USA > Indiana > Cass County > History of Cass County, Indiana : From the earliest time to the present > Part 45
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SAMUEL A. CUSTER was born in Washington County, Penn., October 31, 1818, and is the fourth son of George and Mary ( Wise) Custer, natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania, respectively. His paternal ancestry were of English origin, and on the maternal side he is descended from the German stock. Mr. Custer was raised on a farm and enjoyed but few opportunities for improving his mind, and those of an elementary character. He attended the common schools at intervals during the years of his minority, but subse- quently obtained a valuable practical education by coming in con- tact with business men in various business capacities. He was early thrown upon his own resources, and for a number of years worked at various occupations, chief among which were carpenter-
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ing, brick-laying and cistern-building, in all of which he was more than ordinarily successful. He came to Indiana in 1839 and pur- chased land in Wayne Township, Fulton County, adjacent to the Cass County line, and lived upon the same for a period of seventeen years. At the expiration of that time he moved to Logansport and engaged in farming, and later in the manufacture of brick and drain tile, which he carried on successfully until 1880, when he disposed of his manufacturing interests and retired from active life. He was married on the 4th of March, 1841, to Miss Hannah Jenkins, of Jefferson County, Ohio, a union blessed with the birth of five chil- dren, only one of whom, Elvira, wife of Ed. Jamison, is now living. The names of those deceased are Martha J., Mary E., David M. and Albert N. Mr. Custer has been a very active business man, and is justly entitled to a place among the successful and self-made men of Cass County. He is a zealous member of the Christian Church, to which he has belonged for many years, and is a man against whose moral character no taint of suspicion has ever rested. In politics he is a supporter of the Democratic party.
JOHN DAVIS, retired farmer and prominent citizen of Logans- port, was born March 7, 1817, in Butler County, Ohio. His par- ents, Benjamin and Jane (Mckinstry ) Davis, were farmers by oc- cupation, and natives, respectively, of Virginia and Kentucky. The ancestors on the paternal side were French-Irish, having immi- grated to America in the early days of its history. His grandfather, Benjamin Davis, Sr., was born in Virginia, but early moved to Ohio, having been one of the pioneers of that State. William McKins- try, maternal grandfather, was a native of Ireland and an early settler of Kentucky. John Davis was raised on a farm, and the early death of his father threw him upon his own resources. At the age of fifteen he began learning the brick-layer's trade at Ham- ilton, Ohio, at which he served a three years' apprenticeship. He worked at the trade until his twenty-second year, and then moved to Preble County, Ohio, and engaged in agricultural pursuits, which he carried on in that county until 1847. He came to Cass County, Ind., the latter year, and settled in Deer Creek Township, where he cleared two farms and where he resided until 1865. By his appli- cation to farm work he established those habits of industry and fru- gality which have insured his success in after life. While actively engaged in agricultural pursuits, Mr. Davis was regarded as a typical farmer. His thorough system of tillage, the order of his fences, the well-cared-for condition of the fields, all demonstrated his intelligent management and substantial thrift. He early manifested considerable interest in political affairs, and in 1862 was elected on the Democratic ticket senator for the counties of Cass, Howard and Pulaski. At the expiration of his term as senator he returned to his farm, and in 1864 was elected sheriff of Cass County,
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and re-elected again in 1866. In the fall of 1870 he moved back to his farm, but returned to the city in August of the following year. In 1872 he disposed of the greater part of his real estate, and purchased a beautiful farm within the city limits, upon which he resided for one year. He afterward disposed of this farm and removed to Logansport, where he at present resides, having practi- cally retired from active life. As a farmer and business man and in public life Mr. Davis has always been regarded as a representative citizen of his town and county. He is a good financier and careful business man. His judgment is seldom wrong in matters of busi- ness policy, and he may be regarded as a notable example of the ex- ercise of those principles which win success. He has always been an uncompromising Democrat in politics, and is zealous in the ad- vancement of party measures, being recognized as one of the stand- ard bearers of Democracy in Cass County. He was married, June, 1837, to Miss Elizabeth Ditchler, of Clarke County, Ind., a union which has been blessed with the birth of the following children: Jane, deceased; Nicholas M .; Nancy A .; James P., member of the Thirty-ninth Indiana Infantry, died at Louisville in 1862: Benjamin C., killed at Atlanta, Ga., in 1864; John D. and Matikla M. Mr. Davis is a Mason of high standing, being one of the oldest Royal Arch Masons in northern Indiana. He and wife are members of the Methodist Church.
JOHN DAY, editor and proprietor of the Logansport Deutsche Zeitung, is a native of Germany, born at the town of Deidesheim, in the kingdom of Bavaria, February 4, 1844. He received his ed- ucation in different institutes in his native country, and, after trav- eling extensively in France and Switzerland, came to the United States, landing in New York in January, 1864. He resided in dif- ferent parts of this country; came to Logansport several years ago, and in October, 1882, established the Deutsche Zeitung, one of the most popular German newspapers of northern Indiana. Credit is due Mr. Day for the energy displayed in the management of the Zeitung, which from a very small beginning has reached a circula- tion of nearly 2,000. The paper is Democratic in politics, and wields a wide influence among the German cititzens of Cass and other counties.
SAMUEL F. DEMOSS, of the firm of Demoss & Skinner, was born in Clay Township, Cass County, August 10, 1851, and is the son of Peter J. and Lavina (Myers) Demoss, natives of Ohio. Peter Demoss was one of the pioneers of Cass County, moving here in an early day and settling in Clay Township. He was a farmer by occupation, and died in the year 1855. Samuel Demoss was reared to agricultural pursuits, received a good practical educa- tion in the public schools of his native township, and began life as a farmer, which vocation he carried on until 1581. In that year he
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engaged as salesman in the general store of his brother-in-law, J. B. Skinner, at Tampico, Howard Co., Ind., where he remained about one year. He then effected a partnership with Mr. Skinner in the gents' furnishing business at Logansport, and the firm thus formed still continues. Their place of business is on Pearl Street, next to the postoffice, and their stock of goods is one of the best and most complete of its kind in the city. Mr. Demoss has made many friends since coming to Logansport, and can be appropriately classed with the city's active young business men. He owns a beautiful farm, four miles from the city, in Clay Township, which, with his business, yields him a handsome income. He is a mem- ber of the Logan Grays Military Company, and also belongs to the Uniform Rank of the K. of P., of which he is at present Commander. In December, 1872, he married Miss Marilla M. Skinner, daughter of Daniel Skinner, which marriage has been blessed with the birth of two children: Nellie E. and Karl S.
JOHN F. DODDS. The subject of this sketch is a native of Fayette County, Ky., born near Lexington, in that State, February 24, 1819, and in the fall of that year, with his parents, moved to and settled in Monroe County, Ind. He is the son of Samuel and Rachel (Rinehart) Dodds, natives, the former of Ireland, and the latter of Pennsylvania, of German extraction. John F. received his education in Bloomington, entering the State University at that place in 1836, and graduating, in that institution, in 1841. In the fall of that year he came to Logansport and commenced the study of law in the office of Biddle & Stuart. He was admitted to the prac- tice of his chosen profession in 1843. In 1848 he was elected judge of the probate court of Cass County, but in 1850 he resigned that position, and ran for county auditor on the Whig ticket that year. He was elected then, and became his own successor at the next, and afterward for the third term. In this last instance, finding himself ineligible, he resigned, and, a successor being chosen in the person of Daniel W. Tomlinson, he served as deputy auditor under him for a period of two years. He was again elected auditor in 1870, and served another full term; subsequently he served as deputy auditor, under Robert R. Carson, a further term of four years, making in all twenty-two years' active duty in that office as principal and deputy, becoming, as a consequence, one of the best posted officers of the county in that department. In the meantime, however, he was appointed revenue collector for the Ninth Collection District of In- diana by President Lincoln in 1862, but was removed in 1866 by Mr. Johnson, who succeeded to the presidency after Mr. Lincoln's death. He then became revenue assessor for Cass County, and con- tinued in that office until 1870. He was married, May 16, 1844, to Miss Alice M. Hars, daughter of Robert Hars, who came to Cass County as an Indian trader in 1828, and consequently is one among
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the oldest of the female residents of this city. As the issue of this marriage, seven children were born to them: Ellen, Louisa, Charles (deceased ), Ada. Carrie, John and May. Of the daughters, Louisa is married to Charles F. Ranch, of the firm of Walker & Ranch, of this city, and Ada, married to James F. Stutesman, of Peru, Ind. During the past few years Mr. Dodds has been engaged in the abstract and conveyancing business, with an excellent reputation for accuracy and efficiency. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity in the subordinate and higher degrees. is also a Knight Templar, and a member of the I. O. O. F. Mr. Dodds is an active member of the Broadway Methodist Church, and has been a member of the board of trustees for that church since 1852.
WILLIAM DOUGLASS. Prominent among the active busi- ness men of Cass County is the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. Mr. Douglass was born August 4, 1815, in Miami County, Ohio, and is the youngest son of David and Elizabeth (Flory ) Douglass, natives, respectively, of Pennsylvania and Ken- tucky. The paternal ancestors were natives of Scotland, but early came to America and settled in Pennsylvania in colonial times. His ancestors on the mother's side were Dutch, and were among the substantial residents of Kentucky in an early day. William Doug- lass spent the first sixteen years of his life in Ohio, and, at the end of that time, in 1832, came to Indiana with an older brother, Joseph Douglass, and, after a short time spent in Cass County, found em- ployment with an Indian tribe near the present town of Warsaw. He farmed for the red-men, hunted with them. participated in all their games and sports, learned their language, which he has never forgotten, and remained with them the greater part of three years. Returning to Cass County in 1835, he worked at different vocations, and for some time did teaming between Logansport and Michigan City, a business attended with many difficulties in that early day. He afterward engaged in farming, which he carried on until 1850, when he abandoned agricultural pursuits, and began boating on the Wabash & Erie Canal, running his own boat between the cities of Terre Haute and Toledo. He followed the canal about seven years, and during that time did a successful business, freighting goods and grain to and from all the cities and towns along the water-way. On severing his connection with the boating business he engaged as traveling agent for a Detroit fur house, taking Indiana as his terri- tory, over which he traveled very extensively for a period of twenty- one years, during which time he purchased more furs than any other man in the State. In 1878 he quit the Detroit firm and engaged with a Chicago house, for which he bought until 1882. In 1876 he engaged in the agricultural implement business, which he has since continued, and in which he has been very snecessful. Mr. Douglass did a lucrative business as a fur trader, and by industry and careful
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management succeeded in accumulating a handsome property, which is now among the most valuable in the county. Mr. Douglass is a true type of the successful self-made men of Indiana. Beginning life's battle in a field of adversity, with the aid of little or no cap- ital and a meager experience, wholly dependent upon personal effort, his good sense, sound judgment and discreet management have forced success out of what, to many others, would have been certain defeat, and, at the same time, secured to him a prominent position among the leading business men of Cass and surrounding counties. He has been three times married; the first time, Marchi 16, 1837, to Miss Amanda Thomas, a native of Kentucky, and daughter of Henry Thomas. Five children were born to this mar- riage, the following of whom are living: James, Frank and Marion, Mrs. Douglass died in May, 1852. In the following year Mr. Doug- lass' second marriage was solemnized with Rosanna Trapp, of Penn- sylvania, who died in 1882. Eight children were the results of this union-two living: Edward and Charles. Mr. Douglas married his present wife, Mrs. Sarah R. Neff, in February, 1883. He is now seventy-one years of age, and possesses, in a marked degree, all his faculties, both physical and mental. He is an ard- ent supporter of the Republican party, but not a partisan in the sense of seeking office. He identified himself with the Disciples Church a number of years ago, and is still a consistent member of that society. His wife is also a member of the same church, and one of the active workers in the Logansport congregation.
PETER DUNKEL. Conspicuous among the early residents and active business men of Logansport is Peter Dunkel, who was born in Union County, Penn., December 5, 1805. His parents, Jacob and Mary (Shumaker) Dunkel, were also natives of Pennsyl- vania. Mr. Dunkel's early educational advantages were exceedingly limited, and he was thrown upon his own resources when quite young. At the age of seventeen he made a tour of the South, and spent some time in the States of Louisiana and Mississippi, working at his trade of paper-making, which he had previously learned in Pennsylvania. He came to Logansport in 1837, and engaged in the livery business, which he continued until about the year 1855. He then moved to a farm, followed agricultural pursuits until 1859, when he returned to the city, and one year later went to Tennessee for the purpose of engaging in the dry fruit business, but was pre- vented from so doing on account of the war. Returning to Logans- port he embarked in the grocery trade, which he carried on until 1876, doing a very extensive business during that period. He retired from active life in the latter year, and is now enjoying that quiet and repose which only those who have grappled with the world for over half a century know how to appreciate. Mr. Dunkel was married, in the fall of 1839, to Miss Amy Douglass, of Darke
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County, Ohio, to which marriage seven children have been born, three of whom-John, Emma and Lizzie-are living. Mr. Dunkel is a Democrat in politics, and cast his first vote, in Mississippi, for An- drew Jackson. He belongs to the I. O. O. F., being one of the old- est members of that fraternity in the city.
COL. JOHN B. DURET. Jean Baptiste Duret was born in the city of Detroit, Mich., January 22, 1796, the son of John Duret, who, up to a few years before the birth of John B., was a citizen of Quebec, primarily from France. While yet a young man, having a thorough business education, he commenced his career as a book- keeper in a large trading house in that city, where he remained some time, becoming in the meantime familiar with the details of the trade. In the fall of 1820 he left Detroit, came down the Wabash River and established a trading house on the left bank of the river just above the mouth of Rock Creek, in what is now Carroll County. He states, in giving an account of his early business career, that in August, 1520. having been employed as clerk at the headquarters of an ex- tensive fur company, he left Michilimackinac with goods, for the pur- pose of trading with the Indians on the Wabash. Transporting his goods from that island, by means of pirogues, along the southern shore of Lake Michigan, to the mouth of the St. Joseph's River, he ascended that stream to the trading house occupied by Alexander Coquillard, an Indian trader of considererable notoriety, at the present site of the city of South Bend, Ind., and thence by Indian pack-horses to Fort Wayne. At this point he remained a short time only, and in the fall of that year, he descended the Wabash and erected his trading house, as above stated. Just across the Wabash, and a little below, there was quite an extensive Pottawattomie vil- lage, which, with some others more remote, furnished him a very lucrative trade, the Indians supplying him with furs and peltries in exchange for such commodities as were most in demand by them. He was very popular among the natives, and won their confidence by his fair dealing and characteristic suavity of manner. Thus sit- uated, he continued in business there during the three years suc- ceeding. Leaving this point, he abandoned the Indian trade alto- gether and returned to Fort Wayne, where he remained until the spring of 1828, when, upon the removal of the Indian agency, he came to Logansport, at the instance of Gen. Tipton, then in charge of the agency at this place, and became the principal clerk in that establishment. Having located here, he was generally engaged in the discharge of duties pertaining to his position, attending treaties and payments in which Gen. Tipton was interested as agent, up to the time he was elected to the United States Senate. Meanwhile, during the earlier years of the county's history, when Indian trea- ties, and payments were of frequent occurrence, he was frequently called upon by the commissioners, Gen. Cass, Govs. Jennings and
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Ray, Gen. Tipton and others, on the part of the United States, to assume, for the time, his old position, for which he was so eminently qualified because of his long experience with the Indians and fa- miliarity with their wants. Upon the organization of the county, April 13, 1829, at the election of officers preliminary to the setting up of a distinct and separate local government, he was almost unan- imously elected clerk and recorder for the new county. He con- tinued to hold the position of clerk, being re-elected from time to time as the terms expired, until the time of his death, December 5, 1855, a period of twenty-six years, seven months and twenty-three days, being elected to the last term he would have been eligible to the position, under the Constitution of 1852, at the October election just preceding his death. Col. Duret was married to Miss Elizabetlı Bell, daughter of Maj. Daniel Bell, one of the earliest settlers in this county, and granddaughter of Capt. Spier Spencer, who was killed at the battle of Tippecanoe, on September 23, 1829. As the issue of this marriage he had seven children-two sons and five daughters. The sons were John B., Jr., who died a few years since, and James S. now a citizen of Peru, Ind. ; the daughters were (after marriage), Mrs. James S. Chapin, Mrs. D. H. Chase, Mrs. H. T. Manlove, Mrs. H. C. Eversole and Mrs. J. W. F. Liston-Mrs. Chapin, Eversole and Chase being now dead. In the spring or summer of 1830, about the time of the birth of his first child, Mary Ann, in order to record the birth of his first born in the sacred vol- ume, he purchased of a passing bookseller, a large family Bible, the first one brought to and purchased in Logansport. It is now in an excellent state of preservation and is esteemed of special value be- cause it contains a complete register of the family births, marriages and deaths, and remains in the keeping of his widow, who is still alive and in the enjoyment of fair health and of devotion to the com- fort of her children. In politics Col. Duret was a Democrat, in religion a Catholic, having been raised and educated in that faith. He was a bright Mason, one of the charter members of Tipton Lodge, No. 33, Logan Royal Arch Chapter, No. 2, in Logansport, and of the Commandery of Knights Templar at La Fayette. He was also a member of the I. O. O. F.
JOB B. ELDRIDGE, deceased. Prominent among the early residents of Logansport was Job B. Eldridge, who for over a half century was perhaps as well and favorably known as any man in Cass County. Mr. Eldridge was a native of New Jersey, born May 4, 1804, to Job and Deborah (Wood) Eldridge. At the age of ten he went to Philadelphia to learn the tailor's trade, and, after having become proficient in the same, followed the business in that city until the year 1827. He then came West and located at Richmond, Ind., where he remained only a few months, moving in the fall of the same year to Logansport, which place he ever afterward made his home. On reaching this city he at once opened a tailor's shop,
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but soon engaged in the dry goods business, which he carried on in connection with his trade until about the year 1840. He was elected sheriff of Cass County in 1834, filling the office four years, and was also associate judge from 1840 to 1844. He was again elected sheriff in 1859, and later held the office of trustee for Eel Township until his death, which occurred May 25, 1880. He served in the State Legislature from 1838 till 1842, and against his official record no word of suspicion was ever uttered. Mr. Eldridge was made a . Mason at the age of twenty-one, joined the Odd Fellows fraternity about the same time, and at his death was probably the oldest mem- ber of the latter order then in the United States, having been an active member for a period of fifty-five years. He was a Repub- lican in politics, and always took an active interest in the delibera- tions of his party in Cass County. July 14, 1835, was solemnized his marriage with Miss Jane Barr, of Franklin County, Ohio, by whom he is father of three children: Tacy (deceased), Mary and Lydia ..
J. T. ELLIOT, the subject of this sketch, was born in Cam- bridge City, Ind., March 24, 1844, son of William and Eliza (Bran- son ) Elliott. Mr. Elliott was educated in the schools of his native city, and at the early age of twelve became a salesman in the mer- cantile house of his brother Dewitt C. Elliott, in whose employ he remained until attaining his majority, acquiring a thorough knowl- edge of the business in the meantime. In 1865 he embarked in the dry goods business, in partnership with A. R. Shroyer, and sub- sequently purchased the grocery store of his brother at New Castle, Ind., at which place he continued in the mercantile business until 1870. In the latter year he went to Chicago, and accepted the posi- tion of book-keeper in a pork-packing house, and after remaining in that capacity one year, came to Logansport, and engaged with the wholesale grocery house of Elliott, Pogue & Shroyer, in which he subsequently purchased an interest, and with which he is still iden- tified. In all his business transactions Mr. Elliott has shown him- self to be a man of discreet judgment, scrupulous integrity and gen- tlemanly demeanor. He has been successful in all his business en- terprises, and the wholesale house with which he is at present con- nected is one of the largest of the kind in the northern part of the State. Mr. Elliott was married, May 16, 1865, to Miss Caroline Shroyer, of New Castle, Ind .; to which marriage the following chil- dren have been born: Harry S., Hettie and Thusie Elliott. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
M. D. FANSLER, attorney at law, was born in Wyandotte County, Ohio, June 25, 1857, and is the son of Dr. David N. and Mary D. Fansler. He was educated in a printing office, practiced law in Logansport since 1879, and is now prosecuting attorney, elected in 1884. He was married on the 4th of May, 1881, to Miss Nannie Mulcahey, of Logansport.
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DR. GRAHAM N. FITCH, the subject of this sketch, was born in LeRoy, Genesee Co., N. Y., on the 5th of December, 1810, and is said to have been the first white child born in that village. His father's name was Frederick, that of his mother, Mary (Capen) Fitch. Inheriting from his ancestors a well-developed physical sys- tem and a vigorous intellect, he was allowed all the educational privileges the locality and vicinity afforded, which, while they were not of the highest order, nevertheless were sufficient to lay the foundation of a career of usefulness. At an early date, having chosen the medical profession as the channel in which his life voy- age was to be made, he commenced study with his father and Dr. Asa Freeman, subsequently completing his course with Dr. Town- send, of Geneva, N. Y. Soon after his entrance upon the practice of his profession, he came westward and selected Logansport as his fu- ture home. With such intention he settled here on the 4th of July, 1834, and has been a constant resident ever since. His professional career has been singularly successful, the reputation being awarded him as one of the most skillful surgeons and thorough practitioners in the West. That he was entitled to such credit, no one has at- tempted to controvert. Throughout the upper Wabash Valley his name and fame are household words. In 1844 he accepted a pro- fessorship in Rush Medical College, at Chicago, Ill., occupying the chair of theory and practice during the years 1844-47. At the end of the session in this year he resigned his position. While thus engaged, he maintained his popularity and enlarged his sphere of usefulness. Though not naturally a politician, Dr. Fitch, from force of circumstances, was drawn, perhaps not unwillingly, into the arena of politics, where his commanding talent and energy marked him as the people's choice. In 1836, and again in 1839, he was chosen to represent Cass County in the State Legislature. As a legislator in the State councils he proved himself equal to the re- sponsibility intrusted to him. Subsequently, at the election in Au- gust, 1847, he was chosen to represent this district in the Lower House of Congress, holding the position until 1852. During his membership there he was active and efficient in the discharge of his duties, earning the reputation of a discreet legislator. His legisla- tive capacity was further tested by an experience in the Senate of the United States, commencing in 1858 and ending with the session of 1860-61. The honorable distinction acquired in subordinate leg- islative positions was not dimmed by his senatorial experience. This ended his active political life, but he leaves a record of which poster- ity need not be ashamed. Although a Democrat in his political affil- iation, he esteemed principles above mere partizanship, and was not slow to manifest disapprobation when his party seemed disposed to pursue a course of policy in antagonism with his better judgment. In the triangular contest for the presidency between Mr. Lincoln and
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