeeper with E. F. Root and Son of Chicago. Margaret J. is the wife of Charles J. Murphy, who is a farmer and stock dealer. Herman C., who is married and a resident of Chicago, is in the employ of the DeLaval Separator Company. B. Fred- erick, who is married and a resident of Red Oak, Iowa, is road master of the C., B. & Q. Railroad.
Father Beckman was born in Hanover, Germany, June 3. 1822. and died July 5, 1894. He was reared to young manhood in his native land, and gained his education by personal application and by reading the newspapers. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence, and in the later years of his life he corresponded for some agricultural papers. He bade adieu to liis native land and came to America to cast in his lot among a strange people and with not a great deal of cash on hand. It was about 1846 when he came to New York, and he remained there until 1856. He spent a short time in South Carolina, and in May, 1856, he arrived in Lake county. He began the mer- cantile business at Hanover Center, and also the breeding of high-grade cattle. Most of his life in Lake county was spent in merchandising. He was an ardent Republican, and prior to the formation of that party was a Whig, and was a warm admirer of Lincoln, Blaine and Garfield. Frater- nally he was a member of the Masons and the Odd Fellows. His wife and
33
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
the mother of Mr. Beckman was born in the province of Hanover, Germany. August 14, 1835, and she died in July. 1879.
Mr. Beckman was reared and educated in his native county of Lake. He was educated in the common schools and at T. H. Ball's Institute and at Bryant and Stratton's Business College. His early life was spent on the farm. Mr. Beckman is one of the cordial gentlemen who are popular with both the masses and the classes, and by his courtesy and genial manner he has won the confidence of the people of Lake county, and has played a conspicuous part in the political arena.
November 3. 1880, he married Miss Mary A. Echterling, and twelve children have been born to them, six of whom are living. The eldest. John F., is at the present writing in the model dairy of the agricultural department of the World's Fair at St. Louis. He was educated in the common schools and at Crown Point, and took four years at Purdue University, graduating in the class of 1904. August C. is a civil engineer in northern Wisconsin in the employ of the C. & N. W. Railroad. He was also educated at Purdue University, graduating in 1904. Elenora M. is in the public schools, as are also Marie T. and Frederick Herman, and William Edgar is the youngest of the family.
Mrs. Beckman was born in the province of Westphalia, Germany, May 14, 1858, being a daughter of Frederick and Mary A. (Cloidt) Echterling. She was educated in the German and English languages, and is a member of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Beckman has always espoused the princi- ples of the Republican party, and cast his first presidential vote for James A. Garfield.
Mr. Beckman is a lover of his county, state and nation, and has always had the good of his county at heart. He received the nomination for the office of county auditor in 1892. but was defeated by the Democratic land- slide of that year. In 1900 he was elected joint representative of Lake county, and each year since, including the present year, has been chosen to that important office. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters and also of the Knights of Pythias. He is now to a great extent retired from business. We are pleased to present this brief text of this worthy gentleman who has spent his entire life in Lake county, to form an enduring record in the Encyclopedia of Genealogy of Lake county.
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
FRED W. BUCKLEY.
Fred W. Buckley, formerly manager for the Wilbur Lumber Company of Lowell, was born in Cedar Creek township, Lake county, Indiana. March 2, 1878, his parents being William and Elizabeth (Darst) Buckley, who were early settlers of Lake county. The father is now living a retired life in Lowell.
Upon the home farm Fred W. Buckley spent the first sixteen years of his life, and during that period acquired his education in the public schools. which he attended during the winter months. He then began work for the Lowell Lumber Company, John E. Burns being the owner of the yards, and in that employ Mr. Buckley remained until May 5, 1898, when the yard was sold to the Wilbur Lumber Company. Mr. Buckley continuing there until February, 1901. He then resigned and joined his former employer, Mr. Burns, in Chicago, and continued with him for three months, at the end of which time he was offered the management of the Wilbur Lumber Company. He was then but twenty-two years of age. but he had demonstrated his superior ability, his thorough understanding of the lumber trade and his trustworthiness, and thus his strong qualities gained him a very desirable position, which he held for three years, at the end of which time he again re- signed to accept a better position offered by the Sheridan Brick Works. Brazil, Indiana.
On the 19th of July. 1900. Mr. Buckley was united in marriage to Miss Lotus Metcalf. who died on the 15th of November. 1901. He is a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity at Lowell and is a man well known in Lake county, where he has a large circle of friends, among whom he is very popular, owing to his genial disposition, unfaltering courtesy and high personal worth.
BYRON M. CHENEY.
Byron M. Cheney, who is engaged in the practice of law and occupies the position of justice of the peace in East Chicago, ranks among the rep- resentative residents of that place, where he has so directed his energies as to win substantial success in business and at the same time gain the respect and confidence of those with whom he has been associated. As a public official he has made a creditable record, his course being marked by the utmost
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fidelity to duty, while his decisions are characterized by strict impartiality and fairness.
Mr. Cheney is a native son of Illinois, his birth having occurred in Jerseyville, Jersey county, on the 2nd of September, 1840. He comes of a family of English lineage and his ancestors were among the passengers of the Mayflower, who made the first settlement in New England. The paternal grandfather, Prentiss Dana Cheney, was a native of Vermont and a physician by profession. He served his country in the war of 1812, participating in the battle of Lake Champlain, and aided largely in the care of the wounded. He was twice married, first wedding Miss Murray, by whom he had five children, while his second wife was a Miss Goodell. Dr. Cheney reached a very advanced age, dying full of years and honors.
Murray Cheney, son of Dr. Prentiss D. Cheney, was born in the Green Mountain state and became a member of the bar. Establishing his home in Illinois, he engaged in the practice of law in Jersey county and also held the office of sheriff there for two terms. It was in the year 1833 that he left his home in New England for the central west, taking up his abode at what was then called Hickory Grove, but is now the site of Jerseyville. He afterward entered some land in Sangamon county, Illinois, in 1852, and this is still in possession of his children. In 1857 he removed to that county, locating upon his farm (the Blue Mound) in Talkington township, near Springfield, where he carried on agricultural pursuits until the fall of 1861. He then removed to Virden, Illinois, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1885. when he was seventy-six years of age. In early manhood he wedded Miss Caroline Pickett, also a native of Vermont and a daughter of Gilead Pickett. who was born in the same state and was of English lineage. He was a black- smith by trade, served his country in the war of 1812 and died when well ad- vanced in years. In his family were seven children, including Mrs. Cheney, who survived her husband for a long period and passed away on the 6th of July. 1003. when more than ninety years of age. Both were members of the Mis- sionary Baptist church and Mr. Cheney had served his country as a soldier in the Mexican war. They were the parents of eight children, five sons and three daughters, of whom five are now living : Gilead P., a resident of Jerseyville, Illinois : Byron M. : Martha C., the wife of Oliver S. Green, of Chicago, I !! i- nois : John George, of Lyons, Colorado ; and William, of Virden, Illinois.
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
Judge Byron M. Cheney spent the first fifteen years of his life in Jersey ville, Illinois, and from the age of six years attended the public schools. Later he worked upon a farm and afterward engaged in railroad contracting and levee work on the Illinois river. In 1888 he arrived in East Chicago and established a coal and lime yard. The following year he was elected justice of the peace and has continuously filled the position since that time, with the exception of one termi. As a business man he has ever been found reliable and trustworthy, manifesting also the progressive spirit of the age. and in office he is known for his fearless performance of his duty and his promptness and fidelity in the discharge of every task which devolves upon him.
On the 22nd of February, 1865, occurred the marriage of Judge Cheney and Miss Sarah Beatty, a daughter of Francis and Jane Beatty, but in the following March the Judge was called upon to mourn the loss of his young wife. Several years later he married Miss Mary Van Zandt, a daughter of John and Anna ( Barber) Van Zandt. Mrs. Cheney's grandfather, John Van Zandt, was in the war of the Revolution, having entered the ranks when only 12 years of age. She is a member of the Methodist church and an estimable lady who, like her husband, shares in the warm regard of her many friends. Judge Cheney belongs to the Masonic fraternity and has attained the Royal Arch degree. Politically he is a Republican, earnest in his advo- cacy of the principles of the party, and he served as school trustee in Sanga- mon county, Illinois, for a long period. He and his wife now reside at No. 4815 Olcott avenue in East Chicago, where he owns a good home, and in addition to this he has two other desirable lots in East Chicago, and a part of the old homestead farm in Sangamon county, Illinois. His life has been one of continuous activity, in which has been accorded due recognition of labor; and to-day he is numbered among the substantial citizens of the county. His interests are thoroughly identified with those of the middle west and at all times he is ready to lend his aid and co-operation to any movement calculated to benefit this section of the country or advance its won- derful development.
CHARLES J. HOLMES.
Among the good and worthy citizens of West Creek township is Mr. C. J. Holmes, who is held in high esteem by all who know him. Ilis active
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
career in northern Indiana has extended over a period of nearly thirty years. and has been one of absorbing industry and public-spirited citizenship, such as to eventuate in material prosperity and a position of honor among his fellow citizens. He hails from the little kingdom of Sweden, where he was born June 11, 1854, being the third in a family of eight children, two sons and six daughters, born to John and Anna (Swanson) Johnson. The reason that Mr. Holmes has a name so different from that of his parents is that. while he was serving as a soldier in the Swedish army, his number was 313, the corresponding name to which number was Charles J. Holmes, and by this name thus applied he has been known ever since. He has a sister and a brother yet living, his sister, Christine, older than himself, being the wife of Oscar Petersen, a carpenter and joiner residing in Sweden, and his brother Peter being on a ranch at Salina, Kansas. The father of this family passed his life in Sweden, and was a shoemaker by trade. He also served in the military of his country. He and his wife were members of the Lutheran church. and they are now both deceased.
Mr. Holmes was born in the province of Smolen, and received his edu- cation in the schools of his native land. He learned the trade of shoemaker from his father, and remained with his parents until he was twenty-one years old. At that age he concluded to come to America to better his fortune, and on April 28, 1875, he sailed from Gothenburg and landed in Philadelphia with just seven dollars in cash capital to support him while he gained a start in a foreign land. From Philadelphia he came to Chicago, and three weeks later went to an uncle of his in Porter county, Indiana, where a farmer pro- cured his services at a wage of thirteen dollars a month. After three months he hired out to another farmer at seventy-five dollars a year, and worked for this employer for eighteen months. During the next eighteen months he re- ceived twenty-one dollars a month, and his prosperity was soon assured, for his diligence and intelligent management of all the interests intrusted to his charge soon won him the confidence of all with whom he had dealings, and he was before long on the independent road to success.
On October 5. 1881, he wedded an estimable lady, Miss Emma Ryden. and eight children were born of this marriage, seven of them being living, as follows: Oliver, who received his diploma from the public schools on Feb- ruary 19, 1898, and was later graduated from the business college at North
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Park, Chicago, and the academy at the same locality, is now engaged as a clerk in one of the banks of Mr. Murray Turner at Hammond; Emily, who received her diploma of graduation from the public schools on May 9, 1902. at present has charge of her father's home; Grace is now in the first year of the high school ; Harry graduated from the common schools on May 12, 1904. when only thirteen years of age : George is in the eighth grade of school work : Bertha is in the sixth grade: and Esther is in the third grade.
Mrs. Holmes was born in Smolen, Sweden, March 27, 1863, being a daughter of .Andrew and Lovisa ( Johnson) Swanson. both of whom are now living in Porter county, Indiana, and one sister is also living. Her parents are both Lutherans, and her father had served in the Swedish army. She was eight years of age when she accompanied her parents to America, the home being established in Chesterton, Porter county. She was educated in both the Swedish and English languages. She was a woman of noble char- acter and an able assistant to her husband in the rearing of her children and the caring for the home. Her disposition was all gentleness and kindliness toward all, and she made friends wherever she went. She was a member of the Lutheran church at Chesterton. This good woman passed away from the world and her sorrowing family on February 24, 1901, and her remains are interred in the Chesterton cemetery. She was a loving and affectionate wife and mother, and her admonitions and advice to her children have sunk deeply and permanently into their hearts and become part and parcel of their worthy characters. Mr. Holmes is now living in West Creek township with his children around him, and his noble daughter Emily assumes complete management of the home. Too much cannot be said of this good man and worthy citizen of West Creek township, and he has friends by the score. Ever since coming to this country and assuming the active duties of citizen- ship he has been a stanch upholder of Republican principles. He and the older children are members of the Lutheran church.
LEGRAND T. MEYER.
LeGrand T. Meyer, who has been a leading attorney at law in Ham- mond for over ten years, is a life-long resident of Lake county, and has worked out his successful career almost within call of his first home. He has been a member of the bar of the county for the past fifteen years, but did
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not at once engage in active practice, continuing his legal and literary studies until his graduation in 1892. He has for several years been prom- inent in the business as well as professional activity of the city, and is to be counted among the truly representative and public-spirited citizenship of Hammond.
Mr. Meyer was born in Crown Point, Indiana, November 22, 1867. His father, John H. Meyer, was born in Hanover, Germany. son of a life- long resident of that province. He was reared in Germany, and in 1855 emi- grated to America. He lived in Brunswick, Indiana, until his enlistment, in 1861, in Company B, Twentieth Indiana Infantry, with which he served three and a half years as a private. He was wounded at the second day of Gettysburg, and sent to the hospital, but afterward rejoined his regiment. He was also in the second battle of Bull Run, at Chancellorsville, and throughout the hard Wilderness campaign. After the war he conducted a general store at Crown Point for a number of years, and then retired to his farm at Cedar Lake. John H. Meyer, the father, died on September 20. 1904, after a few days' illness from pneumonia, and on September 23, 1904, was buried in the family lot in Crown Point by a large gathering of his old comrades and neighbors. In politics he was an uncompromising Demo- crat, and his wife is a member of the Methodist church. He married Mar- garet E. Dittmer, who was born in Savannah, Georgia, a daughter of Will- jam Henry and Sarah Elizabeth (Carr) Dittmer. Her father came from Germany and settled at Savannalı before the Civil war. He owned con- siderable real estate there, was a prosperous merchant, and erected grist mills in various localities. In 1857 he came to Lake county, Indiana, and bought a farm at Cedar Lake. but afterward returned to Savannah, where he died at the age of sixty-six. Mr. and Mrs. John H. Meyer had three children: LeGrand T., Howard C. and Horace G.
Mr. L. T. Meyer lived in Crown Point the first eleven years of his life, and received his first schooling there. He lived on the home farm at Cedar Lake for some years, and studied law and continued his literary training in his home county. He was admitted to the bar in 1889, and in 1892 graduated from the literary department of the University of Michi- gan, at Ann Arbor, where he had also taken a law course. He opened his office in Hammond in 1892, and has built up a very satisfactory practice
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in the intervening years. He is vice president and one of the directors of the Champion Potato Machinery Company, which manufactures potato planters and diggers. He gives his political allegiance to the Democratic party. His wife is a member of the Baptist church. He resides at 47 Doty street, where he built his home in 1896. Mr. Meyer was elected city attor- ney of Hammond, on June 21. 1904. He has always taken an active part in politics, having several times been chairman of the Democratic city cen- tral committee, and has invariably been successful. In 1893 Governor Claude Matthews appointed him chief of the engineer corps of the Indiana National Guard, with rank of colonel, and during the tempestuous time of Roby pugilismi and railway riots he was in service as the confidential adviser of the governor. Previously to this Mr. Meyer had always been active in mili- tary affairs, having commanded a company of Sons of Veterans infantry. and had been an active Son of Veteran of the State, holding many state offices therein.
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