USA > Indiana > Cass County > History of Cass County Indiana : From its earliest settlement to the present time with biographical sketches and reference to biographies previously compiled, Volume II > Part 24
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moved in the direction of Pittsburg Landing in March and reached there on the evening of the first day of the fight. At that time he was acting quartermaster of his regiment. By special request he was re- lieved of his duties as quartermaster that he might participate in the second day's fight, and he was in command of Company K after the wounding of First Lieutenant Turner, who commanded the company, the captain acting as major of the regiment. During this engagement the Ninth Regiment lost more men in killed and wounded than any other regiment in that action. The Century Company, in their pictorial history of the war, paid a high tribute to the efficiency and bravery of the Ninth on the second day of that fight. Succeeding this engage- ment, he was in the Corinth campaign, then was on the campaign through Mississippi to Florence, Alabama, thence north into Tennessee. Mr. McConnell's history from this on was the history of the Ninth Regiment. He participated in the battles of Greenbriar and Buffalo Mountain, the second day of the battle of Shiloh, all the engagements of Corinth, Perryville, Kentucky, Stone river (two days' fight) Chick- amauga, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Resaca, Peach Tree Creek, Kenesaw Mountain, Buzzard's Roost, Dallas, New Hope Church, Jones- boro, Lovejoy Station, and the reduction of Atlanta. Mr. McConnell was then sent in pursuit of Hood to Dalton, Summerville and Galeville, and at this latter point separated from General Sherman's command. After various other engagements and campaigns, he went to Pulaski, Tennessee, where he resigned from the service.
Returning to Logansport, Mr. McConnell took up the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1865. Soon thereafter he was appointed by Governor Morton prosecuting attorney for the common pleas court. He continued in active practice until elected judge of the Twenty-ninth Judicial Circuit in November, 1888. He served the unexpired term caused by the resignation of Judge Maurice Winfield, and in 1890 com- menced serving his own term of six years. He resigned in 1895, then continued in practice until 1904, when he became referee in bankruptcy, his private practice being reduced considerably by his service in that office.
On February 4, 1864, Judge McConnell was married to Hattie Gib- son, who died on December 19, 1910. They were the parents of eight children, the following being those who yet live: Edgar Boyd; May ; Elizabeth; Helen, the wife of George Ross; and Grace. Judge Mc- Connell is a progressive Republican in his politics and is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Since 1910 Judge McConnell has been practically retired from active business pursuits.
STEWART T. MCCONNELL, for over half a century a lawyer in the active practice of his profession at Logansport, and the present senior member of the firm of McConnell, Jenkines, Jenkines & Stewart, is a son of Dr. James B. McConnell, who came to Cass county, Indiana, in 1848, and lived for many years at Royal Centre. Appropriate record is made of the life of Dr. McConnell in connection with the biography of Judge Dyer B. McConnell, immediately preceding this.
Stewart T. McConnell was born in Highland county, Ohio, in the
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village of Greenfield, October 16, 1836, and his boyhood days were passed in attending the neighboring school and assisting an uncle, with whom he lived, in farming. Before attaining his majority he attended a scientific and classical school for four years, paying his way with the proceeds derived from his own labor. He came to Cass county in 1859, and taught school for a number of terms. Influenced by the advice of Judge Horace P. Biddle, he decided to become a lawyer and while teaching school he became a student of Hon. D. D. Pratt and Judge D. P. Baldwin. In December, 1861, he was admitted to the bar and very shortly thereafter engaged in the practice of his profession. For a period of more than fifty years Mr. McConnell has occupied a conspicuous place in the legal history of Cass county, and in most of the important litigation covering this period, his name is to be found as counsel. As counsellor or trial lawyer he has few equals in the state, which is famous for great lawyers. While aggressive, he is in- variably courteous and thus commands the respect of his fellow mem- bers of the bar. His knowledge of the law is profound and a legal position once assumed immediately commands the instant attention of court and jury.
Contrary to the usual custom of lawyers, Mr. McConnell has never sought political honors, although at one time he was the nominee of both political parties for the office of common pleas prosecutor and served as such one term. He has always manifested a deep and prac- tical interest in education, temperance and religion, and to all matters pertaining to the public weal his support is enthusiastically given.
On April 3, 1860, he married Miss Louisa Gibson, and to them were born four children. Mrs. McConnell died in the spring of 1884, and in November of the following year he married Eloise Landis Stuart.
Few men in Cass county stand higher in public confidence and esteem than does Stewart T. McConnell.
DR. ARTHUR N. BAKER. Among the professional men of Logansport who have gained success in their chosen fields of endeavor, Dr. Arthur N. Baker has firmly established himself in a position of prestige in the practice of optometry. He has been a resident of, the city practically all of his life, and is a native of the Hoosier state, having been born at Culver, Marshall county, February 19, 1869, a son of Dr. Ira J. and Eliza A. (Duddleston) Baker, of Wyandotte county, Ohio. Dr. Ira J. Baker was a physician and came to Logansport about 1877, this city still being his home and that of his wife. During the Civil war he served in the Union army as a member of the signal corps.
Arthur N. Baker attended the public and high schools of Logans- port, succeeding which for several years he was a teacher in the Cass and Fulton county schools. He then became a student in the Chicago Opthalmic College and Hospital, where he was graduated June 1, 1895, and subsequently took a post-graduate course at the Northern Illinois College of Opthalmology and Otology, where he was granted a diploma in May, 1899. In June, 1895, Dr. Baker established himself in the optical business in Logansport, and here he has continued to the pres- ent time, from a small and modest beginning having built a substantial business along optical lines exclusively. Here he has his own instru-
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ments for grinding lenses and for the prosecution of the various other operations of his chosen vocation, and by his skill has gained a position in the confidence of the people and a reputation in optical circles. Upon the passage of the law in 1907 creating a state board of five members, appointed by the governor, of Registration and Examination in Optometry, Dr. Baker was chosen one of its members, and he has since continued to be a member of that board. He is a Democrat in politics, and his fraternal connections are with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
In April, 1894, Dr. Baker was married to Miss Lillie Condon, and they have been the parents of one daughter, namely : Helen Maurine.
HARRY FIDLER. In the annals of Cass county are found numerons instances of youths who have risen to affluence and prestige in social and business life, but it is doubtful if any cases can be discovered that parallel the career of Harry Fidler, of Logansport, whose phenomenal advancement has brought him, within the comparatively short period of two decades, from selling newspapers and blacking shoes to the man- agement of one of the city's leading business establishments. Mr. Fidler is still a young man, but his accomplishments have been great, and a sketch of his remarkable career should prove of a beneficial and encouraging nature to those who have become discouraged because of the apparently insurmountable obstacles placed in their path.
Ilarry Fidler was born in Logansport, Indiana, September 25, 1881, and is one of the two surviving children of a family of six born to August W. and Lydia J. (Powell) Fidler. His opportunities for secur- ing an education in his youth were extremely limited, and when he was only ten years of age he went out upon the streets of Logansport, selling daily papers, and carrying his little boot-blacking kit. The bright, cheery and ambitious youth soon applied for and secured the position of errand boy for the jewelry establishment of Charles Church, and on leaving that occupation was employed as an assistant in the office of Dr. J. H. Shultz. This proved the turning point of Mr. Fidler's career, for Dr. Shultz so impressed upon him the importance of securing an education that he began to attend the public schools whenever he could be spared from his duties and also undertook a course of private instruction. Later, having tasted of knowledge, he thirsted for more, and attended the Logansport Business College, where he made an excellent record in his studies. For a short time succeeding this he was employed in the drug store of W. H. Porter, and in May, 1900, he became office assistant for Seth M. Velsey, where his services were so satisfactory that within the short space of three months he was given entire charge of one branch of the business, and in 1903 was given full management of the office. At the time of the deaths of his father and Mr. Velsey, which took place about the same time, the settlement of both estates fell upon the shoulders of the youth and both were settled to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. By express stipulation in the will of Mr. Velsey, Mr. Fidler was given absolute charge of the settlement of the Velsey estate, one of the largest in Cass county, and within twenty-two months this had been accomplished. Since that time Mr. Fidler has succeeded to the business founded by Mr. Velsey, and has given his attention to its management to the present time.
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Mr. Fidler was instrumental in raising funds for the erection of the Protestant and Catholic mausoleums at Mount Hope cemetery. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite and Knight Templar York Rite Mason, a member of the Mystic Shrine, a Knight of Pythias and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. For ten years he has been an officer of rank in Logan Company No. 26, Uniformed Rank, Knights of Pythias, of which, for the past eight years, he has been captain. He has been an unswerving Republican all of his life. Although his duties in a business way have been such as to preclude the idea of his entering actively in the struggles of the political arena, he takes a keen and intelligent interest in all matters that affect his com- munity or its citizens, and has stanchly supported measures making for education, morality and good government. He has the utmost con- fidence of all with whom he has come into contact in a business or social way, and his friends in Logansport are legion.
On November 8, 1911, Mr. Fidler was united in marriage with Miss Fay Lucy, of Logansport.
JOHN G. KEIP. Since his seventeenth year, John G. Keip, of Logans- port, one of this city's leading business citizens, has been the architect of his own fortunes, and his long and interesting career is a striking example of the fact that true success is the result obtained by steadfast integrity, constant industry and unremitting perseverance. Mr. Keip came to Logansport, September 1, 1894, and within his recollection the city has grown and developed from a rude, undeveloped community into a muni- cipality noted as a center of education, culture and commercial activity, its public improvements have been fostered and forwarded, and many of its handsomest business structures have been erected. As resident manager of one of Logansport's principal enterprises, the Columbia Brewing Company, Mr. Keip holds a position of unquestioned prestige in business life and his public spirit has led him to identify himself with all movements calculated to benefit the city and its people.
John G. Keip was born in the city of Toledo, Ohio, November 8, 1857, a son of Joseph and Katherine (Rees) Keip, natives of Germany, both of whom are now deceased. His father was a painter and decorator at Toledo, where his death occurred in 1871. Receiving his early educa- tion in the public schools of Toledo, Mr. Keip supplemented this by attendance at Canisius College, Buffalo, New York, where he was grad- uated in 1875, and for a number of years succeeding worked in various clerical capacities. In 1880 he made removal to Chicago, where he became a clerk in a wholesale clothing establishment. then becoming the traveling representative of a Chicago wholesale house in Kansas, a position which he held for four years. At this time he became interested in politics, and for a time was employed in the water and police depart- ments in Chicago, following which he accepted a position in the Department of Internal Revenue. It was while acting in the capacity of revenue officer that he received his initiation into the distilling and brewing business, the details of which he thoroughly mastered. In 1900 the Columbia Brewing Company went into the hands of a receiver, and Mr. Keip was appointed to close up its affairs. When the estate. had been settled, he accepted the position of manager of the new con-
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cern, and since that time he has acquired a proprietary interest in the business, has continued steadily with it, and is its present resident manager. As the directing head of this large enterprise, Mr. Keip has displayed marked ability, and his reputation among his associates is that of a well-balanced man of business, capable of handling large issues and thoroughly the master of every detail of the company's operations. His business interests have been so large and important that in late years he has given but little attention to political matters, but at all times has displayed a keen and intelligent interest in movements concerning his city's welfare. He has been identified with fraternal work to some extent and at this time is a member of the Elks, the Moose, the Eagles and the Travelers Protective Association.
While still a resident of Chicago, November 19, 1884, Mr. Keip was united in marriage with Miss Etta Provost, and they became the par- ents of three children, all of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Keip also adopted three children, one of whom died, one returned to its par- ents, and one, Bertha Henrietta, is now living with Mr. Keip. Mrs. Keip passed away March 15, 1912, as the result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident some two years previously. Mr. Keip was mar- ried to Annie M. Clark, of Michigan City, Indiana, on November 5, 1912.
WILLIAM T. WILSON. Among those who are members of the Cass county bar may be found many native sons of this section ; men belong- ing to old and honored families, members of which have been promi- nently connected with commercial, professional and public life for many years. It is in this class that William T. Wilson holds prestige, for he has not only gained a high reputation in his chosen profession, as well as along business lines, but is a son of one of Logansport's early merchants, the late Thomas H. Wilson.
Thomas H. Wilson was born May 31, 1818, near the village of Denton, Caroline county, Maryland, a son of John and Sarah (Hopkins) Wilson, both of English descent. The sixth of a family of ten children, he passed his early years on a farm, and at the age of eleven years, at the time of the death of his father, he went to live with an uncle, Thomas Hopkins, who was his guardian, and in whose store and mill he worked for some time. In 1834 he became a clerk in a store at Camden, Delaware, and in 1837, when this firm was dissolved, came with one of his employers, Daniel Atwell, to Logansport, Indiana. Here, in 1840, he became one of the principals in the mercantile establishment of Pollard & Wilson, which concern, in 1843, built a grain warehouse on the Wabash & Erie Canal. Mr. Wilson, through his extensive mercantile, commission and forwarding interests, became widely and favorably known throughout this part of the state. About 1853, owing to changes, the firm became Wilson, Merriam & Company, although the firm of Pollard & Wilson continued to do business until the death of the senior partner in 1856. Failing health, caused by close attention to his duties as executor of the estate of Mr. Pollard, led to Mr. Wilson's resignation from the firm, but he continued in the produce trade until 1875. In May, 1865, he became president of the Logansport National Bank, and served as such until his death, December 27, 1877. He was originally a Whig in his political views, but when the organization of the Republican party was
and Wife.
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brought about, he cast his fortunes with the new movement. He was reared, religiously, in the faith of the Friends, or Quakers, but all religious denominations benefitted by his liberality, and no charitable movement with a worthy cause ever appealed to him in vain. In his death the poor, needy and afflicted lost a true friend, who had never forgotten them. Mr. Wilson was thrice married, his first union occurring in 1842, when he married America Weirick. She died three years later, and in 1849, Mr. Wilson married Mary A. I. Dexter, who passed away in 1854. His third marriage took place in 1856, when he was united with Elizabeth E. Hopkins, who survived him until 1898. Mr. Wilson had four sons: William T., Ellwood G., Thomas H. and John Charles.
William T. Wilson was born in Logansport, Indiana, in 1854, and his early education was secured in the public schools. Subsequently, he entered Princeton University, New Jersey, from which institution he was graduated in 1874, and in the following year commenced reading law in the office of the Hon. D. D. Pratt, of Logansport, being admitted to the bar during the same year. He immediately entered upon the practice of his profession, and has gained an enviable reputation among his associates and in the confidence of the people of his community. His practice has been of a general character, and he is known as a thoroughly learned and sound lawyer, a logical and couvincing reasoner and a persuasive and successful advocate. He is a Republican in poli- tics, although of the kind that seeks the establishment of the right prin- ciples of government rather than the acquisition of the honors of office or the spoils of partisanship. Since 1877, the year in which his father died, he has been officially connected with the First National Bank of Logansport, of which he has been a director for a quarter of a century, and various other positions of prominence have been capably filled by him. With Mrs. Wilson, he attends the Presbyterian church.
In 1880 Mr. Wilson was united in marriage with Miss Martha L. McCarty, daughter of Joseph P. McCarty, of Logansport. Their four children are: Thomas H., associated with his father in the practice of law; Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Frank H. Worthington, of the Vandalia Railroad, residing at Terre Haute; Joseph and Dorothy Dexter, living at home.
SIMON LONG. It has been stated, and truthfully, that agriculture offers blessings in the greatest plenty, but does not allow us to take them in idleness. True there are those who are content to travel along the rut of mediocrity, taking from their land a bare living, but the full measure of success in farming only comes to those who are willing to work hard and faithfully, to observe changed conditions and practices, and to constantly remember that the only true success in life is that gained through the practice of honorable dealing. In this connection it is not inappropriate to briefly sketch the career of Simon Long, a self- made man of Cass county, whose long and honorable career has been crowned with well-deserved success secured through the medium of his own efforts. Mr. Long was born September 10, 1845, in Cass county, Indiana, and is a son of William and Elizabeth Long. His father, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Indiana in young manliood, and here spent the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits. He and his
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wife were the parents of nine children, namely: Eliza, who is deceased; Mrs. Catherine Beal; Sarah, Angelina, William, Aaron and Samuel, all of whom are deceased; Simon; and Joseph, also deceased.
Simon Long received rather limited educational advantages in his youth, the death of his father making it necessary that he early start out in life for himself, but in his later years he has accumulated a wide fund of information, and is known as a man of good educational attain- ments. When he was still a small lad he went to live at the home of an elder brother, and at fifteen years of age began to gain experience in the world by working out on neighboring farms. His salary was small and his hours long, but the youth was industrious and persevering, and carefully saved his earnings, and thus, by the time he had reached the age of thirty years, he was able to purchase the farm on which he now resides. This land was almost entirely uncultivated and what improve- ments had been made upon it were of a primitive nature, but the industry and integrity with which Mr. Long took up his work soon changed con- ditions, and as the years have passed the land has become productive and the buildings modern and substantial. He now has eighty acres in a high state of cultivation, it being located near the Marion road, five miles from Logansport. Mr. Long is justly considered one of the able agriculturists of this part of the county, and as a citizen he is known to be progressive and public-spirited. During his long residence here he has formed a wide acquaintance, in which he numbers many sincere friends.
On March 28, 1871, Mr. Long was united in marriage with Miss Mary Anna Leedy, daughter of Daniel and Jane (Nelson) Leedy, one of the old and prominent families of Cass county, and she died in 1909, and was laid to rest in Mount Hope cemetery. Eight children were born to this union, namely : Charles, who married Myrtle Shuey, and has two chil- dren, Benton and Norma; Jasper, who married Dot Stover, and has four children, Mae, Glenn, Homer and Donald; Wilda, who married August Snyder, and has three children, Dorothy, Wayne and Verda; Angeline, who married Homer Cragen; Joseph, who married (first) Freda Snyder, and (second) Mrs. Emma Cohan Henshaw; Ruby, who married Carl Wilson; and Jennie and Albina, who are deceased. With his family, Mr. Long is a member of the English Lutheran church, which he attends consistently and supports liberally.
MICHAEL L. FANSLER. Probably no family has contributed more materially to the professional prestige of Logansport than that of Fansler, members of which have attained eminence in law and medicine and have rendered signal services in public office. Among the worthy representatives of the name may be mentioned the late M. D. Fansler, and Michael L. Fansler, father and son, whose records have been asso- ciated intimately with the history of Cass county.
M. D. Fansler was born June 25, 1857, in Wyandotte county, Ohio, his parents being Dr. David N. and Mary D. (Caldwell) Fansler. The family is of a mixed ancestry, being Irish-Scotch on the mother's side and German-French paternally. Dr. David Fansler was an early physi- cian of Logansport, but in his later years removed to Marion, Indiana, where his death occurred. M. D. Fansler received his early education in
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a minor capacity in a printing office, and was practically self-educated, yet he became one of the leading figures at the Cass county bar. Coming to Logansport in 1879, he became prosecuting attorney in 1884 and held that office until 1888, following which he returned to private prac- tice, in which he was engaged up to the time of his death, May 2, 1896. Mr. Fansler was admittedly one of the finest orators that ever practiced before the Cass county bar. Of fine taste and great erudition, his read- ing covered a wide range, both in the line of his profession and in the broader field of polite literature. He loved books and was a dis- criminating critic, and possessed the happy faculty of being able to store up the useful and essential things in his mind, which was a perfect treasure house of knowledge. In his death Cass county lost not only one of its most able legists, but a citizen who in every walk of life was honored-esteemed not for what he had but for what he was. On May 4, 1881, Mr. Fansler was united in marriage with Miss Johanna (Nannie) Mulcahy, whose father, a native of Ireland, came to Indiana in 1870 and until his death was an employe of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Fansler, of whom three are still living.
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