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 28

Author: Powell, Jehu Z., 1848-1918, ed; Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago (Ill.), pub
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 662


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 28


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William Porter Thomas was the son of Giles Wheeler Thomas, who was born near Baltimore, Maryland, on October 31, 1794, five years prior to the death of General Washington. He learned the trade of a tanner in Blacksburg, Virginia, under the instruction of Harmon Sifford, and migrated to what was then known as Champaign county, Ohio, now called Clark county, and there he wedded Agnes Black, a


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daughter of William Black. She was born on April 28, 1798, and died on October 4, 1851. In later years Giles Thomas married a second time, Mrs. Julia (Stafford) Funston, connected by marriage with the famous Funston family of which Gen. Frederick Funston, of the United States Regular Army and of Philippine war fame, is a member, becoming his wife. She was born on September 10, 1804, and died in September, 1881. Giles Thomas died on January 6, 1870. His son, William Porter Thomas, the father of J. Charles Thomas of this brief review, married Miss Margaret Stafford, a daughter of Ralph (native of Ireland) and Catherine (Saylor) Stafford, and to them were born a goodly family of ten children, seven growing to manhood and womanhood, and six are living at this time. They are named as follows: Giles Stafford and George Wheeler, twins, of whom Giles S., who is a resident of Geneva, Nebraska, was married to Sadie Wheeler and is a retired agriculturist and was a soldier in the Civil war.


George W., who lives in Peru, Indiana, married Grizzie Black, and is a retired farmer. He was also a soldier in the Civil war. The brothers were members of Company K, Ninety-ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers. Martha Virginia married Uriah W. Oblinger and both died in Nebraska. Uriah W. Oblinger was a soldier in the Civil war, a member of Fifty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteers. Ellen Annette is the wife of D. S. Bailey of Minneapolis, Minn., a contractor and builder. Samuel Greene, a farmer of Middletown, Indiana, mar- ried Sarah Pawabaker. William Rowen, a farmer of Tipton township, married Lorretta Miller and J. Charles Thomas of this review.


J. Charles Thomas received his education in the district schools of Tipton township, and there was reared to agricultural pursuits, remain- ing on the home farm and assisting his father with the home duties until his marriage, when he left the parental roof and engaged in farming on his own responsibility. He is now the owner of a fine tract of sixty-eight acres of well cultivated land, on which he has brought about numerous improvements, including the erection of a number of substantial build- ings. He has devoted his life to the business of general farming and the success he has attained has been the result of his own industry, perseverance and faithful labor. Mr. Thomas was for many years a supporter of the principles and doctrines of Republicanism, but of re- cent years has transferred his allegiance to the Prohibition party. He has interested himself in fraternal work, and is a member of the Wood- men of the World, and of Tipton lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Thomas and his family are members of the Methodist church.


On January 17, 1886, Mr. Thomas married Miss Jeannette Beal, daughter of John D. and Catherine (Long) Beal, the latter a daughter of William Long. Mr. Beal came to the United States from France about the year 1830, at that time the family name being rendered D'Beel, since then the present form coming into popular usage. His wife came from Pennsylvania in 1840 and their marriage occurred in Cass county, Indiana, in 1859. They settled in Washington town- ship, where Mr. Beal was engaged in the business of farming until his retirement from active farm life, since when they have been living at No. 25 Market street, in Logansport, Indiana, where their golden wed-


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ding anniversary was celebrated in 1909. Mr. and Mrs. John D. Beal had eight children, as follows: Joseph A., who married Mollie Thorn- ton ; John Henry, who married Libbie Herr; Jeannette, Mrs. Thomas; William V., who married Effie Carney; James Adrian, who married Julia Grover; and three others, who are deceased.


Mr. and Mrs. J. Charles Thomas are the parents of four daughters, namely : Mabel Annette, the wife of Everett Hubler, to whom one daughter has been born-Vere Catherine by name. Mrs. Hubler was graduated from the public schools of her native community and was a student in the Marion normal, after which she was engaged as a teacher in Cass county. Her husband is one of the more successful farming men of Allen county, Indiana. Ethel Ursula was educated in the public schools and she has since specialized in instrumental music, in which she is quite successful. Eulalia Marie is also proficient in musical ability ; and Margaret Catherine, the youngest of the four, is yet a student in the public schools, and will graduate with the class of 1914.


Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have given. to their daughters the advantage of the best education available, and their school instruction has been amply supplemented by the most admirable home and church training -a phase of education which is all too often neglected in American homes, but which is the basis of all genuine training and the founda- tion of the happiest homes. With the exception of the eldest, the daughters are at home with their parents.


Mr. Thomas and his estimable wife, who has long been his able counselor in all the affairs of life, are citizens who are held in high re- gard by all who know them. Their cozy homestead known as "Rose Lawn," is one where genuine hospitality abounds.


Both parents come of families that gave worthy service to the flags of their respective countries, and it is of such blood that the best citizenship must inevitably spring. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Thomas, John D. D'Beal, was a native of France and a soldier under Napoleon Bonaparte, with whom he was serving at the time of the famous retreat from Moscow, while the maternal grandfather of Mr. Thomas was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, through which connec- tion members of the family today are eligible to membership in the society of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, a dis- tinction dear to the hearts of all patriotic Americans today, and one which is a truc patent of American nobility.


HENRY FRANKLIN SMALL. There has been no period in recorded history when the caring for the dead has not been a feature of even savage life, and the ceremonies have been of a character that has been marked by the measure of civilization. Study habits and customs of every nation and it will be found that a reverence has been paid to the dead, oftentimes such as was not given to the living, and even the most brutal savage tribes in the deepest wilderness, even those who still make human sacrifices as a part of religious rites, can point to their stone crypts, their burning temples, their funeral barks or their tree- top burials. There never has been, however, a time when the proper, dignified, sanitary conduct of funeral obsequies and disposal of the remains of those whose life work has ended has been so complete as Vol. II-14


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at present. Funeral directors and undertakers of the present day in America are no longer mere mechanics but, on the other hand, are care- fully trained in this profession and often are graduates of more than one college. Methods of body preservation which formerly were consid- ered lost arts are well known now and have been vastly improved upon. Henry Franklin Small, whose tact, dignity and kindly sympathy have made him a comforting figure in the homes where death has visited, is the proprietor of a modern undertaking and embalming establish- ment at Walton, Indiana. He was born July 16, 1848, in Washington township, Cass county, Indiana, near the present home of W. L. Small, and is a son of Daniel and Nancy (Overleese) Small.


The grandfather of Mr. Small was a native of Germany, and in young manhood emigrated to the United States, settling in Maryland, where he spent the remainder of his life. Daniel Small was born in Maryland, and there passed his boyhood and youth, but when still a young man migrated to Indiana, and for a short time resided near Crooked Creek. Subsequently, he came to Cass county and took up government land, making the first settlement in Washington township. There he and his wife spent the remaining years of their lives, devot- ing themselves to the tilling of the soil. They were the parents of nine children, as follows: Harriet, Susanna, Andrew Jackson and Margaret, who are all deceased: John: Elizabeth and Alexander, who are both deceased ; Mrs. Sarah Burget, a widow living in Logansport; and Henry Franklin.


Henry Franklin Small was reared on the old homestead, where he worked during the greater part of his school period. At the age of twenty-five years he left the parental roof and came to Walton, where he took up the trade of carpenter, and gradually drifted into contract- ing. During the next twenty years he followed this line of endeavor, and many of the structures erected by him still stand, their excellent state of preservation testifying to good workmanship and honest mate- rial. At the end of that period, Mr. Small took up the undertaking trade, and first attended the Indianapolis School of Undertaking, from which he received his diploma, succeeding which he took the Barnes course in Chicago and received his certificate. He immediately returned to Walton, and here he has continued in this business to the present time, now being the proprietor of a well equipped establishment, fur- nished with every device for the proper handling of the dead and with every comfort for the bereaved. His reputation is that of a man of unquestioned integrity and probity of character, and well merits the high respect and esteem in which he is universally held.


Mr. Small was married (first) to Miss Elizabeth Younglove, and after her death married her sister, Hattie Younglove. they being daugh- ters of Charles and Elizabeth ( Hoyt) Younglove. Mr. Small has inter- ested himself in fraternal work, and is a member of the Masons, the Odd Fellows, the Order of the Eastern Star and the Tribe of Ben Hur.


HENRY A. CROCKETT. Although he has reached an age when most men begin to think of laying aside the cares and duties of active busi- ness strife, Henry A. Crockett, of Washington township, still continues in the management of his affairs, and each day attends to his various


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duties, thus satisfying an energetic nature that from his boyhood has caused his life to be one of constant industry. A member of an agricul- tural family, which has for generations contributed its full quota of men to the farming vocation, he has followed in the footsteps of his forefathers and has devoted his entire career to the tilling of the soil. Mr. Henry Crockett has passed almost his whole life within the borders of Cass county, has here achieved a success, and today ranks with the foremost of his community's valued citizens. He was born September 13, 1849, in Deer Creek township, Cass county, Indiana, and is a son of Asher and Susannah (Plank) Crockett. His father, a farmer, was born near Greenville, Ohio, from whence he came to Cass county, Indiana, in young manhood, and here spent the remainder of his life. There were six children in the elder Crockett's family, namely : Henry, Jane, Elizabeth, Sarah, James and Alice, the latter deceased.


Henry A. Crockett was reared in Cass county, where he secured his early education in the district schools, but when still a lad the family moved to Miami county, and there he completed his studies. He event- ually returned to Cass county, and settled on his present farm, an excellent tract of eighty acres which is located on the Crockett and Richeson road. Mr. Crockett has continued to devote his attention to the tilling of the soil, and his property is one of the valuable ones of the township. As the years have passed and his leisure and capital would permit, Mr. Crockett has made numerous improvements in the shape of substantial buildings and draining and tiling. His ventures have proved uniformly successful, and through the use of good judg- ment, natural ability and constant industry, he has accumulated a com- petence, gained a position of importance among his fellows, and reared his family in comfort. Mr. Crockett is essentially a farmer, but has not ignored the duties of citizenship, and at this time is acting capably in the capacity of justice of the peace.


On January 15, 1876, in Cass county, Mr. Crockett was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Knight, of Cass county, Indiana, and to this union there have been born eight children: Carrie, who lives with her parents; Benjamin Franklin (Frank), who is engaged in farming in Tipton township, married Mae Pierson, and has two children,-Gil- bert and Herbert; Harvey, who married Ethel Hymon, and is the father of one child,-Opal; Laura and David, who are residing at home; Mae, who married Daniel Brunner, and has three children,-Wilmer, Florence and Velma; Chester, who married Hannah Pippinger, has one little son, Clifford Keith; and June, who lives with her parents. The members of this family attend the Christian church, where they all have numerous friends. Judge Crockett belongs to the class through whom communities prosper, for with others he has been an agitator for the advancement of progress. During his long and honorable career, he has formed a wide acquaintance, and no citizen stands in higher esteem in his community. The beautiful estate of Mr. and Mrs. Crockett is known as "Highland Crest."


CHRISTIAN F. WENDLING. That the farmer is the backbone of the nation is a trite saying, but nevertheless a true one, and no circum- stances or conditions might arise that would ever lessen the importance


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of the agricultural industry to the country at large or decrease the prominence of the active and successful farmer in the scale of values prevailing today throughout the broad land. Many successful and ambitious farmers are to be found in Cass county, and the late Chris- tian F. Wendling occupied a high place in the agricultural class in the county. Following in the steps of his worthy father, Mr. Wendling came to be one of the most prosperous farmers in Walton or, indeed, in the county, and as such is properly accorded a place in an historical and biographical work of this nature.


Born in Butler county, Ohio, October 8, 1858, Christian F. Wendling was the son of Michael and Mary (Schmitt) Wendling, Mr. Wendling was a native born German and Mrs. Mary Smith Wendling was a native of France. Michael Wendling was credited with being one of the most skillful farmers in Cass county, and it is therefore but fitting that more than a merely cursory mention be made of him in this sketch dedicated to his son. He was born in Alsace, then a part of France, but now within the border of Germany, and was the son of John and Margaret (Schini) Wendling. He was fifteen years of age when he came to America, in company with his parents, who immigrated hither in 1845. Up to that time he had received excellent educational advantages, being versed both in French and German in his native schools. The family first located on a farm in Butler county, Ohio, and there the parents of Michael Wendling passed their remaining days, the father being seventy- two years of age when he died. He was twice married, his first wife having died in Germany, and his second wife having been the mother of Michael, who was one of the three children of the second marriage, the others being Christian and Catherine.


In 1863 Michael Wendling came to Indiana, and in this state located in section 34, Washington township, Cass county, which place there- after represented his home and the scene of his farming activities until the day of his death. He was a successful farmer, carrying on his affairs prudently and scientifically, and while the tract of land he first selected in Cass county was not the most promising then to be found within its borders, he proved that all land is good land if properly treated, and his place came to be one of the richest and most productive in the county.


On January 10, 1854, Michael Wendling married Miss Mary M. Schmitt, a daughter of George and Barbara (Mochel) Schmitt, both natives of France, where Mrs. Wendling was born on the 3d of July, 1830. She same to America in 1848, alone, and settled in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wendling, as follows: John H., born in 1855 and married to Emmeline Martin, they living in Cass county and are well and favorably known here; George W. is a civil engineer; Christian F. is the subject of this sketch ; William D., a Cass county farmer, is now deceased; Charles C .; Jacob S., deceased and Eli E. Mr. Wendling was a stanch Democrat, and was all his life a member of the Lutheran church. He died on the 14th of November, 1904.


Christian F. Wendling was born on the 8th day of October, 1858. He received his education in the common schools of Cass county, where he was reared from the age of five years, the family removal from But-


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ler county to Cass county taking place at that time. He was well disciplined in farm work in his youth, and was identified with the home place until the age of thirty-two, when, in 1887, he married and established a home of his own. His wife was Miss Laura B. Walker, the daughter of T. H. and Maggie (Bennett) Walker, and their mar- riage took place on the 14th of April, 1887. Four children were born to them: George C., Jesse E., Grace B. and Alonzo E. George C. received his diploma from the Walton high school, class of 1910, graduat- ing with honors, and is now in his third year at Purdue University, studying civil engineering. Jesse E. completed the eighth grade. He married Miss Laura Preiser, and they have one daughter, Margaret Wilodene, born March 4, 1913. Grace B. received her diploma in 1906. Alonzo E. received his diploma with the class of 1911, and entered the Walton high school.


Mrs. Wendling is a native of Cass county, born May 31, 1872, and was educated in the Walton public school. Her parents are both living in Kokomo, Indiana, and her father was formerly engaged in mer- chandising. In earlier years he was a teacher, and he was educated in Ohio.


Mr. Wendling became the owner of a fertile and productive farm of eighty acres, situated abont a half mile from the town of Walton, where his family united with him in making a comfortable and happy home. He demonstrated beyond all question his skill as a farmer, and the early training he received at the hands of his father was to him a boon in his independent career, although he was never content to con- tinue in the industry without progressing in the scientific knowledge pertaining thereto. He took a hearty interest in the civic and political affairs of the community and was one of the best known men in his dis- trict, wherein he was long and favorably before the people. Fraternally he was a member of the Masonic order, lodge No. 423 at Walton; of the Maccabees, Tent No. 103; and of Ben Hur Lodge, Tribe No. 233, and was a charter member and a deacon of the Lutheran church of Wal- ton, his family also sharing in his religious faith. Mr. Wendling occu- pied a place of respect and esteem in the town and county, and his death, on the 9th of February, 1913, was mourned by a large circle of friends. He was laid to rest in the Odd Fellows cemetery.


CASSIUS M. IDE, successful and prosperous in the business of diver- sified farming, in which he has been occupied in Cass county for a num- ber of years, was born on April 13, 1856, in Howard county, Indiana, and came to Cass county in 1872. He is the son of Reuben P. and Sarah (Gifford) Ide, and he was a small child when his father died in Howard county, Indiana. The mother married a second time, and he was one of the three children of her first marriage. When they came to Cass county in 1872 the family comprised the mother and her three children. Bedford B. Ide, the brother of the subject, still lives in Cass county, and for a long period has held a responsible position with the Pan Handle Railroad. The sister married Alexander Copland and is a resident of Logansport.


Cassius M. Ide received the rudiments of an education in the pub- lic schools of Howard county, his schooling continuing up to the age


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of twelve years, after which he took upon himself the business of find- ing a living. His first independent venture was in the draying line in Logansport, and he continued to be connected with the work there for five years. For three years thereafter he was interested in an active way in the livery business in the same city, and by that time he felt he was ready to settle down to farm life. With his wife he came to the farm inherited by Mrs. Ide, consisting of one hundred and twenty acres in section 16, Noble township, where he has since continued to be occupied with a general or diversified farming business. He has experienced an agreeable amount of success in his work, and is accounted one of the prosperous and progressive farmers of the township.


On October 31, 1883, Mr. Ide was married to Miss Jane Braith- waite, who was born in Cass county, June 2, 1860, the daughter of James and Peggy (Eglin) Braithwaite, who came to these parts from Yorkshire, England, their native land, in 1844 and 1848, respectively. They were married in Cass county, June 28, 1851, and in the following year, 1852, moved to Kosciusko county, Indiana, where they continued to reside for four years. Then they returned to Noble township, Cass county, and purchased a farm of eighty acres, which location was their home until the death of Mr. Braithwaite, July 10, 1882, when he had reached the age of seventy-one years. A few years after locating in Noble township he purchased two other farms in the same township; one of 160 acres and one of 80 acres. Mrs. Braithwaite is living and is a resident of the city of Logansport. She was eighty-two years of age January 12, 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Ide became the parents of four chil- dren : Nolo Fay, born October 10, 1884, graduated from the public schools and spent three and a half years in the Logansport high school. She wedded Carl Hardy, an agriculturist, and they have a little daughter, Peggy Fern, born July 4, 1903. James Reuben, born August 27, 1886, received his diploma from the public schools and spent two years in high school, after which he pursued a commercial course in Logansport. He was census enumerator of Noble township in 1910, and is at present serving his fifth term as financial secretary of the Cass County Detec- tive Association. He is now with his parents on the farm. His frater- nal relations include membership in the Odd Fellows order at Logans- port, of which he was financial secretary two years and is now its per- manent secretary. He affiliates with the Republican party and is a member of the Christian church. Mary Juanita, born November 7, 1888, graduated from the common schools and in the Logansport high school, class of 1908, and wedded John Webber, February 10, 1909. He is an agriculturist. Both Mr. and Mrs. Webber are members of the Cumber- land Presbyterian church, and they are residents of Harrison town- ship. Jane Braithwaite, their daughter, was born March 31, 1913. Clay Braithwaite, born September 27, 1897, the youngest of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Ide, graduated from the common schools and is now a student in the Logansport high school. He is a member of the Chris- tian church.


Mr. Ide is a Republican and has always lent his support to the fur- therance of that party, and his fraternal relations are represented by his membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Eel River Lodge, No. 417, and the Knights of Pythias, both of Logansport. He


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was one of the promotors in the erection of the Odd Fellows Temple in Logansport, a building which is a credit to the city. He is a stock- holder therein, and for twelve years has been one of the building's trustees. It is also a fact worthy of mention that in the engraving of the old seminary on Thirteenth street, which was replaced in 1874, to be seen in the prospectus which preceded this publication, Cassius M. Ide may be seen at the base of the belfry of the seminary, with arm outstretched and viewing the scene below. He and his family have always attended the Christian church. Their homestead in Noble town- ship is named after the old Braithwaite homestead in Yorkshire, Eng- land, "Greenat."


FREDERICK M. MARKERT, remembered by many of the oldest settlers as one of the early coopers in Logansport, was a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, his birth occurring on March 31, 1822. He was reared in his native country, received but a limited edu- cation, and after serving seven years in the German army he enlisted again and served an additional period. He learned fruit gardening after his military service was concluded, his principal attention being given to the culture of the grape. It was about 1846 when he emigrated to the United States, and after landing at Castle Garden, New York, he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and there worked at the cooper's trade for two years. In 1848 he came to Logansport, Indiana, via Lake Erie, to Toledo, and from there by the Erie canal. Until 1850 he worked in the old Cecil flonring mill cooperage shop, located on the south bank of Eel river at the intersection of Sixth street. In 1851, in association with Gotlieb Schaefer and Charles Luy, he embarked in the brewing business on the north side of Columbia street, between Sixth and Mary streets, but three years later disposed of his interests in that enterprise and once more engaged in the cooperage business, his location being on Pleas- ant Hill. For many years he continued in this business, retiring in 1886. He died on April 3, 1901.




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