USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families > Part 41
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Of Mr. McNabb it may be said that his was a positive character, and he possessed the qualities that command attention and assure success in any calling. He was the scion of sterling ancestry who played well their parts in the early settlement of northeast Indiana. and he proved to be a worthy de- scendant of his forebears. Throughout an active and interesting career, duty was ever his motive for action and helpfulness to his fellow men not by any means a secondary consideration. Thus because of his high standing and genuine worth he is eminently entitled to representation in a history of his county.
JAMES E. POMEROY.
In no profession is there a career more open to talent than is that of the law, and in no field of endeavor is there demanded a more careful prepara- tion, a more thorough appreciation of the absolute ethics of life or of the underlying principles which form the basis of all human rights and privileges. Unflagging application and intuitive wisdom and determination fully to utilize the means at hand, are the concomitants which insure personal suc- cess and prestige in this great profession, which stands as the stern conserva- tor of justice; and it is one into which none should enter without a recogni- tion of the obstacles to be encountered and overcome and the battles to be won, for success does not perch on the banner of every one who enters the competitive fray, but comes only as the legitimate result of capability. Pos- sessing all the requisite qualities of the able lawyer, James E. Pomeroy stands today among the eminent practitioners of DeKalb county, Indiana.
James F .. Pomeroy was born on December 14, 1867, at Canal Fulton, Stark county, Ohio, and he is the son of Francis M. and Mary (Duley) Pomeroy. The Pomeroy family, though originally of Norman blood, was, during a thousand years in the British Isles, so mixed with Scotch and Irish blood, that the subject may legitimately claim Scotch-Irish ancestry. The branches of the family in England, Ireland and America are descended from Sir Ralph de Pomeroy, who was an aide-de-camp under William the Con- queror in his conquest in England. In 1730 a descendant of his, Thomas Pomeroy, came from Liverpool to America and located near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, he being one of the first two white families to locate west of the Susquehanna river. His second son, John, was a noted foe of the Indians. About the close of the French and Indian war Thomas Pomeroy's family and
JAMES E. POMEROY
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about twenty other settlers at Chambersburg were massacred by Indians. Colonial troops were raised, of which John Pomeroy was made colonel, and under his leadership they pursued and punished the Indians so effectively that he was ever afterwards called Colonel John Pomeroy, the Indian Killer. Subsequently he moved to Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, where, in 1782, he became lieutenant-colonel of the First Battalion of Westmoreland County Militia and was in actual service on the frontier of that county. Three of his sons moved, in 1816, to near Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio, of whom the youngest, Francis, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, settled in what is now a part of Stark county, Ohio, and there his descendants have continued to reside to the present time.
James E. Pomeroy received his elementary education in the public schools of his home town, graduating from the high school in 1884. Im- mediately afterwards, through the influence of James Sterling, one of the leading attorneys of that county, he was prevailed upon to enter the latter's office and take up the study of law. About that time, however, he was thrown upon his own resources and, by force of circumstances, he engaged in teach- ing school until he was about twenty-seven years old. In the meantime he had continued his legal studies in the Northern Indiana University, at Val- paraiso, Indiana, and in March, 1895, he realized in a measure his ambition by being admitted to the bar of DeKalb county at Auburn. On October 4. 1904, he was admitted to practice in the supreme court and to the United States district court at Indianapolis in 1905. Since his admission to the bar Mr. Pomeroy has remained in the practice of his profession at Auburn, and has built up a large and remunerative clientele. It is scarce less than su- pererogation in outlining the leading facts in his life to refer to him as a lawyer in the ordinary phraseology which meets requirements when dealing with the average member of the legal profession. He has been indeed much more than eminently successful in his legal career, for he has become a master in his profession and a leader among men distinguished for the high order of their legal ability. As a member of the bar Mr. Pomeroy has faithfully and honestly discharged his duty. He has always counseled and maintained such actions and defenses only as have appeared to him to be just, and he has never been known to reject from any consideration personal to himself the cause of the defenseless or depressed. He has never sought to employ means other than such as have been entirely consistent with truth, and has never sought to mislead the court or jury by any artifice or false statement of fact or law, but has adhered so closely to the established code of ethics that he has
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merited the confidence which is placed in him by his fellow members of the: bar. Mr. Pomeroy has been connected with most of the really important cases which have been tried in the DeKalb court since entering practice and has been notably successful in his efforts. One of the most noted of these cases was that of Grover Ensley, who was accused of murdering his wife's paramour and who was defended by Mr. Pomeroy. The evidence at the coroner's inquest showed that the defendant had taken both a revolver and a shotgun into a next-door neighbor's house and there watched for his wife and her illicit visitor, and that when he saw them leaving the house to go to Fort Wayne he rushed out and shot the man. The wife sided against her husband. It took a week to try the case, the defense being handled with masterly skill by Mr. Pomeroy. The defense claimed that the shooting was an accident caused by Ensley stepping into a hole; that he had the gun to scare the decedent and hold him until he could bring about his arrest. It was a dramatic scene when the defendant, who was proved to be a diligent, law- abiding citizen, and a kind and faithful husband, took the stand in his own behalf. His looks and demenanor showed that he was not a bad man. . He had been advised by Mr. Pomeroy to say no unkind word of his wife, and he did not. The defendant had stammered badly all his life, and did so on the stand. For eighteen hours he was on the witness stand and the story de- veloped many touching details of sincere devotion and heart yearning, and the final tragedy, that moved to tears the jury and most of the spectators, some of them weeping aloud. Mr. Pomeroy's handling of the case was mas- terly in every way and showed that he had given to the defense much thought and study. He seemed to have every section of the law bearing on the case' at his finger's ends. During his argument to the jury he won the admiration of all by the able manner in which he presented his side of the case, and the result enrolled him among the foremost criminal lawyers of the country. Within ten minutes after the jury retired they were practically ready for a verdict of acquittal, and when their verdict was announced a great cheer swept over the court room and was taken up by the waiting crowd outside. No such scene was ever before enacted in DeKalb county and when the jury was excused, the throng, including the jurymen, crowded around the de- fendant and Mr. Pomeroy, showering them with congratulations for the gal- lant fight they had made in a case that at first looked hopeless, but now looked as if it was settled in the only just and right way.
On September 1, 1895, Mr. Pomeroy was married to Ella Bunge, who was born and reared in Wilmington township, near Butler, the daughter of
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Fred Bunge and wife. Fred Bunge came from Germany to the United States in 1854 and located near Auburn, where he and his family lived for many years. For the past thirty years they have lived on a farm one and a half miles west of Butler. Mrs. Pomeroy's mother, whose maiden name was Shoup, was born at Canton, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Pomeroy have no children of their own, but have adopted a boy, Blaine Lamar, now two years old. He is a son of Jesse O. and Lula ( Balliet) Hilkey, a highly respected family. The lad's mother died when he was only ten days old, and he was adopted by his foster parents when he was nineteen days old. Mr. Pomeroy has a beautiful and attractive home at Van Buren and Fourth streets, Auburn. He finds recreation and pleasure in the cultivation of flowers and plants and he has beautified his home by his artistic arrangement of the plants and shrub- bery. Personally, Mr. Pomeroy is a man of genial and kindly impulses and gives his sympathy and support to all worthy causes. In the civic life of his community he is an important factor and is numbered among the men of progress and enterprise. Because of his eminent ability, professional success and high personal qualities, he enjoys a wide popularity in the county which is honored by his citizenship.
HARVEY O. WILLIAMS.
The office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave upon the record the verdict establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his neighbors and fellow citizens. In touching upon the life history of the subject of this sketch the writer aims to avoid fulsome encomium and extra- vagant praise ; yet he desires to hold up for consideration those facts which have shown the distinction of a true, useful and honorable life-a life charac- terized by perseverance, energy, broad charity and well defined purpose. To do this will be but to reiterate the dictum pronounced upon the man by the people who have known him long and well.
Harvey O. Williams was born on May 12, 1890, on his father's farm one mile west of Auburn, and is the son of John and Mary (Rinehold) Williams. The father was born at Millersburg, Ohio, and when about eigh- teen years of age came to DeKalb county, Indiana, with his parents, Cyrus and Amanda Williams. The family first located near Corunna, but subse-
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quently the parents located near Huntertown, Allen county, Indiana, where they spent the remainder of their days. John Williams was reared to the life of a farmer, which vocation he followed as a day laborer up to the time of his marriage in 1879, when he went to farming for himself just east of Auburn on the Ashelman farin. About seven years later he was enabled to buy a farm of his own a mile west of Auburn, where he lived until 1897, when he disposed of that place and bought another farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres located about eight miles south of Auburn, where he still resides. He has all his life been an active supporter of the Democratic party and served as a member of the county council about six years. In 1902 he made a close race for the office of sheriff. He has long been numbered among the leading men of his community.
Harvey O. Williams was reared on the parental farmstead and attended the Auburn public schools, graduating from the high school in 1910. His first employment after leaving school was in the office of the master me- chanic of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad shops at Garrett, Indiana, where he remained until April, 1913, when his father-in-law, Warren McNabb. county recorder, died, when by the latter's request, Mr. Williams was ap- pointed to succeed him in this official position, and he has since served as recorder, the appointment being made on the 18th of April. At the time of his appointment he was but twenty-two years of age, and is believed to be the youngest county official in Indiana. Though young in years, he is dis- charging the duties of his office in as efficient a manner as could be desired, and has earned the sincere regard of all who have dealings with him and with the office.
On June 18, 1912, Harvey O. Williams was married to Edith J. McNabb, of Garrett, Indiana, the daughter of Warren McNabb, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. Politically, Mr. Williams is a supporter of the Democratic party, and fraternally is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and with his wife, belongs to the Daughters of Rebekah. They are also members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which they take an active interest and to the support of which they contribute liberally of their means. Socially, Mr. Williams is a member of the Phi Delta Kappa Greek letter fraternity.
Mr. Williams has realized early that there is a purpose in life and that there is no honor not founded on worth, and no respect not based on accom- plishment. He has started right and his many friends predict for him a very successful career.
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DR. A. M. OSWALT.
Each calling or business, if honorable, has its place in human existence, constituting a part of the plan whereby life's methods are pursued and man reaches his ultimate destiny. Emerson said that "All are needed by each one." And that is as true in one avenue of life's activities as in another. However, the importance of a business or profession is in a very large measure deter- mined by its beneficence or usefulness. So dependent is man upon his fellow men that the worth of each individual is largely reckoned by what he has done for humanity. There is no class to whom greater gratitude is due from the world at large than to those self-sacrificing, sympathetic, noble-minded men whose life work has been the alleviation of suffering that rests on humanity, thus lengthening the span of human existence. There is no known standard by which their beneficent influence can be measured; their helpfulness is as broad as the universe and their power goes hand in hand with the wonderful laws of nature that come from the very source of life itself.
Adam M. Oswalt was born June 30, 1870, at Three Rivers, Michigan, and is the son of Adam and Anna (Detwiler) Oswalt. At the age of five years the subject was deprived by death of a mother's love and care, and he then went to live in the home of Charles Shelhart, who reared him to man- hood. Soon after becoming a member of this household the family moved to a farm at Sherwood, Michigan, where Mr. Oswalt spent his boyhood days, securing his education in the common schools there, supplementing this by attendance at the Tri-State College at Angola, Indiana, where he received his diploma. The two following years were spent in farm labor at the home of his foster father. In 1897 Mr. Oswalt engaged in general merchandising at Ray, Indiana, which he carried on successfully for five years, relinquishing that line of effort at the end of that period, however, in order to take up the study of osteopathy which he had determined to make his life work. To this end he entered the American School of Osteopathy at Kirksville, Mis- souri. He graduated on January 25. 1905. He immediately engaged in the practice of the profession at South Bend, Indiana, but one year later came to Auburn, where he has since been located, and in the practice of his profession here he has been markedly successful. The science of osteopathy is compara- tively new, but because of the notable success which has accompanied its practice, it has gained many adherents, and its practitioners have gained an enviable standing in the profession. Dr. Oswalt has applied himself closely
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to his profession and has gained the confidence and regard of all with whom he has come in contact because of his professional ability and personal worth.
In 1897 Dr. Oswalt was married to Jessie Marie McNaughton, of Ray, Indiana, the daughter of Archibald and Fidelia (Lewis) McNaughton. Dr. and Mrs. Oswalt are members of the Presbyterian church at Auburn, which they attend regularly, and to which they contribute liberally of their means. They move in the best social circles of the community and enjoy the loyal friendship of all who know them.
JAMES BOWMAN.
In the person of this venerable pioneer farmer, now deceased, we have a sample of a worthy race of people to whom the country is largely indebted for its development and progress. He was not a showy man, simply a plain, industrious tiller of the soil, who worked hard to get a start in the world, provided well for his family, did his duty to his fellow men and made a good neighbor and citizen. To such as he Indiana owes much. Here and there, scattered over the state in every county, on well-tilled acres, they toiled and worked, cleared, grubbed and ditched, fought the forces of nature in the way of swamps and dense forests, gradually making headway until in time we see the beautiful and highly cultivated farms as the result of their arduous labors. Such were the pioneer farmers. They did not figure in public life. Their names were seldom mentioned in the papers, they lived quiet and un- pretentious lives, but it was their work and their self-sacrifice that was grad- ually building up the state, adding to its wealth and beauty, until it became one of the finest agricultural regions in the world. Mr. Bowman was a public-spirited man in all that term implied, was ever interested in enterprises tending to promote the general welfare and withheld his support from no movement for the good of the locality so long honored by his residence. His personal relations with his fellow men were ever mutually pleasant and agreeable, and he was highly regarded by all, having been easily approached, obliging and straightforward in all the relations of life.
James Bowman, who during his life was one of the best known citizens of Waterloo and vicinity and an honored pioneer of Franklin township, DeKalb county, Indiana, was born in Onondaga county, New York, on March II, 1815, and his death occurred at his home in Waterloo on July 7, 1900, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. He came of a long line of sterling
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ancestors, the first members of the Bowman family having come to this coun- try from Holland. Their remains now lie buried near Albany, New York. To them was born a son, Peter, whose wife's Christian name was Mary, and they lie buried in Belle Isle cemetery at Van Buren. New York. Peter and Mary Bowman had four children, three daughters and a son, the latter named John, having been born at Trenton, New Jersey, on April 15, 1789. When he was but five years old his parents moved to New York state and there he married Matilda Minner, who was born on September 9. 1787, in Connecticut. They became the parents of twelve children, all of whom grew to maturity. The mother of these children died in 1854 and the father subse- quently married his first wife's sister, Sallie. His death occurred in 1869. The fourth of the children in order of birth was James, the immediate sub- ject of this sketch.
James Bowman was reared to maturity on the home farm in New York and received his education in the common schools. Shortly after his mar- riage, which occurred in 1839, he and his wife started west via the Lake Erie Canal and Lake Erie to Toledo, from whence they drove overland with ox team to Franklin township, DeKalb county, Indiana, where he entered a section of government land and erected a log cabin. Here he began the strug- gle common to the pioneer settlers of the frontier west, and in the creation of a home and the clearing and improvement of the farm he received the able co- operation and assistance of his wife. The farm which was thus located and im- proved has been since owned and occupied by his grandson, James Hodges, and mother, Mrs. A. J. Sinclair. In the spring of 1851 Mr. Bowman moved to what is now the northeast edge of Waterloo, where he built a home and also erected a saw mill. At that time heavy timber covered the greater part of the land now the site of Waterloo and much of this timber was worked up in the mill owned by Mr. Bowman. He was a successful man in everything to which he addressed himself and as he prospered financially he contributed to the growth and development of the community in every way possible. giving liberally of his means to the erection of churches, school houses, and in other ways con- tributing to the welfare of the citizens. For nearly twenty-nine years during his later life he was disabled by paralysis to such an extent as to be confined to a chair. However, during these nearly three decades he was always patient and cheerful and to the last maintained a deep interest in everything about him. His mind was as bright in his last years as at any period in his life, and he always managed his own business affairs. He was made of those sterling qualities out of which the frontier settlers of the middle West
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were made and to him is due the gratitude of present generations for what he did in the way of opening up and clearing the way for the later splendid civilization which has characterized this section of the state.
On September 26, 1839, in Onondaga county, New York, James Bow- man married Rebecca Jane Bort, who was born probably in Onondaga county, the daughter of Christian and Susan (Quackenbush) Bort. To their union were born eight children, of whom five are now living, namely: Mrs. A. J. Sinclair, Mrs. James P. McCague, Mrs. C. E. Montavon, Charles and Frank, all of whom are living in Waterloo.
JAMES Y. W. MCCLELLAN.
Among the citizens of Auburn, DeKalb county, who, through their own persistent and well directed efforts, have achieved a gratifying measure of success in their vocation, is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch. With little outside assistance, he has steadily forged to the front, overcoming obstacles and unfavorable circumstances, until today he is numbered among the successful men of his community.
James Y. W. McClellan, a well known citizen of Auburn, was born two and one-half miles south of this city on November 12, 1855, and is the son of James McClellan, Jr., and Mary Jane (Summers) Mcclellan. James McClellan, Jr., was born on October 23, 1826. in Wayne county, Ohio, and was a son of James, Sr., and Elizabeth (Knapp) McClellan, the former having been born on November 10, 1793, at Mckeesport, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. He was a son of John McClellan, who, it is believed, came from Ireland. It is said the McClellan family was of Scotch ancestry and is descended from a Scotch chieftain named Clell, who reigned over highland territory in Scotland. Tradition has it that Clell lived there many centuries ago and his domain was called Clell's land, shortened to Clelland. "Mc" means "son of." The families in the United States bearing the names of MacLellan, McLellon, Mcclellan and McClelland doubtless sprang from this original stock from the southwestern part of Scotland. During the religious wars of 1640 many families of the name moved from Scotland to Ireland, later coming from Ireland to America shortly before the American Revolutionary war, settling in Nova Scotia, Canada and the New England states, New York, Pennsylvania and North and South Carolina. They were usually Presbyterians in their religious belief. James McClellan, Sr., had
JAMES Y. W. MCCLELLAN
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two sisters and four brothers, of whom Robert was a captain in the war of 1812, another brother, Joseph, being a private in the same war. The other brothers were William and John. These brothers were all Presbyterians in their religious belief. About 1812 James McClellan, Sr., settled in Wayne county, Ohio, where he remained until 1860, when he came west, settling in Huntington county, Indiana, and in 1866 came to DeKalb county. On June 1, 1815, he married Elizabeth Knapp, who was born June 28, 1797, and died on November 28, 1846, being buried in Wayne county, Ohio. James McClellan, Sr., died May 17, 1875, and is buried in Auburn. James Mc- Clellan, Jr., was reared on the paternal homestead in Ohio, and on May II, 1854, married Mary J. Summers, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Smith) Summers, who came from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, to DeKalb county in 1847 and settled one mile east of Auburn, where they entered land and cleared a farm and remained all their lives.
James Y. W. McClellan was reared on the home farm and received his educational training first in the public schools of Auburn, graduating from the high school in 1879. He then entered the literary department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, but, after two years' study there, his health failed and he was compelled to return home. The next twenty years of his life were spent in the operation of the home farm, in which he was eminently successful, both financially and in the complete restoration of his health. In 1898 Mr. McClellan moved to Fort Wayne, where for a year he ran a feed store, but then moved back to Auburn and has resided here since, most of the time being engaged as a real estate broker and dealer in fertilizer. He has been very successful in everything to which he has turned his hand and enjoys a wide reputation through this section of the state as a man of good business ability, sound judgment and wise discretion in all of his affairs. Because of his courtesy and absolute integrity he has commanded the confidence of all with whom he has dealt and no more popular man is numbered among Auburn's business men. Politically Mr. McClellan is an ardent advocate of the Democratic party and for a number of years has been active in its councils, having been a member of the county central committee for a number of years. He has been recognized in the way of public prefer- ment a number of times, having been a member of the county council and several times appointed drainage commissioner. In 1903 he was elected mayor of Auburn and his administration was one of the most successful this city has ever had. During his term of office a gas plant was built, an
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