USA > Indiana > Cass County > History of Cass County, Indiana : From the earliest time to the present > Part 44
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
hard work from various departments of science and literature. Poet, scientist, jurist and philosopher. it may be truly said of Horace P. Biddle, that he is one of the notable men of his day and generation.
PROF. JAMES C. BLACK, superintendent of the Logansport city schools, is a native of Hendricks County, Ind., and the son of John and Virginia T. (Campbell) Black ; parents born in Kentucky. of Scotch and Irish lineage, respectively. Prof. Black was raised on a farm and obtained a rudimentary education in the public schools of his native county. He made rapid progress in his various stud- ies, and at the early age of seventeen was sufficiently advanced to obtain a teacher's license. Actuated by a desire to complete his education, he engaged in teaching for the purpose of raising the means to defray the expense of a college course, and at the age of nineteen became a student of Butler University, where he pursued his studies for a period of three years. On quitting the university he entered the State Normal School at Terre Haute, and attended the same from 1874 until 1876, graduating the latter year. After graduation he engaged in teaching in the schools of Marion County, and later was employed as tutor in the Institution for the Instruc- tion of the Blind, at Indianapolis, a position he filled in an eminently satisfactory manner from 1880 until 1883. In 1884, he was chosen principal of the Logansport High School, and in June, 1886, was elected superintendent of the city schools, to succeed Prof. J. K. Watts. As a teacher Prof. Black has few equals in Indiana, and his name is well known in educational circles of the State. He is a fin- ished scholar, a polished gentleman, and possesses the necessary traits of character which insure his success and popularity. He has been an active member of the Christian Church for a number of years, and at the present time is superintendent of the Christian Sunday-school, of Logansport. Prof. Black was married December 26, 1877. to Miss Ida B. Whitsett, of Boone County, Ind.
JASPER N. BOOTH. Conspicuous among the active business men of Logansport is J. N. Booth, son of DeHart and Nancy ( Cald- well) Booth, who was born in Noble Township, Cass County, Octo- ber- 26, 1843. His parents are natives of Harrison County, Va., and were among the early settlers of Cass County, moving to Logans- port in the year 1828. DeHart Booth worked at the carpenter's trade until 1838, at which time he moved to Noble Township, a short distance north of Logansport. J. N. Booth was raised to agricult- ural pursuits, and received his educational learning in the district schools of his native township. He remained on the farm until twenty-eight years of age, at which time (1873) he came to Logans- port and engaged in the coal business, which he carried on very suc- cessfully until the spring of 1881. In the latter year he took an in- terest in the Logan Milling Company, of which he was made secre- tary, a position he held until elected president of the company in
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1885. The milling enterprise with which Mr. Booth is identified is one of the leading industries of Logansport, manufacturing a supe- rior grade of flour, much in demand throughout the State. Mr. Booth gives his entire attention to the mill, and much of the enter- prise's success is due to his able management. Mr. Booth was mar- ried October 23, 1872, to Miss Mattie, adopted daughter of William H. Standley, of Logansport. He is a member of the K. of P. and a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party.
FERDINAND E. BORGES. Mr. Borges was born in the city of Logansport May 13, 1864, and is the son of Ernest and Anna (Luy) Borges, natives of Holland and the State of Ohio, respec- tively. Ernest Borges came to Logansport a number of years ago and engaged in the drug business, which he carried on until his death in 1874. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and for many years a leading business man of the city. Ferdinand Borges received his rudimentary education in the schools of Logansport, and in 1881 entered the Pennsylvania Military Academy, Chester, Penn., which he attended four years, graduating June, 1885. Mr. Borges' career as a student is exceptionally brilliant, and his rec- ord is one of which he feels deservedly proud. In November, 1885, he engaged in the wholesale saddlery hardware, at Logansport, with J. H. Neal, under the firm name of Neal & Borges. Their business house is on Broadway, and their stock of goods is one of the largest and most complete of the kind in the State.
STEPHEN B. BOYER, native of New Bloomfield, Perry Co., Penn., and son of William and Mariah (Fritz) Boyer, was born December 7, 1842. His parents were natives of York Co., Penn., and of German descent, their ancestors coming to America prior to the adoption of the Federal Constitution. Mr. Boyer's education- al training was somewhat limited, owing to the death of his father, which early threw him upon his own resources. At the age of twelve he went on a farm and three years later engaged with the Pennsyl- vania Canal Company, for which he worked for a period of three years. At the end of that time he accepted a position as salesman in a grocery house at Duncannon, Penn., in which capacity he continued until the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted (1861) in the Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry. He served with this regiment until mustered out, December, 1864, and during that time participated in a number of engagements, in one of which he received a severe wound in the left hand. After his discharge he entered a commer- cial college in Philadelphia, where he took a thorough business course. He came to Logansport in 1865, and engaged as book- keeper for C. B. Knowlton, and was afterward promoted superiu- tendent of the manufacturing establishment of Knowlton & Dolan, which position he held until 1885. He assisted in rebuilding the Logan Mills, in 1882, and was president of the company for three
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years. In June, 1885, he was elected secretary and treasurer of the company, the duties of which position he is discharging at the present time. Mr. Bowyer is a successful business man and has won many friends since coming to Logansport. He is a Republican in politics and an active member of the G. A. R. In September, 1872, was solemnized his marriage with Miss Josephine Goodwin, of Logansport-a union blessed with the birth of three children, viz. : Alexander, Mary J. and Helen P.
COL. THOMAS H. BRINGHURST, of Logansport, was born in Philadelphia, Penn., in August, 1819, and of American and Irish parentage. He received a common school education, and at the age of sixteen was apprenticed to a cabinet-maker for five years. He then spent a year in Alabama, and from there removed to Dayton, Ohio, where for four years he worked at his trade. In January, 1848, he removed to Logansport, built a saw-mill at the mouth of Eel River, and manufactured fine veneers and lumber for the Eastern market. In May, 1846, he enlisted in the First Regiment Indiana Volunteers and served under Gen. Taylor in the Mexican war. Return- ing to Logansport, in 1847, he resumed work at his trade; in 1849, at the solicitation of leading Whigs, he purchased the office of the Logansport Telegraph and established the Journal, which he edited until 1870. In 1861 he assisted in organizing the Forty-sixth Reg- iment Indiana Volunteers, and was commissioned major by Gov. Morton. In May, 1862 he was promoted to lientenant-colonel, and in August of the same year he became colonel, owing to the resig- nation of Col. G. N. Fitch. His regiment was with Gen. Grant on the Mississippi River as far as Vicksburg and in the campaigns on the Bayou Teche and Red River. He was mustered out in 1865, and returned to Logansport. He immediately resumed his position on the Journal, and continued it until December, 1869, when he was appointed special agent in the Postoffice Department. In 1876 he resigned his position, and in 1877 became a partner in the manu- facturing firm of Charles Kahlo & Co., now the Logansport Manu- facturing Company. As an editor of the Journal Mr. Bringhurst speedily attained a leading position in the Whig ranks in this sec- tion of the State, which he fully maintained in his subsequent similar relations to the Republican party. As a speaker he is plain and forcible. He is a thinker and worker, rather than a merely enter- taining orator. His army record is bright with duty intelligently and faithfully performed. By his kindness to the men of his com- mand he won their warmest regard, and by his vigilance, ability and energy secured the esteem of his superiors. The same traits dis- tinguished his connection with the civil service, placing him in the highest ranks of his official grade.
W. H. BRINGHURST, leading druggist of Logansport, was born in October, 1824, in the city of Philadelphia, and is the second
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son of Robert R. and Mary W. ( Wood) Bringhurst, who were natives of Pennsylvania and Ireland, respectively. Mr. Bringhurst grew to manhood in his native city, received a good education in the high school of the same and began life for himself as an employe in a commission house, in which capacity he continued until about 1849. In that year he went to California, where he engaged in the com- mission business and mining, and where he remained for a period of five years, meeting with good success in his various enterprizes during that time. He returned to Philadelphia in 1855, and one year later came to Logansport, Ind., and established his present drug store, which is one of the most prosperous business houses in the city. For thirty-one years his business has been uninterrupted by change except in its extension and magnitude; and with his constant growth of favor and confidence with the public and continued volume and variety of sales, he is to-day regarded as the leading druggist of Cass County. His house is widely and favorably known, both in the business circles of his own State and the commercial centers of other parts of the country as well. Mr. Bringhurst was, January, 1860, united in marriage with Miss Anna Torr, of Philadelphia, who has borne him five children, three of whom are living-namely: Harry W., Alfred T. and Josey. Mr. Bringhurst is a Republican in politics, ready and earnest in the support of his political convic- tions, but has never been an aspirant for official honors. He takes an active interest in all enterprises for the public good, and is an ardent friend and patron of the public schools.
CHAUNCEY CARTER, the subject of this sketch, was born March 23, 1796, in what was then the parish of Canaan, now the town of New Canaan, Fairfield Co., Conn. He was the eldest son of Ebenezer and Rhoda Carter, and was of the fifth generation from his ancestor, Samuel Carter, who came from London, England, to Boston, Mass., at the age of twelve years. He was married in 1690, and was living in Deerfield, Mass., with his family when the town was taken and burned by the Indians, February 29, 1704. When the town was attacked he was absent from home, and his wife and children were taken captives. The mother and two children were slain on the way, and the remaining children taken to Canada. One of the sons, Ebenezer, was stolen from the Indians by merchants trading between Albany and Montreal, and restored to his father. The following year (1705) they moved to Norwalk, Conn., and set- tled. Ebenezer afterward married, and in 1731 moved to the parish of Canaan, then a part of Norwalk, where he reared a numerous family. In 1733 he received a commission as captain from Joseph Talcott, then acting governor of the Colony of Connecticut during the reign of George II. His youngest son, John, was an active pa- triot during the Revolutionary war, and received a commission as captain from Jonathan Trumbull, then captain-general and com-
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mander-in-chief of Connecticut. His youngest son, Ebenezer, settled near him, living in the first framed house built in the town, where his large family of children were born and reared, Chauncey being the oldest. This old homestead of the Carter family still remains, and is occupied. The date of its erection is not known, but 140 years ago it was the residence of the first minister of the first church of the parish. Chauncey received his early education at the public schools, and at the age of twenty-one years left the paternal man- sion, going thence to Walkill, Orange Co., N. Y., where he en- gaged in teaching school, subsequently following the same occu- pation at Harrisburg. Penn. Leaving there he went to Corydon, the then capital of the new State of Indiana, and for a time gave his attention to commercial pursuits. At this place he made the acquaintance of Gen. John Tipton, who ever after was his stanch and confidential friend. Less than two years afterward he became a citizen of Fort Wayne, then the central point of the Indian trade in northern Indiana, whither Gen. Tipton had preceded him and prepared the way for a lucrative business. Soon after his settle- ment at Fort Wayne he received an appointment from the United States Government as surveyor of Indian land grants along the margin of the Wabash River. This engaged his attention, at inter- vals, until the conclusion of the treaties with the Pottawattomies and Miamis, in October, 1826, when an enlarged field was opened for him in the vicinity of what is now Cass County. He was thus engaged during the greater part of 1827, and afterward in 1838. Having previously secured the chief interest, in the section of land granted to George Cicott at the falls of Eel River, on April 10, 1828, he surveyed and laid out the original plat of Logansport. Afterward, when the county had been organized, the town was made the seat of justice of the new county. At the election of officers in April, 1829, Mr. Carter was chosen a member of the first board of county commissioners, of which body he became the leading mem- ber. In the fall of 1828, with Gen. Tipton and others, he was in- strumental in establishing the Eel River Seminary. Again, soon after Logansport had been selected as the seat of justice of the county, he was appointed postmaster, the successor of Hugh B. MeKeen, who was the first one at this point. When Mr. Carter's term of office as a member of the first board of county commission- ers had been completed, he was elected judge of the probate court, and entered upon the discharge of its duties at the November term, 1832. He held this office two years. Upon the death of Gen. Tipton, in April, 1839, Mr. Carter was appointed one of his admin- istrators. and continued in that position until 1850, when he re- signed the trust. Some time in 1847 he became superintendent of a division of the Wabash & Erie Canal, which he held until 1860 or 1861. In the early days of the county's history he frequently
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held the office of county surveyor, and subsequently of city engi- neer. At the October election in 1862, he was chosen treasurer of the county, but did not enter upon the discharge of its duties until September 7, 1863. In the discharge of the duties of this office, as of those pertaining to every other trust reposed in him, he brought to bear this strict integrity of character and extensive ac- quaintance with the management of financial affairs. He had not completed his term of service as treasurer at the time of his death, which occurred December 4, 1864. Mr. Carter was married on May 8, 1828, to Miss Mary Holman, daughter of Joseph and Lydia Holman, formerly of Wayne County, Ind., by whom he is father of six children: Rhoda, the deceased wife of the late Joseph Culbertson; Eliza, George, William and Edwin, who all died in childhood; and Emma, wife of Fred W. Munson, of this city, the only child now living. His widow died in this city November 2, 1880. Chauncey Carter was a devoted Mason, one of the original members of Tipton Lodge, No. 33, of Logan Chapter, No. 2, and of Logans- port Council, No. 11, in all which branches of the order he was honored with the highest official positions, and was also a member of the several grand bodies of the State. He was probably one of the most skilled workmen in this jurisdiction. As a citizen, his private character was in all respects above reproach, while his whole life, in one position of trust or another, was devoted to the public weal. He was a man of decided convictions, with the cour- age and ability to maintain them-one of those sturdy pioneers who, in the course of a long and useful life, leave their mark upon the times and the communities wherein they dwell.
CHARLES A. CLARK, proprietor of the Logansport paper- mill, was born in the town of Morris, Grundy Co., Ill., October 6, 1851, and is the son of Roderick and Mary (Ryal) Clark, natives, respectively, of Massachusetts and Ireland. At the age of four years he was taken by his parents to La Salle County, Ill., where, until 1868, he lived on a farm, attending the public schools at inter- vals during that period. His common school training was sup- plemented by a course in Oberlin College, which he attended one year, and after quitting school he commenced the machinist trade at Marseilles, where he worked from 1870 till 1877. He was for several years ticket and freight agent on the Rock Island Road, a position he held until his removal to Logansport in 1880. He established the Logansport Paper Company in 1880, and later (1885) purchased the stock and became sole proprietor. He oper- ates the paper-mill on an extensive scale, employing 20 men, and has a large and lucrative trade throughout Indiana and all adjoin- ing States. Mr. Clark was married, June 28, 1876, to Miss Nellie A. Hill, of Peru, Ill. Two children have been born to this union: Roderick and Rexford. Mr. Clark is a member of the K. of P., and a Republican in politics.
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
EMANUEL A. CLEM. Mr. Clem is a native of Perry County, Ohio, and the youngest son of George and Catherine (Darst ) Clem, who were born in Maryland, of German descent. Mr. Clem was born October 15, 1825, and grew to manhood on a farm, with the rugged duties of which he early became familiar. He attended the com- mon schools of his native county for a number of years, but owing to delicate health was not permitted to get the education he desired. He has always been a great reader, however, and by coming in con- tact with business men, in his different business capacities, has ob- tained a practical education, such as books and schools fail to im- part. He came to Logansport in 1850, and engaged in the bakery business with his brother, George P. Clem, with whom he remained for a period of seven years. At the end of that time he became clerk in the Gehring House, in which capacity he continued until engaging in the livery business in 1872. He kept a stable on Broadway until 1876, at which time he removed to his present place on Eighth Street, where he is doing a prosperous business. Mr. Clem is a Republican in politics, but not a partisan in the sense of seeking official position.
ASA COLEMAN, M. D., son of Asa and Mary Coleman, natives of Connecticut and Maryland, respectively, was born March 26, 1833, at Troy, Ohio. His early educational privileges were such as the public schools of that day and locality afforded. During the progress of this primary course and immediately afterward, as a means of making his future course self-sustaining, he was in busi- ness for his father, and received regular wages. With the pecuniary capital thus acquired, and in the possession of a laudable ambition to drink more deeply at the fountain of knowledge, he entered college at Cincinnati, Ohio, where, in due time he graduated. Having completed his collegiate course he returned home and began to read medicine with his father, who was not then actively engaged in practice. Subsequently, in 1853, he came to Logansport, and en- gaged temporarily in the drug business with Charles Bruce, occu- pying all his spare time reading in the office of Dr. Fitch. He had previously, however, attended one course of lectures at Jefferson Medical College, in Philadelphia, Penn., and in 1854 he attended a second course, and graduated at the end of the session. Afterward he returned to Logansport, and was, for a short time, in business with his brother, Horace, then a resident here, and again entered the office of Dr. Fitch as a partner, which relation, with the excep- tion of about four years spent in the western Territories, has con- tinued from that time to the present. In 1857 he received the ap- pointment of physician and surgeon in the Indian Department, in Minnesota Territory, holding the position, with occasional intervals, for a period of about four years. During these intervals he spent a portion of his time in Dakota Territory, with the intention of be-
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coming a permanent settler. Returning from the West just prior to the commencement of the Rebellion, and when the call for vol- unteers made it necessary to prepare for the common defense he engaged at once procuring recruits for the service. In the spring of 1862 he was appointed assistant surgeon in the Forty-sixth Reg- iment, previously formed and mustered in at this place. The fol- lowing year, however, in order to prevent permanent disability, he resigned that position and returned home, resuming his professional relations with Dr. Fitch in the practice of medicine and surgery. Since that time, as before, he has continued to enjoy a well-merited reputation for success in his calling. He was appointed United States pension surgeon in 1866, and since that time has continued in that position, except during an interval of four or five years, and still holds the same. He was married, in December, 1864, to Miss Emma, daughter of Dr. G. N. Fitch, of this city, who has borne him three children: Harry Fitch, Hattie M. and Charles Den- by. Dr. Coleman's paternal grandfather, Asa, was a surgeon in the army during the war of the Revolution, and his father, of the same name with himself, was a surgeon in and during the war with Great Britain in 1812. Politically Dr. Coleman is a Democrat, and while he has heretofore, and does now, take an active interest in the political movements of the day, he is, nevertheless, not a politician.
DANIEL H. CONRAD, retired farmer and prominent citizen of Logansport, was born February 22, 1803, in Washington County, Penn., and is the son of John and Hannah ( Hackett) Conrad, natives, respectively, of Pennsylvania and Virginia. His paternal ancestors came from Germany many years ago, and were among the early residents of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Conrad was born of English parentage, her ancestors being among the early settlers of Virginia. Daniel Conrad was reared to manhood in his native county and enjoyed fair educational advantages in the common schools, which he attended at intervals during the years of his minority. He was raised to agricultural pursuits, and after reaching his majority began farming for himself, and continued the same in his native State until the year 1840. He then immigrated to Cass County, Ind., and settled in Adams Township, where he purchased a valua- ble tract of land and developed a good farm, which was his home until 1867. In that year he abandoned farming and removed to Logansport, where he has since resided in the enjoyment of that quiet and content which are only enjoyed by those who have suc- cessfully accomplished life's great mission. As a farmer he was a representative man in his community, and by his industry and care- ful management succeeded in accumulating a comfortable compe- tence. His great aim in life has been to be known as an honorable and trustworthy man, and no one has ever called in question the integrity of all his purposes. Mr. Conrad was educated in the
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Democratic school of politics, and cast his first vote for Andrew Jackson. While he is uncompromising in his political convictions, he numbers among his warmest personal friends many of the lead- ing Republicans of the county and city. Mr. Conrad was married, October, 1826, to Miss Sarah Custer, of Washington County, Penn., who was born in the year 1808. She is a distant relative of George Washington, and a most estimable lady in every respect. Mr. and Mrs. Conrad have had eight children, whose names are as follows: George, John, Susannah. David, Elizabeth, William, James P. and Mary E. Mr. Conrad is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and served as justice of the peace in Adams Township thirteen years. He has twenty-one grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren.
JOSEPH C. CORY (deceased) was born in Tippecanoe County, Ind., November 1, 1834, and was son of Nathan and Ruth (Cor- bett) Cory, natives of Ohio. Mr. Cory's ancestors came from England in an early day. and were among the early settlers of Ohio, where several members of the family still reside. Nathan Cory came to Cass County in 1834, and was one of the pioneers of Noble Township. He was a farmer by occupation, and departed this life about the year 1838. Joseph C. Cory, after the death of his father, went to live with an uncle in Chillicothe, Ohio, where for several years he found employment as workman in a warehouse. He after- ward learned civil engineering and assisted in surveying the first railroad in Minnesota, the Winona & St. Peter. He was for some time engaged in surveying in the States of Minnesota and Wiscon- sin, but in 1861 laid aside the theodolite for the musket, enlisting that year in the Second Wisconsin Infantry, with which he served until discharged, on account of poor health, nine months later. He was for some time mail agent on the Winona & St. Peter Railroad, and in 1865 came to Logansport and engaged in the butchering business, which he followed until his death, December 11, 1874. Mr. Cory was married, November 23, 1862, to Miss Anna M. Bunn, of Chester County, Penn., by whom he was father of one son, J. B. Cory, born August 29, 1867.
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