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 58
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people have always found him heartily in sympathy, however, and he is never too busy to lend his aid to enterprises of this nature.
Mr. McFadden was married in 1893, to Miss Estella Markel, daugli- ter of Jacob Markel, and they have had five children, namely: Walter, Osa, Fleece, Lucille and Pearl, all of whom are attending school in Walton. Fraternally Mr. McFadden has identified himself with the work of the Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he numbers many warm friends. With the members of his family, he is an attendant of the Methodist Episcopal church.
CHARLES STEWART ALBERTSON, M. D. It was Robert Louis Steven- son who made the assertion that when posterity came to study the pres- ent age it would find that its noblest figure was the doctor. The physi- cian's role, whether in city or country, in the sickroom, on the lonely road or the deserted street, calls for a high order of courage as well as high ideals of service to mankind. Here is found the spirit which has made the advance of modern science resemble the advance of a new religion. There has been the same devotion to an ideal, the same aban- don of self, and the only reward held ont has been the welfare of gen- erations yet unborn. It is for these reasons that the profession is held in such high esteem; that its devotees are ranked among the leading men of every community. Among the medical men of Cass county who have reached high positions as practitioners, Charles Stewart Albertson, M. D., of Walton, is known as a man who has responded to every duty
imposed upon him by the ethics of his calling. Although still a young man, his abilities have gained him a place in the confidence of the men of his vocation in his adopted locality, as well as of a wide and repre- sentative clientele. Doctor Albertson was born in 1881, in Walton, Indiana, and is a son of E. F. Albertson, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal faith, belonging to the Eastern Conference. He was sent to this section by his church, and for many years labored faithfully in the service of his Master.
The oldest of a family of five children, Doctor Albertson early at- tended the public schools of Walton, but as his father's vocation called him to various points, the family stakes were not driven in one place for very long. Following his removal from Walton, the doctor lived for different periods at Bunker Hill, Goshen, Ligonier and Columbia City, Indiana, Buffalo, New York, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, and in the latter place graduated from the high school. At that time he took up his medical studies, entering Jefferson Medical College, Philadel- phia, and later entered Indiana Medical College, at Indianapolis, from which institution he received his degree. Succeeding this, he entered upon the practice of surgery in Fort Wayne, as assistant to Dr. McBeth, and after a short period he went to South Whitley, Indiana, where he continued in practice for five years. In Walton his years of diligent study and critical and careful observation have borne fruit in the shape of recognition. His knowledge of his profession is broad and compre- hensive, and he is quick to grasp the principles of every advancement or innovation which comes to his notice. For two years he has acted in the capacity of secretary of the Cass county board of health, where his abili- ties were made manifest in numerous ways. Keeping full abreast of
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the times by his subscription to the leading medical journals, he also takes an interest in the work of the leading organizations of the pro- fession, and is a valued member of the Cass County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He also holds membership in the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, in all of which he numbers many friends.
In November, 1907, Dr. Albertson was united in marriage with Miss Maud Robbins, of South Whitley, Indiana. They have had no children.
J. E. HEINMILLER. For a number of years Mr. Heinmiller has been identified with the little town of Young America. He has the only undertaking establishment in this vicinity, and as a business man of fine principles and thorough ability, he enjoys a large patronage and the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens.
Mr. Heinmiller was born in Ervin township, Howard county, Indi- ana, November 11, 1862. His parents were John and Susannah (Cupp) Heinmiller. The father was born in Germany and came to America with his parents, his father being also named John, and from New York City moved to Pennsylvania where the grandfather was for many years a farmer. John Heinmiller, the father, was a young man when he came west to Carroll county, Indiana, and a few years later bought land and was actively engaged as a farmer there for many years. There were
seven children in the family of the parents, namely : William, John D., George W., Moses, J. E., Anna, deceased; Luther, deceased, and Rettie.
J. E. Heinmiller during his boyhood lived on a farm in Howard county, and attended the common schools in that vicinity. At the age of twenty-one he began his independent career, and with some help from his father was able to fit himself for the undertaking business. He studied in the Barnes College of Embalming at Chicago, and on graduating from that institution came to Cass county and established himself in business in the little town of Young America.
Mr. Heinmiller was married in 1889 to Miss Lilly Williams, a dangh- ter of John Williams. One child was born to their marriage, but is now deceased. Fraternally Mr. Heinmiller is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Masonic order, and belongs to the United Brethren church.
FRANK HARNESS. Many of the leading agriculturists of Cass county are specializing in the raising of cattle, finding that in this branch of agricultural work they were able to achieve a greater measure of success than if their energies were devoted to diversified farming. Frank Har- ness, one of the enterprising young farmers of Deer Creek township, who owns fifty-five acres of good land and oversees 400 acres belonging to the Harness estate, is engaged in raising Hereford cattle, and since his eighteenth year has been an acknowledged judge of livestock. Mr. Harness was born in Howard county, Indiana, just across the road from his present property, in 1881, and is a son of G. W. and Lucinda (Lowry) Harness.
The education of Mr. Harness was secured in the public schools of Cass county, whence he was brought as a lad, and during his entire
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school period was engaged in assisting his father on the homestead place. . An energetic, ambitious youth, at the age of eighteen years he entered the cattle business, and the success which has rewarded his efforts is ample proof of his ability in his chosen line. His standard bred Hereford cattle have always brought top-notch prices in the mar- kets and have made a creditable showing wherever exhibited. His entire time is devoted to his farin and his home, and he has found no leisure to engage in politics, his only interest in public matters being that taken by every good citizen. In business circles he is known as a shrewd competitor, but one who has never stooped to use other than legitimate methods, and as a result he has the confidence and esteem of his associates. He lias shown some interest in Masonic work, and has numerous friends in the local lodge of this fraternal order, as he has in business and social circles.
In 1902 Mr. Harness was united in marriage with Dora Swafford, daughter of William and Jane (Hinkle) Swafford, and to this union there have been born two children: Herbert and George W.
BENJAMIN F. SHARTS. Cass county has no more honored family than that bearing the name of Sharts, members of which have been identified with the agricultural, commercial, financial and military history of this section for approximately sixty-five years. Among those who are entitled to consideration as worthy representatives of the name are Abiah J. and Benjamin F. Sharts, father and son, the former a Civil war veteran and highly respected farmer of Tipton township, and the latter president of the Fenton Investment Company. Both have identi- fied themselves vitally with the best interests of Cass county, where they have been known as useful and public-spirited citizens.
The Sharts family originated in Hagerstown, Maryland, from whence George P. and Frances (Bear) Sharts removed to Preble county, Ohio, at an early day. Settling near Germantown, George P. Sharts erected a grist mill and carried on operations for several years, but in 1848 came to Cass county and settled on what is known as the N. B. Richeson farm, the family home during the first few years (or until it was replaced by a frame honse) being a log cabin. There George P. Sharts died in 1853, at the age of fifty-two years, while his wife survived him until 1875, and was seventy-two years old at the time of her demise. They had a family of eleven children, namely: Mary M., Rose Ann, Elizabeth, Catherine, Abraham, John, Eliza J., George P., William O., Abiah J. and Caroline.
Abiah J. Sharts was born October 24, 1845, in Preble county, Ohio, and passed his boyhood days on the home farm in Cass county, whence the family had come when he was four years of age, and where he secured his education in a log cabin school. When he was but fifteen years of age he started out to make his own way in the world, and early took charge of the home farm, which he operated until 1879, at that time moving to his own farm, which joins the other on the south. In June, 1863, he became a member of Company F, 116th Regiment, Indiana Vol- unteer Infantry, and was mustered into the service at Indianapolis, subsequently participating in a number of engagements during the Civil war, including Knoxville, although the greater part of his military service was passed in doing guard duty at Cumberland Gap, Greenville
Benjamin 7 Charts President Fenton Investment Co
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and Tazewell, Tennessee. He received his honorable discharge at Lafay- ette, Indiana, in March, 1864, after a brave and faithful service, and once more returned to the duties of peace. In 1867 he was married to Ellen Alice Wilson, daughter of Andrew Wilson, one of Cass county's old pioneers, and they have had six children, namely: Harry, who is deceased; Benjamin F .; Elmer; Walter, who is deceased; Blanche and Charles. Mr. Sharts still lives on the old home farmn on section 11, Tipton township, a tract of 154 acres of well-cultivated land. Although advanced in years, he still is engaged actively in the work of tilling the soil, and also takes a keen interest in Republican politics. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic, and attends the Seven-Mile United Brethren church, of which Mrs. Sharts is a member.
Benjamin F. Sharts was born on the old home place, December 12, 1871, and was reared after the manner of the farmers' sons of his day, attending the district schools during the winter months and spending his summers on the home place. During the fall of 1888 he went to Topeka, Kansas, where a relative was living, and while there attended the high school for three years, each year carrying off the honors of his class. When he was twenty years old he returned to Indiana and began teach- ing at. his old home school in Tipton township, where he remained one year, subsequently spending one year at the Boyer school, one mile east of Walton, and two years in the Woodling school in Washington town- ship. During the summer of 1895 he gave up the educator's profession to accept a position in the county treasurer's office. One year later, in May, 1896, he entered the Logansport State Bank in the capacity of messenger and bookkeeper, and there his faithful discharge of his duties, his constant attention to business and his general native ability won him advancement to the position of teller. In May, 1906, he became cashier of this institution, one of the most solid and substantial in north- ern Indiana, and he continued to hold the same office until recently. During the early months of 1913 Mr. Sharts received a proposition to take over the management of their extensive mortgage, loan and invest- ment business, fostered and created by the late C. O. Fenton (whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume). After due consideration he accepted same and resigned his position as cashier of the Logansport State Bank, to take effect June 1, 1913. He is at present president and manager of Fenton Investment Company, 218 Fourth street. Mr. Sharts' rise has been rapid and continuous, but it has been deserved, and no element of chance has had anything to do with his promotion. Rather it has come through a steadfast determination to succeed, an ambition before which all obstacles have been swept aside.
On October 3, 1900, Mr. Sharts was married to Miss Pearl McManus, and they have had two children : Victor Benjamin and Robert Wilson. In politics Mr. Sharts is a Republican. He has been prominently con- nected with fraternal matters, being a member of Tipton Lodge No. 33, F. & A. M .; Logan Chapter, R. A. M .; Logan Council No. 11, R. & S. M., and St. John Commandery No. 24, K. T., all of Logansport, and in 1907 served as eminent commander of the latter. He also holds membership in the Cass County Historical Society, and is its present treasurer.
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EDWARD E. MILLER. The success which Edward E. Miller has at- tained is due to his enterprise, strong determination and business ability, and he is now classed with the representative farmers of Deer Creek township, where he owns and operates a farm of sixty-two acres. Be- longing to the modern school of agriculture, Mr. Miller carries on his operations according to the most approved methods, thereby achieving enviable results; personally, that his life has been honorable and straightforward is shown by the fact that among his stanchest friends are many who have known him from boyhood. Mr. Miller is a native of the Hoosier State, a son of Isaac and Sarah J. (Ewing) Miller. His father, who was formerly a farmer of Fayette county, Indiana, migrated to Cass county in 1868, and here continued to carry on agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his life, becoming a substantial farmer and well known citizen. The mother of Edward E. Miller was born and reared on the farm on which he is now operating, but as a young woman moved to Fayette county with her parents, and there met and married Isaac Miller, with whom she returned to Cass county. She also is deceased. She and her husband became the parents of two sons: Alvin, who died when he was ten years of age; and Edward E.
The boyhood of Edward E. Miller was filled with hard work, as being the only son left to his parents, he was relied upon as his father's assistant in the work of the farm. Clearing, grubbing, plowing, plant- ing, harvesting, and the thousand and one other duties that fall to the farmer's lot, all had a place in the youth of our subject. It is not to be supposed that he had much time for his studies, but they were not neglected, and being an ambitious and enterprising youth, and quick to learn, he made the most of his opportunities and gained as good an edu- cation as many who had far better chances. His first schoolroom was in the old Hubler school in Deer Creek township, but he completed his studies in Young America, following which he turned his whole atten- tion to his farm work. On attaining his majority, he embarked upon a career of his own, and so faithfully has he labored that his sixty-two- acre tract is now one of the most valuable of its size in the township. A friend of progress along all lines, Mr. Miller has introduced modern methods, ideas and machinery into his work and his well-tilled fields yield him a golden harvest for the work expended upon them, while the fine condition of his stock shows what may be accomplished along that line by the man of ability, industry and perseverance. He has had no reason to regret, his choice of callings, for in addition to having won material success, he has also gained and retained the esteem and respect of his fellow citizens and the warm regard of a wide circle of personal friends.
In 1896 Mr. Miller was unite din marriage with Miss Nellie Beamer, daughter of John and Margaret (Bell) Beamer, the former a retired merchant of Walton. They have no children. Mr. Miller has been prominent in fraternal matters as a member of Young America Lodge No. 346, in which he has passed all the chairs. He holds the office of past chancellor of Knights of Pythias, and has represented his lodge in the Grand Lodge of the state, at Indianapolis.
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ORMUS L. HARRINGTON. As a professioanl photographer Mr. Har- rington has a reputation not only through Cass county, but is one of the ablest men in his work in the state of Indiana. In the photographic competition he won the state honors in 1906, 1907 and 1908, and won the state honors in Illinois in 1912.
Ormus L. Harrington was born July 2, 1868, in East Alburgh, Ver- mont, and is of an old American family. His parents were Hardy War- ner and Anne Stuart (Thompson) Harrington. His father was a native of Alburgh Springs, Vermont, and the mother of South Hero, Vermont. The father is now living retired in Wilmette, Illinois.
Mr. Harrington received his early education at Burlington, Vermont, and has lived in Cass county, since 1889, his home since that date hav- ing been in Logansport. He learned his business as a photographer at Albany, New York, and his studio in Logansport has for many years been recognized as the place where could be obtained the most artistic and satisfying work in Logansport and Cass county.
At Butler, Indiana, August 11, 1892, Mr. Harrington married Mae Robinson, a daughter of John James and Louie Elizabeth (Callaway) Robinson, well known farming people of Cass county. Mrs. Harring- ton is a member of the Christian church of Logansport. Fraternally Mr. Harrington affiliates with the Masonic order, being a Knight Temp- lar, and also with the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, and the Independent Order of Foresters.
T. EDWARD MINNICK. A brother of the present county treasurer of Cass county and one of the leading farmers of Tipton township, Ed- ward Minnick is a life long resident of Cass county, and belongs to that substantial and honored family which has been resident here since the close of the Civil war.
Mr. Minnick's grandfather was Conrad Moenich, according to the German spelling of the name, and was born in Hesse-Cassel, Germany, whence he came to the United States during young manhood and settled in Pennsylvania. It was in Pennsylvania that Elias Minnick, the father of Edward, was born in 1843. Educated in Pennsylvania and acquiring the trade of a blacksmith he was nineteen years of age when the Civil war came on, and he enlisted in Company K of the Ninth In- diana Infantry, his enlistment having been made at La Porte, Indiana. He went through the war as a member of the eastern army, and subse- quently of the Army of the Cumberland, and fought at Corinth, Iuka, Murfreesboro and Pittsburg Landing, at the battle of Chickamagua where he was captured and for several months incarcerated at Ander- sonville, and finally released from this Confederate prison to receive his honorable discharge from the army. After the war Elias Minnick settled in Tipton township of Cass county, and the remainder of his life was devoted to the quiet pursuits of agriculture. He was a Demo- crat in politics, but never entered public life, and he held no desire for an official position. For many years he was one of the popular mem- bers of the Grand Army of the Republic, and his church was the Chris- tian, in which faith he died on April 14, 1892. His widow still survives and makes her home at Walton. Before her marriage she was Miss Elizabeth A. Lindesmith.
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A son of Elias and Elizabeth Minnick, Edward Minnick was born on the farm where he now resides, and which had been the homestead of his father, on the eighteenth day of July, 1869. He attended the local schools and was reared in this neighborhood, where after the period of boyhood he took up the sterner responsibilities of life as a farmer. His present estate consists of about eight acres of land, and is located some ten miles southeast of Logansport. His friends and associates have known him from boyhood, and in this one community he has led a life of quiet prosperity and substantial wealth, entitled to the high esteem of all who know him.
Mr. Minnick married Miss Effie Wingrave on February 28, 1894, a daughter of Frederick and Mary (Staggs) Wingrave. They are the parents of two children : Lyle Edward and Maude Merrill. The former is a member of the high school class of 1914 and the latter, who was graduated with the class of 1913, has taken up the advanced study of music. Mrs. Minnick was born in Cass county on October 30, 1873, and there was educated, fitting herself for the vocation of a school teacher and winning her teacher's certificate, although she never applied her- self to the work. The family attend the Methodist church.
MARCUS M. MORROW. Among the farmers of Cass county whose intelligent treatment of the soil has added materially to the agricultural prestige of this section stands M. M. Morrow, the owner of an eighty- acre farm in Adams township. Belonging to the new school of farming men, who have proven that modern methods and machinery and scien- tific measures obtain far better results than the old hit-or-miss style, he is gaining a full measure of success from his labors, and as a citizen he is known as one who has the welfare of his community closely at heart. Mr. Morrow is a native son of Cass county, and was born on a farm in Bethlehem township, on January 18, 1874, a son of Abner and Marguerite (Teel) Morrow.
Abner Morrow was likewise born in Indiana, and during the Civil war he enlisted in an Indiana regiment of volunteers, fighting bravely through the war in the defense of the Union. At the close of the war he again took up his vocation of agriculturist, and he was so engaged dur- ing the remainder of his active career. He was one of the highly re- spected citizens of his community, and one who took an abiding inter- est in the success and activities of the Republican party all his days. He was a faithful member and a liberal supporter of the Baptist church. His wife passed away in 1904.
M. M. Morrow received his education in the public schools of Beth- lehem township, and was reared to agricultural pursuits and taught in his home the benefits to be derived from a life of industry and integ- rity. On attaining his majority, he secured eighty acres of land from his father in Adams township, purchasing a part of the tract, and this he has continued to cultivate up to the present time, his success being in every way commensurate with the extent of his labors. He has placed thereon all of its many improvements with the exception of the resi- dence, and he has a comfortable home, fitted with modern conveniences, and located on Hoover rural free delivery route No. 20. Mr. Morrow has never entered the political arena as an aspirant for public office, but
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displayed his publie spirit on various occasions when he has stanchly supported movements for the advancement of good government in his community. He was affiliated with the Republican party until the cam- paign of 1912, when he cast his lot in with the newly organized Pro- gressive party. He is a consistent member of the Baptist church, where both he and his wife have numerous friends.
On November 4, 1894, Mr. Morrow was married to Miss Jennie Fisher, and they have since made their home on the pretty homestead place which is theirs, and which as familiarly known as "Old Reliable Stock Farm."
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON TUCKER. This venerable man, now in the seventy-eighth year of his age, who with firm step and unclouded mind still walks the streets and attends to his daily routine of affairs, has, during his long and useful life in Cass county, witnessed almost its entire development and borne a share in the starting course of its progress. Although he is now retired from active business, and lives quietly on his neatly-cultivated tract of twenty-one acres, located just off the Logansport and Marion pike, about four miles southeast of Logansport, he still manifests a keen and intelligent interest in all that affects the welfare of his native county, and is widely and favorably known as a man of progress and public spirit. William Henry Harrison Tucker was born November 9, 1835, in Clay township Cass county, In- diana, and is a son of James and Charlotte (Pursell) Tucker. His father, a native of Virginia, moved to Ohio in young manhood, and from that state came to Cass county in 1829, here spending the re- mainder of his life in agricultural pursuits. He and his wife had seven children, namely: John P., Harvey, Eleanor, Mary, Benjamin, Moses and William Henry Harrison. The last named is the only mem- ber of this family now living.
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