USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families > Part 47
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Stephen B. Ward was born in Randolph, Portage county, Ohio, on July 22, 1816. His parents, Josiah and Mindwell ( Harris) Ward, both died be- fore he was four years old, and he was bound to William Jones, of Randolph, with whom he remained until he was nineteen years old. He was given the advantage of a good practical education in the common schools and by pri- vate study, having followed a systematic course of reading. After his mar- riage, which occurred in 1839, he lived in Randolph and in Columbiana county, Ohio, until 1842, when, on January 22d, he moved to DeKalb county, Indiana, settling on land which he had previously purchased in Wilmington township and to the improvement and cultivation of which he now devoted
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his attention. At the age of sixteen years Mr. Ward had been converted and joined the Congregational church, but in 1841 he united with the Baptist church, and was soon afterwards licensed to preach. After coming to DeKalb county, and while engaged in farming, he had appointments to preach in different parts of the county, traveling through the woods on foot or on horseback, often riding twenty or thirty miles a day in order to fill his appointments. In the summer of 1847 he was regularly ordained a minister and thereafter he devoted the greater part of his attention to the preaching of the gospel and pastoral work up to about 1880, when advancing age com- pelled him to relinquish his work and retire to more private life. He had moved to Auburn in 1852, and there his death occurred on January 30, 1894. in the seventy-eighth year of his age. As a preacher Rev. Ward possessed peculiar force and power, at times rising to heights of oratory and always commanding the close attention of his hearers. During his active years he was a busy man and it is said that he performed more marriage ceremonies and held more funeral services than any other minister in DeKalb county. He was a most earnest and zealous Christian, his life being a beautiful exam- ple of simple, trusting faith. He loved his fellow man and it was his great, absorbing desire to bring them into a knowledge of a nobler and a higher life. He was one of the strong pillars of his church in this community and was public spirited in his attitude towards all movements for the general welfare. He took a high moral stand on all political questions of the day, and was a strong advocate of temperance, in both public and private life, his own life being in strict accord with his teachings. He was a member of the In- diana Legislature in 1857.
In 1839 Rev. Stephen B. Ward was married to Laura Atherton Brooks, who was born at Dalton, New Hampshire, on February 10, 1823, and who died at Auburn, Indiana, on March 20, 1907. She was the daughter of Dr. George W. and Mary (Atherton) Brooks. The mother died when her daughter, Mrs. Ward, was but an infant and the latter was taken by her father to New York, and later to Lorain county, Ohio, where her marriage oc- curred. She also made a public profession of religion at an early age and joined the Baptist church, of which she remained an earnest and steadfast member until she passed from the church militant to the church triumphant. She was to her husband a true helpmate in the fullest sense of the word, en- during the hardships and privations of the early days, and in after years her recital of pioneer incidents was both interesting and instructive. To Rev. Stephen B. and Laura Ward were horn three children, namely: Mary A ..
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born January 15, 1850, who became the wife of Lieut. John H. Ehlers, of the Eleventh Indiana Battery in the Civil war, a rank practically the same as captain in the infantry service. Mr. Ehlers became a prominent druggist at Auburn, where he lived until his death, which occurred on June 22, 1882. His widow, who continues to reside in Auburn, is well known for her relig- ious and educational work, having been for a number of years after her hus- band's death engaged in the work of the Woman's Baptist Home Mission Society, her labors calling her frequently into the Southern states, where she spent much of her time. She was for several years an instructor in Shaw University, and in the Baptist Mission training school at Chicago. Harris D. Ward, born January 8, 1847, is a successful merchant at Kendallville, In- diana. He married Florence Iddings July 8. 1869, and their only son, Lewis- Ward, is with his father in the store. He was married to Mary Mallory November 10, 1897, and is the father of a daughter, Florence, born Decem- ber 31, 1899. Vesta M., born April 26, 1841, who is the widow of the late Dr. David J. Swarts, resides at Auburn, where she is practicing medicine. She and her late husband are mentioned at length elsewhere in this work.
DAVIS E. CARUTH.
The memory of the worthy subject of this memorial biography is re- vered by a host of friends and acquaintances, he having spent his energies through a long life of strenuous endeavor to make the most of his opportuni- ties as well as to assist as best he could his neighbors to improve their condi- tion, for he did not believe in living to himself alone, manifesting an altruistic spirit and kind heart, his sympathies going out to those who needed assist- ance or encouragement, and in all the relations of life he proved signally true to every trust. He possessed a social nature and by his genial and kindly at- titude to those with whom he came in contact, he won the confidence and. respect of everyone.
Davis E. Caruth was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, May 16. 1852. After securing his education in the public schools he entered the employ of railroads and at the age of twenty-one years, when the Baltimore & Ohio road was being built through DeKalb county, he came here as a line- man, working the line construction at the time when the town of Garrett was just being started. He remained with the Baltimore & Ohio company for six or seven years. After his marriage, which occurred in 1876, Mr. Caruth
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lived at Walkerton, Indiana, about four years and then removed to Chicago, where he was engaged with the Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Company, hav- ing in charge the line maintenance. A year later he went back to Auburn and for a short time worked for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company and later for the Nickel Plate Railroad Company, being with the latter road ahout five years as superintendent of telegraph construction between Chicago and Buffalo. During the period of his employ with the Nickel Plate company Mr. and Mrs. Caruth lived at Fostoria, Ohio. In .1887 they returned to Auburn and established their permanent home. Mrs. Caruth's father died and Mr. Caruth gave up his railroad work in order to give his entire atten- tion to her father's former business affairs and his farms. Thereafter Mr. Caruth maintained his home here until his death, which occurred on June 15, 1912.
In 1876 Mr. Caruth married Cornelia Lockwood, the daughter of Alonzo and Rosamond ( Phelps) Lockwood, the latter being a sister of Reu- ben Lockwood, deceased, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Caruth was born and reared on her father's farm about five miles south of Auburn, and when about seven years of age she accompanied her parents on their removal to Auburn, where she lived until her marriage to Mr. Caruth. To this union were born two daughters, Elsie J., the wife of Ashton Staman, a druggist at Auburn, and Gertrude C., the wife of Edward O. Little, jeweler and city clerk of Auburn, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work.
Fraternally, Mr. Caruth was a Mason of high degree, having been a member of the Scottish Rite, thirty-second degree, for over twenty years. Religiously, he was a member of the Presbyterian church, and during his entire life he always stood for the right regardless of public sentiment. Be- cause of his positive stand on all questions and his high personal character he won a host of friends who esteemed him for his genuine worth. He was deeply interested in everything that was for the betterment of the town in which he lived and lent a helping hand whenever he could for the public wel- fare. He loved his fellow men irrespective of rank or circumstances and was in turn beloved by them. He remembered the sick in their distress and was their friend in their hours of isolation and trouble and frequently gave material assistance where it was needed. During his active life he gave strict attention to his business affairs and for many years he never lost a day while in railroad employ. His superior officers held him in the highest regard, for he was not only well qualified to discharge important official duties, but was a man who without effort made friends and always retained them.
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EDWARD O. LITTLE.
Edward O. Little was born in Auburn, Indiana, on March 1, 1879, and is the son of Henry E. and Sylvia (Orr) Little. Henry E. Little was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and was a son of Andrew Jackson and Amanda (McDowell) Little. Amanda McDowell, who was born at Lan- caster City, Pennsylvania, was a daughter of Robert and Mary (Roth) Mc- Dowell, and accompanied her parents on their removal to Columbia and thence to Williamsport, where her marriage occurred. Andrew Jackson Little was a native of Columbia, Connecticut. After his marriage he re- mained at Williamsport for some years, being engaged in his young man- hood as a teacher in the college at that place. During the same period he devoted all his leisure time to the study of law, acquiring a fine legal educa- tion. He was admitted to the bar and developed into a most successful lawyer, practicing extensively in the Pennsylvania supreme court. He was a man of force and strong personality and was especially strong as a pleader before court and jury. He practiced for many years in Pennsylvania, but about 1860 he was induced to go to Coldwater, Michigan, where he met with great financial reverses. Soon afterward he moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he remained until the beginning of the Civil war, when he moved to Auburn, continuing in his law practice there. About 1880 Mr. Little suffered an attack of typhoid fever, from the effects of which his health was per- manently injured and thereafter he relinquished his law practice, living re- tired until his death, which occurred in 1884. He left a widow and four children: Andrew Jackson, William, Henry and John Conger. Henry E. Little, after completing his common school education, learned the printing trade at Auburn and accepted a position in the office of the Auburn Courier, of which he became foreman at the time when the office was owned by James Barnes. Later Mr. Little bought a paper at Hicksville, but soon after- wards sold out and he and his brother, Andrew Jackson Little, started the Garrett Clipper. He was a strong and forcible writer and a courageous newspaper man and was not afraid to speak the truth regardless of fear or favor. He and his brother developed the paper into one of the best news- papers of the community, with a large circulation, but they eventually sold the paper, though later Henry and his son, Tracy Little, bought it back and ran it until Henry Little's death, which occurred on July 27. 1905. Sylvia (Orr) Little, wife of Henry E., was the daughter of Edward and Rachel (Updike) Orr. Rachel Updike Orr was born in 1833 and traced her ances-
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try back to Louis Jansen op Dyck, a Hollander who came to America before 1653, and located at Albany, New York. He was descended from the nobility in Holland and through them from the ancient races that warred with the Romans, his ancestry being traced to Henric, who was born in 1261 of a knightly family. Rachel Updike Orr's father was John Updike, who was the son of George Updike, a son of Esquire Luther Updike, the latter a justice of the peace in Kingwood, Alexandria and Hunterdon counties, New York, and for fifty years was an associate judge of the common pleas court, and was an ensign in the war of Revolution, having served through the greater part of that struggle. He was a man of ability, prominently con- nected with public affairs, well to do in his finances and a successful and popular preacher in the Baptist church. An uncle of Rachel Orr, George Updike, was a prominent man in New York city, and was active in pro- curing Lincoln's nomination, he himself being elected mayor of New York city. Sylvia (Orr) Little died at Auburn, Indiana, May 14, 1910.
Edward O. Little was reared in Auburn and graduated from the high school in 1897. During the following five years he served an apprenticeship to the jeweler's trade under the direction of D. A. Hodge, at that time a jew- eler in Auburn. Mr. Little then engaged in business on his own account in a small way at Garrett, where he remained nine months, and in 1903 removed to Auburn, opening a store in a small frame building on Main street between Seventh and Eighth streets. He prospered in his venture and in the follow- ing March he moved his store to his present place of business on the north side of Seventh street, just west of Main, where he has been in business ever since. He carries a large and well selected stock of jewelry and altogether has a store that is a credit to the city. He is a good workman and has always evinced a desire to thoroughly please his patrons.
Mr. Little is a Democrat in politics and to him belongs the distinction of having served in an elective public office longer than any other person served in Auburn up to this writing. He was elected city clerk of Auburn in the spring of 1904, and has been twice elected to succeed himself. The dis- charge of his important duties has been characterized by the utmost faith- fulness and ability and he has been repeatedly urged to stand for re-election. but has refused to allow his name to be used again. He has been prominent in local political affairs, and for four years, from 1904 to 1909, he served as secretary of the Democratic county committee and for the last four years has been a member of the executive committee of the organization. Frater- nally, he has been a member of the Knights of Pythias since 1900, and has
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held various official positions in the order, having served as past chancellor, keeper of records and seal and master of work. He is also a member of the Masonic order, in which he has attained every degree up to the fifteenth de- gree of the Scottish Rite. Mr. and Mrs. Little are members of the Presby- terian church.
On October 21, 1903, Mr. Little was united in marriage to Gertrude C. Caruth, the daughter of Davis E. and Cornelia C. (Lockwood) Caruth, who are mentioned elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Little was born at Wal- kerton, Indiana, on September 1, 1879, and in her childhood accompanied her parents on their removal to Auburn, where she has lived ever since. Mr. and Mrs. Little are the parents of two sons, James Edward, born April 21, 1906, and Robert Henry, born December 23, 1908.
MILES BAXTER.
Few residents of DeKalb county are as well and favorably known as the enterprising business man and representative citizen whose life story is briefly told in the following lines and none stands higher than he in the esteem and confidence of the community in which he resides and for the material ad- vancement of which he has devoted so much of his time and influence.
Miles Baxter was born along the north line of DeKalb county, two miles west of Hamilton, Indiana, on January 27, 1864, and is the son of Andrew R. and Elizabeth (Brown) Baxter. Andrew Baxter was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and was the son of William and Sarah (Rogers) Baxter. He spent his childhood in his native state, and then came with his mother to Wayne county. Ohio, where he met and married Nancy Brown. She was born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Andrew and Ellen ( Ritchie) Brown, the former a native of Scotland and the latter of Ireland. William and Sarah Baxter were Scotch-Irish Presbyter- ians from the north of Ireland. Andrew Baxter came to DeKalb county, Indiana, in the fall of 1840 and entered a tract of government land in section 5, Franklin township. He built a cabin, after which he returned to Ohio and as early as possible the next spring he brought his family to their new home. The land not being cleared, he first planted corn by striking his axe into the ground, dropping corn into the hole and then stepping on it, closing the hole. In that way he raised enough of a crop for feeding purposes. He spent prac-
MILES BAXTER
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tically the rest of his life on that place, or until 1889, when he moved to Auburn, where he died when ninety-one years old. He served several times as trustee and as assessor of his township. He was twice married. His first wife died in January, 1856, leaving eight children, Elvina, Ellen, William, Andrew, Mary Jane, John W., Naney Emeline and James B. About two years later he married his first wife's sister, Elizabeth Brown, who became the mother of six sons, five of whom grew to maturity and survived her, namely: Charles O., Miles, Chauncey, Cory and George. The mother of these chil- dren died on January 3, 1877, and Andrew Baxter died on December 18, 1903. He was a Presbyterian at heart and had great respect and veneration for the church, but never joined formally. He was deeply interested in pub- lic affairs and always voted the straight Democratic ticket. His relations with his family were of the highest order, a warm affection existing between them, though there was but little demonstration of this feeling. According to present-day standards, he did not possess much of an education, but in the fundamentals he was well informed and, being a man of strong common sense and sound judgment, his advice was considered valuable by those who sought it. He understood arithmetic well and was an excellent penman, and did much in the way of instructing his children in their studies and stimulat- ing them in their educational efforts. That his influence was effectual is noted in the fact that, with but two or three exceptions, all of the children became school teachers.
Miles Baxter was reared on the home farm until he was about seven- teen years old, when, having a desire to take up teaching, he began attend- ing teachers' normal schools in order to prepare himself for that vocation. He taught his first term of school during the winter of 1883-4 and then spent two years in the Tri-State Normal School at Angola. He then taught for about six years, after which, during 1887, he was a traveling salesman in Kansas. Returning then to DeKalb county, he taught school for two or three winters, farming during the summers. In 1891 Mr. Baxter took up the study of law in the office of his brother, John Baxter, continuing to apply himself in this way about two years. He then went on the road in the inter- ests of the Auburn Foundry and Machine Works for about four years, and then for a time was interested in the grocery and restaurant business. In 1900 Mr. Baxter engaged in the real estate, loan and insurance business at Auburn, which has commanded his attention ever since. Mr. Baxter's pre- vious experience had been a valuable schooling for him in some respects for
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the line to which he is now giving his efforts, besides which his sound judg- ment, accurate information as to real values and his persistency have brought their rewards, and he is now commanding his full share of the local patron- age in his lines.
Mr. Baxter, from the time he attained his majority, has been active in his support of the Democratic party and since about 1888 has been connected with the county central committee. From 1906 to 1910 he was county chair- man and has twice been a delegate to state conventions of his party, having been chairman of the DeKalb county delegation to the convention which nominated Thomas R. Marshall for governor. He has frequently been active in congressional district politics. While in the restaurant and grocery business Mr. Baxter served two years as treasurer of Auburn, giving a satis- factory administration of the office, and from 1900 to 1904 he served as trustee of Union township. In 1913 he was recommended by Congressman Cline for the postmastership at Auburn.
In 1880 Miles Baxter was married to Mollie McDowell, who was born and reared on the McDowell farm, a short distance west of Auburn, being the daughter of Elijah J. and Mary A. (George) McDowell. Two children were born of this union, one dying in infancy and the other at the age of six- teen months. Mrs. Baxter died in June, 1892, and on January 12, 1897. Mr. Baxter married Minnie M. McDowell, a sister of his first wife. They have two children, Helen and Stanley Miles.
Mr. Baxter and family are identified with the Presbyterian church, of which he is a trustee and otherwise active in advancing its interests. Frater- nally, he is a member of Auburn Lodge No. 191, Knights of Pythias, of which he has been a member for eighteen years. He has passed through all the chairs of the subordinate lodge and has been a delegate to the grand lodge. In connection with Auburn Lodge there is a Fraternal Relief Asso- ciation, composed of members of the order, the organization providing a fund for the immediate use of the family in case of death. Of this organiza- tion Mr. Baxter is president. He is also a member of the American Yeoman and the Tribe of Ben-Hur. Mr. Baxter is earnest in his support of every movement which is calculated to advance the best interests of the commun- ity along any legitimate line. By his advocacy of wholesome living, pure politics and honesty in business, he has long enjoyed the undivided respect and esteem of all who know him, being regarded as one of DeKalb county's most substantial and worthy citizens.
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EDGAR W. ATKINSON.
The subject of biography yields to no other in point of interest and profit. It tells of the success and defeats of men, the difficulties they have encountered and gives an insight into the methods and plans they have pur- sued. The obvious lessons therein taught will prove of great benefit if follow- ed, and the example of the self-made man should certainly encourage others into whose cradle smiling fortune has cast no glittering crown to press for- ward to nobler aims and higher ideals.
Edgar W. Atkinson, who enjoys marked prestige in DeKalb county as a leading member of the legal fraternity, and who is now numbered among the enterprising public-spirited citizens of Auburn, was born at Beverly, Ohio. on February 21, 1877, and is the son of Joseph and Hannah M. (Ludman) Atkinson. Mr. Atkinson spent his boyhood days on the home farm at Bev- erly, attending the common schools until sixteen years of age. At the age of fourteen years he had taken an examination for teacher's license and had received his certificate. Continuing his studies two years longer he then began teaching and at the age of twenty he secured a first-class certifi- cate for five years and rendering him exempt from examination. A year or two later he took an examination to teach algebra, physiology, physics and chemistry, receiving certificates in those subjects. He followed the vo- cation of a teacher for seven years, and then, aspiring to higher and wider fields of usefulness, he attended Valparaiso University, at Valparaiso, Indiana. where he pursued classical studies and also the law course, graduating from that institution in June, 1903. Mr. Atkinson then came to Auburn and with a classmate named John Stafford formed a partnership and they began the active practice of law. A year later Mr. Stafford returned to his home in Kentucky and thereafter Mr. Atkinson practiced alone until June, 1906, when he became deputy clerk of the DeKalb circuit court. holding this posi- tion until December 1, 1908. He then formed a law partnership with W. W. Sharpless and for fifteen months they maintained a law office at Garrett, Indiana. On March 1, 1910, Mr. Atkinson returned to Auburn and he formed a partnership seven days later with Dan M. Link, with whom he has continued in the practice. The story of Mr. Atkinson's life is an interesting one, showing a determination to succeed that would brook no obstacles and a spirit of industry that was deterred by no amount of work, elements that were bound to insure success in any undertaking. While in the clerk's office Mr. Atkinson was frequently employed from seven in the morning until ten
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at night studying law at every leisure moment and learning by memory every case on the docket. He was of a disposition that enabled him to avoid an- tagonism and he made warm friends of practically every fellow member of the bar. His removal to Garrett was with a definite idea in view and he returned to Auburn with the same definite plan before him. Farsighted, keen and sagacious, he always aims to be sure that he is right and then, when so assured, he boldly goes ahead in the performance of his duty, regardless of outside opinion or criticism. Messrs. Atkinson & Link have been engaged in much of the important litigation which has been tried in the local courts, including many cases venued to this court from other counties, and they have been uniformly successful in their practice. Mr. Atkinson is careful and thorough in the preparation of his cases and prompt in the handling of them, and because of the careful observance of professional ethics and his cour- tesy to the other members of the bar he is held in high esteem by his colleagues. In the public life of the community Mr. Atkinson has shown a commenda- ble interest, giving his earnest support to every movement calculated to ad- vance the best interests of his fellows, and because of his genial disposition and unassuming manner he has endeared himself to all who know him.
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