USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families > Part 36
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DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.
ALPHEUS W. MADDEN.
Practical industry, wisely and vigorously applied, never fails of success. It carries a man onward and upward, brings out his individual character and acts as a powerful stimulus to the efforts of others. The greatest results in life are often attained by simple means and the exercise of the ordinary qualities of common sense and perseverance. The every-day life, with its cares, necessities and duties, affords ample opportunities for acquiring ex- perience of the best kind and its most beaten paths provide a true worker with abundant scope for effort and self improvement.
Alpheus W. Madden, the present efficient and popular auditor of De- Kalb county, and successful business man at Auburn, is a native of the old Hoosier state, having been born in Eel River township, Allen county, on February 19, 1856, and is a son of William and Rachel ( Taylor) Madden. The father, who was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, came to Indiana in the early forties, and settled in Allen county, where he formed the acquaint- ance of and married Rachel Taylor, the daughter of Abraham and Roxey Taylor. They spent all their lives and died in that township, where he had followed the vocation of farming during all his active years.
Alpheus W. Madden remained on the home farm in Allen county until twenty-two years of age and received a fair practical education in the com- mon schools. At the age mentioned he started in life for himself, working as a farm hand for fifteen dollars per month, and during this period while employed in splitting rails, he was disabled by an accident. Thus finding himself disqualified for heavy manual labor, he felt the necessity for further education, and to this end went to Fort Wayne and took a course in the com- mercial college at that place. IJe then engaged in the insurance business for about a year and a half and then became a salesman of marble and granite work, which he followed for about three years. In 1882 Mr. Mad- den moved to Auburn and engaged in the marble and granite business in partnership with Walton R. Smith. His business was prosperous from the start and in 1886 he bought the place at the corner of Jackson and Seventh streets now occupied by the Jenkins grocery store, but which at that time was occupied by a frame building which he used for their work. In 1892 Mr. Smith died and he was succeeded in the partnership by Mr. Madden's two brothers. Joseph R. and Charles E., who continued together about four- teen years when the subject of this sketch bought his brothers' interests and took in as a partner his son, Frank. They have continued the business
ALPHEUS W. MADDEN
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together and have been eminently successful in their work. In 1888 Mr. Madden and Mr. Smith, his former partner, built the present block in which the Jenkins grocery store is located and continued their business there until about 1893. Soon after the erection of this building, Mr. Madden bought a farm of eighty acres adjoining the city of Auburn on the northeast and about three years later he erected here a handsome residence fronting on East Seventh street, where he now resides, combining with the advantages of city life the profit and pleasure of a country home. In 1903 Mr. Madden bought ground and built another business block on East Seventh street be- tween his home and the postoffice, and here the monument business is car- ried on today. In 1906 he bought land at the corner of Ninth and East streets, where he erected a large barn, now occupied by Green's livery busi- ness. On one corner of Mr. Madden's home farm is located the Auburn base ball park. While in partnership with Mr. Smith, they also bought the old farm in Allen county, where Mr. Madden was reared, but he has since disposed of it. He has also built other residence properties in Auburn, one north of his monument works which is occupied by his son, Frank, and a house across Seventh street from his home, which is now occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Nelson. Possessing marked business ability, energetic and hustling, Mr. Madden has long enjoyed the major part of the business in his line in this county and community, and because of his success and his personal worth he is numbered among the leading men of the county.
Mr. Madden has for many years been an active supporter of the Demo- cratic party, and in, 1893 was elected trustee of his township, holding the office four years. In November, 1910, he was elected auditor of DeKalb county, and is the present incumbent of that office. His nomination was secured after an unusually hard fight, but his course in office has proved the wisdom of the choice. He is distinctly a selfmade man in the fullest sense of the term and is entitled to the fullest meed of credit for his accomplish- ments. He is always to be found in the auditor's office at six-thirty o'clock in the morning and keeps hard at his official duties until closing time in the evening. His courteous treatment of all who have dealings with him have won for him a deserving popularity with the people.
On December 25, 1884. Mr. Madden was married to Katie Fox, daugh- ter of Charles and Margaret (Quillen) Fox. She was born in Marshall, Texas, came to DeKalb county with her parents in 1866. Her father was a native of Germany and her mother of Georgia, and after locating in Auburn her father was engaged in the butcher business up to the time of his
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death, which occurred on June 19, 1878. Mrs. Fox now makes her home with Mrs. Madden.
To Mr. and Mrs. Madden have been born seven children: Frank, who is engaged with his father in the marble and granite business, was married to Myrtle McClellan, and they have one son, Richard; Leona is the wife of Stanley P. Nelson, deputy county auditor ; Effie is also assisting her father in the auditor's office; Inez, Mabel, Grace and Homer are all at home. Fraternally, Mr. Madden is a member of the Knights of Pythias and takes a lively interest in the workings of the order. Genial and approachable in manner, he is deservedly popular throughout DeKalb county.
EUGENE C. ALTENBURG.
Among the citizens of Auburn, DeKalb county, Indiana, who occupy . prominent positions as representative men of the community is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch. A man of sterling integrity, marked business ability and genial disposition, he has not only earned the confidence and respect of his business associates, but has gained for himself the good will of all who have come into contact with him.
Eugene C Altenburg, who has charge of the advertising department. for the Zimmerman Manufacturing Company at Auburn, was born in the city which is now honored by his citizenship on January 10, 1872. He is the son of Henry E. and Sarah C. (Bodine) Altenburg, who are mentioned spe- cifically elsewhere in this work, therefore it will not be necessary to devote further space to them at this point. Eugene C. Altenburg was reared in the parental home at Auburn and secured his education in the excellent public schools of this city. At the age of eighteen years he took up life's duties on his own account, obtaining employment in the office of the Zimmerman Manu- facturing Company, with whom he remained about five years. In 1899 Mr. Altenburg went south, being located in three different places and engaging in the drug business at his last location. In April, 1909, he returned to Auburn and again became a member of the office force of the Zimmerman Company, being given charge of the advertising for that company, in which position he is still acting. Possessing originality and artistic sense, Mr. Altenburg has demonstrated his value to the business and has been one of the important fac- tors in the splendid success which has characterized this well-known concern.
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Mr. Altenburg was married, on October 24, 1894, to Hattie E. Casebeer, the daughter of Dr. Jacob B. and Sarah E. (Nycum) Casebeer, who also are mentioned on other pages in this work. To Mr. and Mrs. Altenburg have been born two sons, Harry, born at Indianapolis, Indiana, on December 23, 1896, and Robert E., born at Tullahoma, Tennessee, on October 8, 1900. Of marked domestic tastes, Mr. Altenburg is a home lover and finds his greatest and truest enjoyment in the pleasant and attractive home in which he lives.
Fraternally, Mr. Altenburg is an appreciative member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while, religiously, he and his wife are earnest and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Quiet in disposition, yet genial in his intercourse with his fellows, Mr. Altenburg has won a host of warm personal friends in this community, where practically his entire life has been passed. He is keenly alive to his responsibilities as a citizen and gives his support to every movement which promises to benefit the community, materially, educationally, morally or socially. He is fully deserving of the large measure of public confidence and esteem which is accorded to him.
ORIN BRANDON.
Among the citizens of DeKalb county who are widely and favorably known is Orin Brandon, one of Auburn's useful and highly esteemed men. His life has become a part of the history of the community in which he has made his home for many years, and his long and honorable business career has brought him before the public in such a way as to gain the esteem and confidence of his fellow-men and a well deserved reputation among his con- temporaries. Keen perception, tireless energy and honesty of purpose, com- bined with mature judgment and every-day common sense, have ever been among his most prominent characteristics, and while laboring for individual success and for the material interests of the community, he has also been instrumental in promoting the moral welfare of those with whom he has mningled.
Orin Brandon was born about two miles west of Auburn, Indiana. on January 11, 1866, and is the son of Isaac and Barbara ( Kutzner) Brandon. Both parents were natives of Stark county, Ohio, having been born a short distance west of Canton. Isaac Brandon, who was born on May 12, 1836, was reared on a farm and in the city of Canton. His parents were John and Mary
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(Beard) Brandon, the father having been a successful farmer of that com- munity and also having served efficiently as sheriff of Stark county. He was a native of Pennsylvania. In June, 1849, John Brandon brought his family to DeKalb county, Indiana, and settled on what is now known as the Brandon farm, adjoining Auburn on the west. With the exception of about six months, during which Isaac Brandon was clerking in Auburn, the latter lived with his parents until 1862, assisting his father with the farm work. After his marriage in the year mentioned, he moved to a farm which he had purchased in Richland township and lived there until 1873, when he moved back to the old homestead. In the fall of 1874 he and his brother, Silas J., went to Nebraska with the intention of buying land and locating there, but in their absence their father was taken seriously sick and upon Isaac's return home, he settled permanently at the old farm. Mr. Brandon showed himself a good manager, a practical farmer and a successful business man. Although he never aspired to official honors, he always took a deep and active interest in public affairs, giving his support to the right men for the office sought. While a resident of Richland township he was elected justice of the peace, but did not qualify for the office. On March 20, 1852, he was married to Barbara A. Kutzner, the daughter of Isaac Kutzner, a native of Canton, Ohio. To this union were born the following children: Alva, Ira, Orin, Asa, Ulla, Myron and Artie. Isaac Brandon was the owner of one hundred and thirty acres of land. to which he gave his attention, and though advanced in years, he was numbered among the enterprising and progressive men of his locality. His death occurred on Monday, May 25, 1913, at his old home near Auburn.
Orin Brandon was reared to maturity on the home farm, and at the age of seventeen years he started out in life for himself, going to Texas and Indian Territory, where he found employment on a railroad. A year later he went to Jackson, Michigan, where he entered the employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroad, but quit that employment because he did not find it sufficiently remunerative. Returning then to Auburn he took up the carpenter's trade, at which he worked until 1893, when he and Perry J. Long began taking building contracts. They were engaged together in this line of work about eight years and built some of the best buildings in Auburn, in- cluding some of the larger store buildings in the business section of the city. In March, 1903, Mr. Brandon gave up the contracting business, when he and O. G. Huff, of South Bend, Indiana, bought the lumber yard formerly owned by the A. Lewis Lumber Company. Mr. Huff continued his residence in South Bend, and traveled a great deal, leaving the actual management of the
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business to Mr. Brandon, who gave to it his personal attention, and to whose effective efforts was due the large trade which they enjoyed in this line. In March, 1913, the Huff interests were purchased by Frank W. Olinger, of Auburn, who continues to be the business associate of Mr. Brandon. The latter gives practically his entire time to the lumber business, although he is also connected with the Auburn Building and Loan Association. He carries a large and complete line of both building and dimension stock, and side lines required in the building trade, so that he is able to accommodate any calls upon him in his line.
In the local life of the community Mr. Brandon has taken a deep and abiding interest and for about eight years was an efficient member of the city council. While he was in office the contract was let for the first paved streets in Auburn, and the sewer system was contracted for just before he entered office. Fraternally Mr. Brandon is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he takes a deep interest, and he and his family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, he being a trustee of the local organization.
On April 9, 1891, Mr. Brandon married Winnie Raut, daughter of Frederick and Mary (Ashelman) Raut. She was born and reared in Auburn, and in her veins runs stanch old German blood, her father having been a native of the Fatherland, and her mother, though of Swiss parentage, was born about a half-mile east of Auburn. Frederick Raut came here when a young man and married Mary Ashelman. He followed the vocations of har- ness making and shoe making in the early days, and was also a successful and popular preacher in the German Methodist church. Mary Ashelman was the daughter of John J. Ashelman, an old settler, who followed farming east of Auburn, where Mrs. Brandon's mother was reared. Her father died here about 1880, and the mother still lives in Auburn.
John U. Ashelman, paternal grandfather of Mrs. Brandon, was born at Basle, Switzerland, in 1792, was reared in that city and there engaged in the milk business. He married Mary Everhart in Basle, and within a year afterward he came to America, arriving here in 1832 and locating in Wayne county, Ohio, where they lived for about ten years. He bought a farm of eighty acres there and gave his attention to its cultivation. In 1836 he came to Auburn, DeKalb county, Indiana, there being then but three houses in Auburn. He entered land upon his arrival here, and while building his first home, he lodged with some friendly Indians. His entire possessions of real estate here amounted to about six hundred and forty acres of land located at the east edge of Auburn, part of which being now comprised within the
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city limits. He also entered a tract of land near the city of Fort Wayne, this state. He contracted to have some of the land cleared, and returned to his home in Ohio, where he lived until 1842, then came here and spent the balance of his life on his own place. His death occurred in 1856. His widow sur- vived him several years, dying in 1864. At the time of his death, Mr. Ashel- man owned nine hundred and twenty acres of land and was considered quite well-to-do for that day. They were the parents of three sons and six daugh- ters, namely : Mrs. Elizabeth Carmer, Moses, Mrs. Barbara Eckhart and William are deceased. Those living are Mrs. Mary Raut, Mrs. Regina Weaver, Mrs. Annie Walker, Christopher, and Mrs. Rosa Saxton. John U. Ashelman was in many respects one of the remarkable men of his day and generation. He was not only a pioneer, but took a prominent leading part in the development and upbuilding of the early community, and none of the men who made the early history of this locality is entitled to greater credit for its development than he. Energy, hospitality and absolute integrity were his leading characteristics and his long life was a blessing to the community.
To Mr. and Mrs. Brandon have been born four children, three of whom ve living : Russell, who died at the age of eleven years ; Charles A .. Annie L. and Mary Elizabeth. By a straightforward and commendable course, Mr. Brandon has made his way to a respectable position in the business world. winning the hearty admiration of the people of his city and earning a reputa- tion as a very careful and progressive man of affairs, and a broad-minded, upright and charitable citizen, whom the public has not been slow to recognize and appreciate.
DR. JOHN E. GRAHAM.
The true western spirit of progress and enterprise is strikingly exempli- fied in the lives of such men as Dr. Graham, men whose energetic nature and laudable ambition have enabled them to conquer many adverse circum- stances and advance steadily to leading positions in professional and business life. The Doctor is a worthy representative of this class and is now a prominent figure in the professional circles of DeKalb county, having been successfully engaged in the practice of his profession in the town of Auburn since 1899.
John E. Graham, a successful dentist and popular citizen of Auburn, DeKalb county, Indiana, was born at Trenton, Ontario, Canada, on October
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2, 1875, and is the son of Major John E. Graham and Jennie E. (Meyers) Graham. Major Graham was a graduate of Fort William Military Academy, at Kingston, Ontario, an institution similar to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He was commissioned a major in the English army, but subsequently resigned and became engaged in business at Trenton. His wife was a granddaughter of old Captain John Meyers, who, during the French and Indian war north of Lake Erie, was a courier between Quebec and Detroit. A brother of Major Meyers is now mayor of Kingston, an office that receives much more honor in Canada than in this country. Major Gra- ham died shortly before the birth of his son, the subject of this sketch. When the latter was about twelve years old, his mother brought him to the United States, and subsequently she became the wife of Samuel Moody, of Waterloo, DeKalb county, Indiana. her present residence being at Auburn. John E. Graham, who is of the third generation of the family to bear that name, attended the common and high schools at Waterloo and graduated in 1893. Then, because of ill health, he spent a year in the highlands of Ontario. In the fall of 1894 he entered the dental department of the University of Michi- gan at Ann Arbor, completing the course and receiving his degree in 1897. He immediately entered upon the active practice of his profession at Water- loo, but two years later moved to Anburn, where he has remained and where he has built up a large and representative patronage. He possesses a thor- ough knowledge of his profession and keeps closely in touch with the latest advances made in the science of dentistry, being now numbered among the ablest and most successful in his line in this section of the state.
On December 31, 1900, Dr. Graham married Bertha Kiplinger, of Waterloo, daughter of Michael Kiplinger and wife. who are represented else- where in this volume. To this union have been born three children, namely : Gladwyn, DuVern and Erthenia.
In the civic life of the community in which he lives, Dr. Graham has long taken an active and prominent part and from 1906 to 1910 he served as president of the city board of health. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order, in which he has attained to the fourteenth degree of the Scottish Rite. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, Uniform Rank, and has served as chancellor commander of the lodge at Waterloo. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. Religiously, Dr. Graham and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, of which the Doctor is an elder, and in 1910 he was honored by being made a commissioner to the general assembly of the
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church which met at Atlantic City. He is a straightforward, conscientious man, in whom his fellow citizens have marked confidence because of his public spirit and splendid personal qualities. Personally he is genial and companionable, and is popular in the social circles in which he moves.
DR. LIDA (POWERS) LEASURE.
The life of the scholarly or professional man or woman seldom exhibits any of those striking incidents that seize upon public feeling and attract at- tention. Their characters are generally made up of the aggregate qualities and qualifications they may possess, as these may be elicited by the exercise of the duties of their vocations or the particular professions to which they belong. But when such persons have so impressed their individualities upon their fellows as to gain their confidence and through that confidence rise to important public trust, they become conspicuous figures in the body politic of the community. The subject of this sketch is one of the scholarly women of her county, who, not content to hide her talents amid life's sequestered ways, has, by the force of will and a laudable ambition, forged to the front in an exacting and responsible calling and earned an honorable reputation as the head of one of the most important branches of public service. She is a well- educated, symmetrically developed woman and, her work as an educator hav- ing brought her prominently to the notice of the public, the result has been a demand for her services where a high standard of professional excellence is required. She is fully abreast the times in advanced educational methods and hier general knowledge is broad and comprehensive. Because of her earnest life, high attainments, well rounded character and large influence, she is emi- nently entitled to representation in a work of the character of the one in hand.
Dr. Lida Leasure is a daughter of the old Hoosier state, having been born at Spring Hill, near Greensburg, Indiana, and is a daughter of Jonathan and Mary ( Hood) Powers. She was reared on a farm and her elementary education was received in the common schools of her neighborhood, which was supplemented by attendance at a local academy. At the age of about twenty years she became a student in the Terre Haute Normal School, where she was graduated, after which she engaged in teaching school. Her first pedagogical work was as a teacher in the high school at Marshall, Illinois, after which she taught in the Model School at Terre Haute and in the In- dianapolis high school. In 1878 she came to Auburn, where for several years
DR. LIDA LEASURE
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she taught in the high school, and served as superintendent of the city schools, where she earned a splendid reputation for both educational and executive ability. In 1880 she taught in the high school at Princeton, Indiana, and on December 30th, that year, she was married to John H. Leasure, of Auburn, after which she resigned her position at Princeton and returned to Auburn to reside. However, her love for educational work again attracted her to the school room and in 1882 and for two or three years thereafter she was a teacher in the Auburn high school. About this time she determined to take up the practice of medicine and to this end she matriculated in the medical department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where she was graduated in 1888, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. For a while Dr. Leasure practiced her profession at Auburn, but in 1892 she moved to An- gola and, with the exception of a year at Logansport, Indiana, she was en- gaged in the active practice at Angola until 1903, when, having found her professional duties too exacting and her husband's business requiring his constant presence at Auburn, they returned to the latter place, where they have since resided. Here, having relinquished her medical practice, Dr. Leasttre again entered the educational work and for two years was principal of the Riley school, and taught a year in the high school, resigning the latter position. In June, 1911, without solicitation on her part, she was elected to the position of county superintendent of schools, she having given her consent to the election in response to the request of a mimber of the county's in- fluential trustees. She was elected for a four-year term, but by legislative enactment her term has been extended to 1917. To Dr. Leasure belongs the distinction of being the first woman to be elected to a public office in Indiana and also of being the only woman superintendent in the state. Though a very busy woman, and the duties of her office responsible and exacting. she loves the work and is discharging her official duties in a manner that has won the approval and commendation of all classes. Personally, Dr. Leasure is a woman of many gracious qualities of head and heart which have endeared her to all who know her. Aside from her professional work, she takes an intel- ligent interest in the social, moral and civic life of the community, supporting every movement for the advancement of the welfare of the community. She is an honorary member of the Ladies' Literary Club and is a member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, while her religions membership is with the Presbyterian church, of which she is an earnest member.
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