USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families > Part 37
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By her union with John H. Leasure, who is referred to specifically else-
(25)
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where in this work, Mrs. Leasure has become the mother of the following children: Flossie, the wife of Harry M. Richwine, of Auburn, and the mother of a daughter, Helen Marguerite; and J. Kent, who is a student in the medical department of the State University at Bloomington, Indiana.
DAVID J. SWARTS, M. D.
In giving the life record of the late Dr. David J. Swarts, of Auburn, Indiana, it is believed that it will be an incentive to the young who may peruse it to lead nobler lives, have higher ambitions and accomplish more for their fellow-men, for his life was ever led along a plane of high endeavor, always consistent with truth in its highest forms and ever in keeping with honorable principles. He had an altruistic spirit-and for a half century he put forth every effort in his power to alleviate suffering, so that his name deserves to go down in the history of his locality as one of its worthiest and most faithful and efficient physicians. Thus, for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he was one of the patriotic sons of the North who, when the terrible tocsin of war sounded in the early sixties, unhesitatingly gave up the pleasures of home and the pursuit of a profitable profession to do what he could in behalf of the National Union, the biographer is glad to set forth the salient facts concerning his long, useful and honorable career.
David J. Swarts was born near Jeromeville, Ashland county, Ohio, on June 30, 1832, and was a son of David and Catherine (Smith) Swarts. He remained on the farm with his parents until nineteen years of age, in the meantime securing the rudiments of his education in the common schools. He then became a student in Vermillion Academy, at Hayesville, Ohio. where he remained two and a half years. In 1856. having determined to make the practice of medicine his life work, he entered upon its study under the direction of Doctors Robinson and Firestone, of Wooster, Ohio, with whom he remained until the fall of 1858. He then entered the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati, where he was graduated in March, 1860, and later took a post-graduate course in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, in New York City. He first located at Reedsburg, Ohio, but in November. 1860, removed to Auburn, Indiana, where his abilities were quickly recognized and he was soon in command of a large and remunerative patronage. His private professional career was interrupted, however, by the outbreak of the war of the
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Rebellion, which aroused his patriotic spirit and, in June, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company A, One Hundredth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. At the organization of the company he was elected and com- missioned first lieutenant, in which capacity he served until the following October, when he resigned his commission in order to accept the commission ·of assistant surgeon of his regiment, and rendered most faithful and efficient service until the close of the war, being mustered out in June, 1865. He participated in most of the battles in which the Fifteenth Army Corps, under Gen. John A. Logan, engaged, including Pigeon Roost, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, the siege of Atlanta, siege of Vicksburg, Mission Ridge, Black River, siege of Jackson, Lovejoy Station, Bentonville and many others of scarcely less importance.
In his professional practice Doctor Swarts was numbered among the most successful in his section of the state, and was held in the highest regard among his professional colleagues. In 1862, prior to his enlistment, he had been employed as one of the county physicians, and in 1880 he was again appointed to that position, while he also rendered effective service as secre- tary of the county board of health. He was not only an able physician. but he was characterized by a profound human sympathy, which overleaped mere sentiment to become his actuating motive. Those who knew him well were unstinted in their praise of his kindly disposition and his superior ability. He was a member of the DeKalb County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society, the Tri-State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. In the summer of 1900 Doctor Swarts took a trip to Europe, his itinerary embracing England, Germany, Switzerland and France, visiting the Paris Exposition, while, professionally, he visited a number of the leading hospitals of Europe.
Dr. David J. Swarts died on March 3. 1905, in Beaver county, Okla- homa, where he had entered a government claim on which he was staying to prove it up, but chiefly for the benefit of his failing health. His remains were brought back to Auburn for interment. His loss was deeply felt in this com- munity, where so many of his active years had been passed, his death coming to many as a personal bereavement, for he had endeared himself to all who were numbered among his friends.
On August 28, 1862, Dr. David Swarts was married to Vesta M. Ward, the daughter of Rev. Stephen Brown and Laura Ward, of Auburn, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. She was born in Lorain county, Ohio, on April 26, 1841, and came to DeKalb county, Indiana, with her par-
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ents in 1842. She received her early education in the Auburn public schools, completing her studies at the Northeastern Indiana Academy, at Orland, Steuben county, in 1858. She then began teaching and from that time up to her marriage to Doctor Swarts she was identified with the educational interests of DeKalb county, eventually becoming superintendent of the Auburn schools. For a year during the early part of the Civil war she taught school in Hicksville, Ohio, and in the great issue between the North and the South her loyalty inspired her to active efforts in behalf of the Union. She gave frequent talks and readings at meetings called for the enlistment of volun- teers, and later while teaching at Auburn she had a class of thirty students who sang war campaign songs on such occasions. She still has in her posses- sion several copies of these songs.
In July, 1864, Mrs. Swarts, possessed with a deep consciousness of a call to duty, resigned her position in the Auburn schools and started for the Southland, her intention being to join her husband and assist him in his care for the sick and wounded soldiers. He was then located at Altoona Pass, Georgia. She called on Governor Morton and asked for a pass, which he readily gave her, but told her that communication was cut off by Hood's army, which was in Kentucky, and that she probably would not be able to get through for some time. However, he gave her an order to report for service to Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer, of the Christian Commission, at Louisville, and there, on July 15th, she began her work as nurse in the Brown U. S. General Hospital. In October of the same year she was transferred to the Crittenden U. S. General Hospital, at Louisville, where she remained until March 27, 1865, when, being unfit for further duty on account of poor health. she was honor- ably discharged and returned to her home. Her experiences in this work were necessarily far from pleasant, but she devoted herself, heart and soul, to the work for which she had offered herself and her record during that try- ing period was one of faithful and self-forgetting service for others. Only those who have had actual experience on the battlefield or in hospitals can fully realize how cheap human life is ofttimes held in time of war or of the awful carnage of battle. In the Crimean war Florence Nightingale led her devoted band of nurses along a new route in the mitigation of the horrors of war, and her American sisters followed along the same merciful and loving way. The nurses of the Civil war were recruited from every-day life and Mrs. Swarts was justly proud of the commission which she held from the government, for such commissions were not to be had for the mere asking. Referring to her experiences in those days, Mrs. Swarts, in one of her letters,
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wrote as follows: "A circular sent out by the superintendent of nurses of the Sanitary Commission stated emphatically that all nurses are required to be very plain looking women, their dresses must be brown or black, with no bows, no curls or jewelry, and no hoop skirts. I could have filled that bill of particulars perfectly, but was spared the inquisition, for Mrs. Wittenmyer, of the Christian Commission, to whom I reported for duty, was less exacting and my papers were duly signed by order of Secretary Stanton and the sur- geon-general of the army." Again she wrote: "The army nurses know no North, no South, in their care for the sick and suffering."
In 1878 Mrs. Swarts decided to devote herself to the practice of medicine and, after studying for awhile with her husband, she took special courses in medicine and surgery, and was admitted to the junior class of the department of medicine of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. And on March 1. 1882, she graduated at the Ft. Wayne College of Medicine and received her . degree. She immediately entered upon the active practice of her profession at Auburn and later took a post-graduate course at New Orleans, Louisiana.
Dr. Vesta M. Swarts is a woman of high intellectual attainments, thor- oughly demonstrated professional ability, and exalted personal character, so that she has at all times enjoyed the fullest measure of confidence and regard throughout the community where practically her entire life has been spent.
To David J. and Vesta Swarts were born two children, namely: Harris J., on August 24, 1866, and Willard Ward, on July 14. 1872. Harris J. secured his educational training in the Auburn public schools and then com- pleted a thorough course in practical telegraphy, in which he became an ex- pert. From 1884 he was employed in active railroad service as an operator and in 1893 he became a train dispatcher for the Illinois Central Railroad Company, being now located as a chief dispatcher at Freeport, Illinois. He has been a prudent manager of his private affairs and is the owner of valu- able real estate at Auburn. He was one of the original incorporators of the Auburn Hardware Company, in which company he was a stockholder. On November 1, 1888, he married Chloe S. Shoemaker, the daughter of A. Shoe- maker, of Decatur, Illinois. To them were born two children, Mabel Vesta. born June 27, 1890, and Harold Ward, born May 4, 1894, the latter dying on October 28, 1896, and the former less than a week later, on November 2d, both deaths being caused by malignant diphtheria. Dr. Willard Ward Swarts received his elementary education in the Auburn public schools, and during both his junior and senior years in high school was president of his class. He began the study of medicine under the direction of his parents,
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and then took the full course in the Ft. Wayne College of Medicine, after which he attended the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati, where he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. Soon afterwards he took two terms at the Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital at Chicago, after which he located at Poe, Allen county, Indiana, where he devoted himself to the general practice of medicine and surgery. Five and a half years later he removed to- Auburn, where he has continued in the practice, with excellent results. He is an honorary member of the Ft. Wayne College of Medicine Alumni Asso- ciation, and while in Allen county he was a member of the Allen County Medical Society and was a charter member of the Ft. Wayne Academy of Medicine. He is now a member of the DeKalb County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He was appointed in January, 1914, as secretary of the Auburn city board of `health, for a term of four years. On February 3, 1897, Dr. Willard Swarts married Nell Garside, the daughter of James W. Garside, of Edon, Williams county, Ohio, assistant cashier of the Edon Banking Company. To Dr. Swarts and wife have been born two children, Irene, born March 7, 1898,. and Ward Garside, born September 28, 1906.
JOHN LEAS.
It is a well attested maxim that the greatness of a community or a county or a state lies not in the machinery of government nor even in its institutions, but rather in the sterling qualities of the individual citizen, in his capacity for high and unselfish effort and his devotion to the public welfare. In these particulars, he whose name appears at the head of this memoir conferred honor and dignity upon the locality of his residence, and as an elemental part of history it is consonant that there should be recorded a resume of his career, with the object in view of noting his connection with the advancement of one of the most flourishing and progressive sections of the commonwealth, as well as his relations with the commercial and financial affairs of the community honored by his citizenship.
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John Leas was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, near the historic city of Gettysburg, on July 12, 1815, and was a son of Col. John, Jr., and Sophia (Spangler) Leas, both of whom also were natives of the old Key- stone state. He came of good old American stock, his paternal grandfather
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having been a soldier in the war of the Revolution. Colonel Leas was a farmer and in 1818 he emigrated to Stark county, Ohio, where he began operations on a tract of virgin soil. In 1838 he went to Guernsey county, that state, and there again created a good farm out of what was formerly a wilderness. In the fall of 1852 the Colonel came to DeKalb county, Indi- ana, and located on section 5, Smithfield township, where he again made a farm, and there he remained until 1866, when he moved to Waterloo, where his death occurred in 1875. While a resident of Stark county, Ohio, he was commissioned colonel of a regiment of militia. In politics he was a Jack- sonian Democrat and he acceptably filled a number of local offices. His wife died in 1882. They were members of the Reformed church. Colonel Leas, who was a man of more than ordinary ability, became a prominent figure and an important factor in the affairs of the various communities where he lived and enjoyed universal respect.
John Leas was reared upon the paternal farmstead in Stark county. Ohio, whither the family had moved when he was but three years old. Owing to the modest circumstances of the family, he was not given large oppor- tunities for an education, the log-cabin school of that locality being his only chance. While still a resident of that county, he was married to Susan Schimpff, a native of Germany, who had emigrated to this country when thirteen years of age. To that union were born twelve children, namely : Peter, Susan and a daughter unnamed died in infancy : Martin Van Buren. who was born at Osnaburg, Stark county, Ohio, on .August 25, 1840, died at his home in Salem township, Steuben county, Indiana, on March 31. 1899: Jacob H., who lives north of Hudson, is the oldest of the family now living ; John S., who lived in Salem township, Steuben county, died, leaving six chil- dren by his first marriage and two by the second; his widow now lives at Ashley; Elizabeth L. is the wife of Oscar Taylor, a banker at Hamilton; Adeline is the wife of Miles Jefferson Waterman, of Franklin township, this county ; the other four children. Hezekiah H., Obediah, William Henry and Daniel Louis, all live at Waterloo, this county, and are represented in indi- vidual sketches elsewhere in this work. In 1842 John Leas came to Indiana, purchasing one hundred and forty-three acres of land, and the following year he moved his family to this state. In 1867 he came to DeKalb county and bought a fine farm in Smithfield township and one year later moved on it. and made it his permanent home, owning two hundred and fifty acres of land at the time of his death and being numbered among the successful and enter- prising farmers of the county. In 1871 Mr. Leas was one of the leaders in
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the organization of the Citizens Bank at Waterloo, which had a most suc- cessful career. In the course of time he bought out the other partners and in 188I became the sole owner of the bank, which he retained until 1896, when he sold it to his son, Hezekiah, and retired from active business life, his death occurring on June 25, 1897.
The record of Mr. Leas was a remarkable one in several respects and the example of his life is one worthy of emulation. When he first came to Indiana his material possessions consisted of eighty-five dollars in money and a yoke of oxen, but he was endowed with a large ambition and a great capacity for work, elements which will insure success in almost any under- taking. Indefatigable in his efforts, keeping ever before him the highest of ideals, he gradually forged ahead and eventually gained not only a compe- tency, but also the universal confidence and good will of his fellow citizens.
Mrs. Susan Leas died on June 15, 1881, and subsequently Mr. Leas mar- ried Mrs. Amanda Mallory Patterson, widow of Robert Patterson, to which union were born five children.
Politically, Mr. Leas always supported the Democratic party and in several offices of local importance he rendered valuable services to his com- munity. Religiously, he was a member of the Reformed church, while, fra- ternally, he was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, belonging to Waterloo Lodge No. 307. In Mr. Leas' business career, as well as his private life, he was actuated by the highest motives, his actions being always the result of careful and conscientious thought. His death removed from DeKalb county one of her most substantial and highly esteemed citizens and the many beautiful tributes to his high standing in the world of affairs and as a man and citizen attested to the abiding place he had in the hearts and affections of his friends.
FRANCIS MARK HINES, M. D.
Success in what are popularly termed the learned professions is the legitimate result of merit and painstaking endeavor. In commercial life one may come into possession of a lucrative business through inheritance or gift, but professional advancement is gained only by critical study and research long continued. Proper intellectual discipline, thorough professional knowledge and the possession and utilization of the qualities and attributes essential to success have made the subject of this review eminent in his chosen calling and he stands today among the scholarly and enterprising
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physicians and surgeons in a community long distinguished for the high order of its medical talent. In the civic and political circles of DeKalb county the Doctor has also long been a prominent figure, having served faith- fully and efficiently in positions of public trust and responsibility, having added prestige to a name already honored and dignified by his father.
Francis M. Hines was born on January 26, 1861, in Jackson township, DeKalb county, Indiana, and is the son of Henry and Sarah Abigail ( Smith) Hines. Henry Hines was born in Ashland county, Ohio, on April 1, 1839, a son of Francis and Lovina (Culler ) Hines. In 1844 his parents moved to Kosciusko county, Indiana, where the father died in 1877. Henry Hines lived with his parents until his marriage to Sarah Abigail Smith, February 6, 1858. She was born on April 8, 1838. in Medina county, Ohio. The year following their marriage they came to DeKalb county, settling in Jackson township, where he entered upon the task of creating a farm out of the wilderness. He there became the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in sections 10 and II, which eventually became one of the choice farms of that locality. He continued the operation of that farm until the fall of 1896, when he was elected treasurer of DeKalb county and moved to Auburn, where his death occurred about six months later, on July 6, 1897. Henry Hines was a remarkable man in many respects and during the entire period of his residence in this county he enjoyed to a notable degree the confidence and high regard of all who knew him. He was elected justice of the peace, and, by successive re-elections, served continuously for eighteen years, or until his election to the office of county treasurer. He did not desire the office, but his fellow citizens insisted on re-electing him. Even tempered, level headed and with a keen sense of the fairness of things, he conducted his justice court in such a manner as to satisfy all litigants, and it was frequently the case that disputants would refer their troubles to him for settlement without law proceedings. His sense of justice, fairness and honesty made him a man of influence, though he was firm for what he be- lieved to be right and was absolutely fearless. His word was as good as a bond, and any statement from his lips was accepted without question. Henry Hines was a successful man in his material affairs and at the time of his death owned, besides the home farm, two saw-mills, one in Jackson township and one in Union township.
To Henry and Sarah Hines were born the following children: Lillie Louisa, now deceased, was the wife of James H. Farver, of Jackson town- ship, this county ; Francis M. is the immediate subject of this sketch ; Wesley
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L. is a practicing physician at Warsaw, Indiana; Leonard Arthur, now deceased, was a successful physician at Warsaw at the time of his death; Lovina Ann is the wife of Alfred J. Geisinger, of Auburn; Effie A. is the wife of Lewis M. Geisinger, of Auburn. The mother of these children survives and is living in Auburn.
Francis M. Hines was reared to manhood on the home farm in Jackson township, securing his education in the public schools, also attending the normal school at Auburn several terms. At the age of nineteen years he began teaching school in his home township, continuing to follow that vocation until 1889. In the fall of that year, having determined to take up the practice of medicine, he matriculated in the medical department of the Methodist Episcopal University at Fort Wayne, where he was graduated in March, 1892, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He then returned to Auburn and in May following he began the active practice of his profession. Successful from the start, Doctor Hines was soon in command of a lucra- tive practice in both medicine and surgery, and during the subsequent years he has stood high among his professional colleagues in this community. In November, 1898, Doctor Hines was elected treasurer of DeKalb county, assuming the duties of his office on January 1, 1899, and so satisfactory were his services that in 1900 he was elected to succeed himself, thus serving four years as treasurer and retiring from the office with the commendation of all the people.
Prior to his election as treasurer, Doctor Hines had served as a mem- ber of the Auburn city council from the third ward. During his term it was decided to install a municipal light and water plant, and, largely through the efforts of Doctor Hines, this was accomplished at a much more reason- able figure than was at first deemed possible. He was urged to again run for councilman, but declined, owing to his nomination for the county treasurership. He also gave to his city six years' valuable service as a member of the school board.
Politically, Doctor Hines has always been aligned with the Democratic party and has taken an active interest in political and public affairs. In the fall of 1902 he was elected chairman of the Democratic county central com- mittee and two years later was a delegate to the national convention of his party at St. Louis, when Alton B. Parker was nominated for the presi- dency. During the Doctor's official life he did not abandon the practice of his profession, giving his personal attention to his practice as far as was possible and employing an office assistant to take his place when his official duties prevented him from doing professional work.
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On March 29, 1885, Doctor Hines was married to Lillie Ann Carper, who was born and reared in Jackson township, this county, the daughter of John and Sarah (Friedt) Carper. Her parents, who were natives of Ohio, came with their respective families to DeKalb county and were pioneer settlers in Jackson township. To Doctor and Mrs. Hines have been born the following children : Dorsey Mark, born May 5, 1886, attended the Indi- ana University School of Medicine at Indianapolis, graduating in 1909, and is engaged in the practice with his father; Ralph died in infancy; Vera Grace received a splendid education, attending the Western College for Women at Oxford, Ohio; the State Normal School at Terre Haute, Indiana ; the Tri-State Normal School at Angola, Indiana, and the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, Michigan. Since the fall of 1909 she has been teaching in the Auburn public schools, being in the DeSoto school building that was erected while her father was a member of the school board; Nellie Faith, who graduated from the Auburn high school, and attended college at Jack- sonville, Illinois, is teaching sewing in the Auburn public schools; A. V., born April 16, 1892, graduated from the Auburn high school in 1908 and from the medical department of Indiana University in 1912. He served a year as house physician at St. Vincent's Hospital, Indianapolis, and is now engaged in the practice of his profession at Auburn; Victor Glenn, born September 4, 1895, died at the age of six years; Lillian died in infancy.
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