USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families > Part 30
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DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.
FIRST MEETING.
On the 12th of September the meeting was held at Auburn. Major S. WV. Sprott was appointed chairman, and T. C. Mays, secretary. Nelson Pren- tiss, of Noble county, was present, and was called upon to suggest a way to proceed to organize an old settlers' association, which he did after the man- ner followed in Noble county. He read a synopsis of the by-laws of the Noble County Old Settlers' Association, which were amended and adopted.
The following officers were elected for the year: Elder S. B. Ward, president; P. B. Nimmons, vice-president; W. H. Dills, secretary ; Cyrus Bowman, treasurer; J. E. Rose, biographer and librarian. Articles of asso- ciation were drawn up, in which it was stated that the association was to be called the Pioneers' Association of DeKalb County, Indiana. Persons wlio had been residents of the county before January I, 1846, were eligible to membership.
Those in attendance at this first meeting, and the date of their settle- ment is given in the following: William Smith, May, 1836; Samuel Wasson, December, 1833; S. D. Long, March, 1845; J. E. Rose, October, 1836; Sam- uel Headly, September, 1836; Philip Gushwa, March, 1845; S. B. Ward, January, 1842; William Carr, February, 1839; J. D. McAnnally, September, 1840; N. H. Matthews, October, 1839; C. P. Coleman, December, 1842; R. Culbertson, October, 1843; R. G. Daniels, January, 1837; P. B. Nimmons, August, 1844; N. Griffith, April, 1839; James Draggoo, October, 1841 ; A. D. Goetschius, June, 1836; Paul Long, February, 1841; John Hogue, June, 1842; D. McDaniel, June, 1843; Isaac Diehl, June, 1843; A. J. Ralston, December, 1842; James Johnson, August, 1844; N. Ensley, October, 1841 ; J. E. Shilling, April, 1845; G. W. Gordon, October, 1841 ; Henry Clark, Octo- ber, 1842; O. C. Clark, October, 1842; J. C. Wells, June, 1844; D. Alten- burg, November, 1837; R. B. Showers, February, 1839; W. Jacques, October, 1845; Thomas D. Daily, March, 1841; Levi J. Walsworth, November, 1837; C. Bowman, October, 1839; Henry Feagler, September, 1836; M. Whetsel, May, 1837; John McClellan, October, 1844; J. H. Ford, November, 1844; A. Blodgett, August, 1842; Peter Treesh, October, 1842; Henry A. Shull, Sep- tember, 1844; David Weaver, August, 1838; A. S. Casebeer, September, 1837; G. W. Husselman, May, 1845; Abraham Eakwright, September, 1836; D. Z. Hoffman, May, 1845; J. C. Somer, August, 1841; S. W. Sprott, July, 1840; T. D. Gross, March, 1841; Guy Plum, June, 1843; Henry Willis, Octo- ber, 1843; Charles Gillett, October, 1843; Cornelia P. Cole, June, 1842; Sarah Bowman, March, 1841; Eliza Wason, September, 1837; Caroline
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Whetsel, September, 1841 ; M. J. Husselman, October, 1845 ; Anna McDaniel, May, 1843; Mary Siebert, August, 1836; Maria Ingman, August, 1836; Almira Martin, May, 1836; S. A. Griffith, November, 1839; Anna Kline, August, 1841 ; Mary McClellan, August, 1841 ; Rachel Treesh, October, 1842.
OTHER MEETINGS.
Interest continued unabated through the years, and today the ranks of the old settlers are still in formation. Thinning rapidly, it is true, but those who stand, remain stanch and sturdy for the record of the old time. Meet- ings are held every year at different points in the county, and interest never wanes. Orators and music enliven these gatherings, and a stimulus is pro- vided, productive of happiness to the aged man who meets there his brother. In time these first pioneers will all be departed from this earth, but their deeds and lives are perpetuated, not alone by the workings of the pioneers' association, but by the children who survive them and treasure carefully the records. The last meeting of this association was held at Waterloo, DeKalb county, on June 19, 1913.
WOLF BOUNTY.
Two dollars a scalp once was paid for wolf scalps, providing the animal was over six months of age, and one dollar was paid for the scalp if the ani- mal was under that age. Wolves had become so numerous that this pro- vision was necessary. Farm stock was continually in danger from the nightly marauders, and consequently a concerted effort was made by the farmers of the county to exterminate the annoying animal. Wolf hunting was a great sport of the pioneer days, and parties of men, with their dogs, would hunt from sunrise to sundown, and come in to warm by the merry tavern fire and relate the day's experiences to the stay-at-homes. The sport was a lucrative one, also, as the bounty was high.
FIRST CIRCUS.
The first record of a circus in DeKalb county was in June, 1852, at Auburn, when Orney & Company were granted permission to exhibit within the limits of the corporation without payment of a license tax. The wagons were driven overland, and people lined the highway into town to see the circus caravan appear. Much excitement prevailed, and practically all of Auburn and most of the county population crowded under the one canvas to witness the performance.
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DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.
LOG VALUES IN 1854.
A log twelve feet four inches long, two feet through at the top end, of black walnut, sold for one dollar and thirty cents; of poplar, one dollar and a quarter, and of oak, one dollar. The black walnut commanded a cash pay- ment, but the others were for half cash and half goods.
POPULATION OF COUNTY BY DECADES.
In 1840 DeKalb county had a population of approximately 3,000; in 1850, 8,000; in 1860, 13,880; in 1870, 17,167; in 1880, 20,225; in 1890, 24,307; in 1900, 25,711; in 1910, 25,054.
JEdgar Buch anan
BIOGRAPHICAL
JOHN EDGAR BUCHANAN.
Among the men of earnest purpose and successful life who have hon- ored DeKalb county by their citizenship none is more deserving of specific mention in the annals of the county than J. Edgar Buchanan, whose death re- moved from this locality one of its most enterprising and progressive citizens and whose loss was widely mourned throughout this section of the state.
J. Edgar Buchanan, well known as the editor and manager of the Auburn Dispatch and the Auburn Evening Star and general manager of the Auburn Printing Company, was born on March 25, 1868, in Fairfield town- ship, DeKalb county, Indiana, and his death occurred at Evanston, Illinois, on July 27, 1913. He was the youngest son of Albert and Hannah E. (Potts) Buchanan and came of a family that had been prominent in DeKalb county from an early day. The subject's parents had come to this county from Holmes county, Ohio, in 1854, and had taken a prominent and active part in the early development of this locality. The subject's boyhood days were spent on the pioneer farm in Fairfield township, and as soon as old enough he helped in the arduous labors of the farm, his education being re- ceived in the common schools of that locality. After completing the common school course he entered Hillsdale College, at Hillsdale, Michigan, to which city his parents had moved in order to give him this educational advantage. However, after studying in that institution for two years, he was afflicted with a severe illness which undermined his health to such an extent that he never fully recovered from the effects. The family then returned to the home farm, where Mr. Buchanan in a measure recovered his health so that he engaged in teaching school for a number of years, serving one year as principal of the Waterloo high school. In the fall of 1800 Mr. Buchanan took up his residence in Auburn and entered the law firm of J. E. Rose & Son, with whom he pursued the study of law until his admission to the bar on December 2, 1892. He was intensely ambitious and gave promise of a
(21)
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splendid career in the legal profession, but again his hopes and ambitions were disappointed because of his already undermined health, and for two years he again followed the vocation of school teaching at Altona and Gar- rett, filling the position of superintendent of the Garrett city schools for awhile. However, the pedagogical profession did not appeal to him as a life work and he turned his attention to the field of journalism, in which he began a series of investigations which eventually resulted in the purchase of the Albion New Era from J. P. Prickett, taking possession of the plant in September, 1895. Though without previous experience in this specific line of efforts, his natural ability and progressive ideas enabled him to so direct and control the business that it grew and flourished and Mr. Buchanan estab- lished his home at Albion, thinking at that time that he would make Albion his permanent residence. However, when the plant of the Auburn Dispatch and the Evening Dispatch was placed upon the market at receiver's sale, a de- sire to be near his people and his old friends bore upon him so strongly that on January 1, 1903, he became owner of the business, which, under his guid- ance and direction, grew to be one of the best newspaper plants in DeKalb county and now stands as a monument to his memory. When he first came to Auburn to take charge of the business, the family remained in Albion in charge of the business there until it could be disposed of, they removing to Auburn on April Ist following. Mr. Buchanan organized the Auburn Print- ing Company, a company formed by the consolidation of the Auburn Evening Dispatch and Auburn Daily Courier, now being published as the Evening Star, of which he was chief owner, secretary and treasurer and general manager, and he remained at the head of the newspaper business in this city until his death, directing his affairs with ability and discretion and showing that he had a natural aptitude for the profession to which he had turned. Since coming here his whole life and soul were given to the upbuilding of the institution which he felt was to provide for himself and family a modest heritage. He really loved his work and one of his greatest pleasures was to watch the growth of the business and the daily rewards of work well done. Personally, Mr. Buchanan was a man of uncompromising honesty and in- tegrity of character, his sterling qualities of manhood and genial disposition giving him an enviable standing among his fellow citizens of DeKalb county. A graceful and at the same time a forceful writer, his editorial utterances were influential and always on the right side of every moral or civic question affecting the welfare of the people generally. He was a man of honest con- victions on the great public questions of the day, and when once convinced
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that he was right, nothing could swerve him from the course he had decided upon.
On June 21, 1891, Mr. Buchanan was married to Nellie D. Brecbill, who was born and reared in Smithfield township, and to them was born a son, Verne E. Buchanan.
J. Edgar Buchanan was not only esteemed because of the large business success to which he had attained in Auburn, but was also considered a man of unusual moral fiber, standing for all that was good in the community, no movement for the advancement of his fellow citizens along material, moral, religious or educational development appealing to him for assistance in vain. He was unselfish in his attitude toward local affairs and gave his material assistance to many enterprises. Thus at the time of his death he was not only general manager of the Auburn Printing Company, publishing the Auburn Dispatch, the Auburn Courier and the Evening Star, but was a member of the board of directors of the Zimmerman Manufacturing Com- pany, the Auburn Post Card Company and president of the Auburn Build- ing and Loan Association, as well as an active and influential member of the Auburn Commercial Club, while his social relations were with the lodge of Knights of Pythias at Corunna. this county. No community can afford to lose such men as Mr. Buchanan, for he had earnestly and faithfully endeavored to do his part as a man among men and, without boasting or ostentation, he steadily pursued his course, doing well whatever he turned his hand to, gaining not only material prosperity, but that which was more to be desired, the commendation and approval of his fellow citizens.
CHARLES ECKHART.
The following sketch tells of a boyhood whose strength was developed by overcoming obstacles ; of young manhood, when the path to future success was only dimly to be seen; of middle life, when the earlier days of diligent and sustained effort, tenacity of purpose, rugged honesty and thrift began to bear fruit ; of the full manhood, when the rewards have come, and are being used for the furtherance of noble causes. A simple recital of Mr. Eckhart's career, without attempt at eulogy, may well encourage and inspire others to follow by the same road of hard work and honest purpose to the success that may be won.
Charles Eckhart was born February 24. 1841, at Germantown, Peunsyl-
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vania, and is a son of John and Charlotte (Fraley) Eckhart. His boyhood was spent at Fisher's Hollow, now a part of Germantown. There, at the age of eight years, he began helping his father spool yarn, his father being a weaver. Of schooling he had only a year and a half, and that in schools that were far short of the present standard. When he was fifteen years old the family moved into Philadelphia, and there he found employment in a woolen mill where they made fancy goods, his father being also employed in the same mill. In the fall of 1857 a panic spread over the business world, causing the woolen mill to shut down and the lad started out to seek his fortune else- where. He had only three dollars in his pocket, and he did not spend that on auto, carriage nor railway. He walked. The first day he covered fifteen miles. He got supper, bed and breakfast at a tavern, and it cost him seventy- five cents, one-fourth of his cash capital. Another day of fifteen miles and he came to Hilltown, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where he found a chance at learning his chosen trade, carriage making. It was a humble little shop, and he was engaged two weeks on trial. After two weeks he made a bargain . with his employer to serve two and one-half years for board and washing, with three weeks off in harvest time so he could earn money for clothes. The next summer he laid off at harvest time, but went into Philadelphia and got a job at four dollars per week, while he boarded at home. At the end of four weeks he had sixteen dollars, for he had saved every cent. Returning to his employer at Hilltown, he asked for a new agreement, for he saw he could not clothe himself and meet his obligations at that rate. The employer would not consent to a better arrangement, so the young man left him, first paying all his small debts; he never left a place without settling every cent he owed. After a thirteen-mile walk he took the train to New York city, where he spent a week vainly looking for work. From there he went to Albany, where he had relatives, but he failed to find them. Returning to New York city he then went on foot to Trenton, New Jersey, seeking work on the way. From there he went by boat to Philadelphia, where his parents were residing, and finally found work in a dye house at two dollars per week, working seven days a week. He remained there all winter and the following spring secured a posi- tion with D. R. Moyer, who had bought the carriage shop at Hilltown. Mr. Eckhart was to work for Mover one year under Moyer's instructions. After six months he bought release from the original agreement and worked by the piece. He worked often from four in the morning, putting in as many as sixteen hours a day. Six months later Mr. Moyer failed in business. Mr. Eckhart, who was then a boy of only eighteen years, had saved a few dollars,
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and also had some wages due him. Boy, though he was, he bought the stock in trade, giving his personal note for the balance. Being a comparative stranger and without financial backing did not destroy his credit, for all knew his industry and he had shown that he was honest. This is evidenced by the fact that he had a credit enabling him to go into debt in the amount of eight hundred dollars.
At the breaking out of the Civil war business became dull in his line, and, like thousands of others, Mr. Eckhart enlisted to fight for the Union. On September 6, 1861, he joined Company A. One Hundred Fourth Regi- ment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, under Capt. E. L. Rogers and Col. W. H. H. Davis. He was made fourth sergeant at once. The time until November was spent at Doylestown and then till March, 1862, at Washington, D. C., drilling every day but Sunday. In March they went as part of Mc- Clellan's army to Alexandria and then by transports to Newport News, Vir- ginia, arriving the day after the historic battle between the "Monitor" and the "Merrimac." They helped in the siege of Yorktown and when the rebels evacuated that place they took part in the battle of Williamsburg. Following the rebels to their final stand at Fair Oaks, or Seven Pines, the battle of Fair Oaks was fought May 31 and June 1, 1862. In that bloody battle the One Hundred Fourth Regiment and their brigade lost more men than any other regiment or brigade in the battle. They were in the Seven Days re- treat, when, late in June, they were driven out of their position near Richmond and fell back, fighting all the way for seven days. After reaching Harrison's Landing they remained about a month. Abandoning that position, the army went on toward Fortress Monroe and to the battle of Antietam, but the One Hundred Fourth Regiment and their brigade was ordered to Gloucester Point and there did guard duty till January, 1863. From there they went on an expedition down through the Carolinas. May 20, 1863, Mr. Eckhart was discharged on account of physical disability, at Hilton Head, South Carolina. At the time of his discharge he ranked as first sergeant.
In the fall of 1863, Mr. Eckhart went to Morris Island, South Carolina, and hired out as a sutler's clerk, and for a time was in business for himself as a sutler. After eleven months he returned to Philadelphia, in September. 1864, visited a relative near Waterloo, Indiana, and it was then that he made the acquaintance of the one who later became his wife and the mother of his children. In February, 1865, he enlisted as first sergeant in the Two Hundred Thirteenth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and did guard duty near Washington, in Maryland and Virginia, until November 24. 1865, re-
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maining in service about six months after the war. He next entered the Bryant & Stratton Business College, at Philadelphia, but, not having enough money to carry him through, he left before completing his course, and in the spring of 1866 went to work at his trade at Norristown, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1866 he came to Indiana to visit his uncle at Waterloo. We may also infer that he made other interesting visits in that neighborhood, for he secured a position at his trade in Kendallville and on October 31, 1866, was united in marriage with Barbara Ellen Ashelman, who resided near Water- loo. She was a daughter of John U. Ashelman, an early pioneer of this county, who is spoken of elsewhere in this work.
In the spring of 1867, Mr. Eckhart moved to Auburn, and about the first of July was promised a good situation at his trade in Chester county, Pennsylvania, to which place he moved at once. There his first son, Frank E., was born on October 9, 1867. Two weeks after the birth of their first child the family moved to a place in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, where Mr. Eckhart engaged in partnership with D. R. Moyer, his old em- ployer. After one year Mr. Moyer withdrew and Mr. Eckhart continued in business for himself at that place until October, 1874. During their residence there, three other children were born, Annie, born January 22, 1869; Morris, born March 25, 1871, and William, born January 18, 1873.
In the fall of 1874, business was at a very low ebb all over the country. Mr. Eckhart sold out and moved back to Auburn, at which place he has made his home ever since. For a time he could not find regular employment and took any kind of honest work he could find. He was virtually obliged to go into business to provide employment. He began in a small way, at first in the parlor of his home on East Seventh street, making a few carriages. That house is now the office of the Eckhart Carriage Company. He built a small shop nearby, a structure eighteen by twenty-four feet, two stories high, and in that building, in March, 1875, started what is the Eckhart Carriage Company of today. Fortunately for Mr. Eckhart, he had already acquired a thorough and practical knowledge of every branch of carriage making except blacksmithing, and he was his own master mechanic. From the time his little boys were eight years old, he required them to help as they could when not at school. From the start he always insisted on the best of workmanship and strict honesty in his business. Perhaps a customer had a vehicle in which a defect of workmanship would develop, all un- noticed by the customer; Mr. Eckhart would not wait until the customer would see it, if his practiced eye had detected the fault. He would call
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the customer in and fix the defect free of charge. His goods soon established a reputation for being built and sold on honor. The business grew, and on an average of once in two years since then it has been necessary to enlarge the plant. Continued improvements have been made in the constructive appliances of the plant, and the buildings are arranged with the purpose of handling the work through different stages of construction in a systematic and economical manner. The plant is located along the Vandalia railway and has its own private track. Their business has grown from the limited start in a private residence to one that employes a large number of skilled workmen, with a force of traveling salesmen, and has built nearly five thou- sand vehicles in a year.
About 1902 the carriage company began, in an experimental way, to make automobiles, having already at hand most of the needed machinery. appliances and the organization to successfully launch such a business. After about three years they erected a building near the carriage factory, two stories high, sixty feet wide and one hundred feet long, using the lower floor for auto making. By 1906 their automobile business was well able to stand alone and required larger quarters. They bought a factory building and grounds along the Vandalia tracks in Auburn, and installed their machinery. They assembled an organization of skilled workmen and began operation at the present location October 1, 1906. They have not advertised extensively, but have depended upon the same methods that made their carriage factory a suc- cess, striving for economic efficiency of system in carrying on the various operations, but, above all, insisting on honest quality in everything. Now their business has reached about two million dollars a year, and Auburn auto- mobiles are sold in about one-half the states of the Union, every car being a good advertisement for the factory.
About 1895 Mr. Eckhart retired from the active management, leaving his son, Frank Eckhart, in charge of the carriage factory. The sons having had practical experience from early childhood, and each one master of at least two trades, they are better fitted for their responsibilities than many an older man, whose experience was not so thorough and practical in the forma- tive period of life. They understand the practical details of their line of business from top to bottom, and have both been of great assistance in build- ing up the Eckhart plants at Auburn. It is a source of great satisfaction to Mr. Eckhart that his sons, trained by him for their careers, have developed their talents so well, and are so competent, for he knows he need not fear for the business with them in charge. They have managed in a way to merit the
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hearty approval which he gladly accords them. Since retiring from business Mr. Eckhart has traveled in every state in the Union except one, and spends his winters usually in California, but occasionally in Florida. Although he is comparatively free from business cares and has ample means, he is not an idler, but uses his energy, time and money in any cause that is for the general good of his fellow men. He has been active in politics, but not with hope of pecuniary reward. He has for full thirty years supported the Prohibition party, for the good he can do in promoting the cause of temperance. He has campaigned for the party with his name on the ticket as a candidate for any office, having run for the lowest office on the ticket up to the highest in the state, for he was the party candidate for governor in 1900. He has cam- paigned actively, speaking all over Indiana, never at the expense of the party. but freely paying all his expenses and contributing of his money to help the cause.
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