USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families > Part 73
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Politically, Mr. McClure was a lifelong Democrat, but during the Civil war he remained loyal to the Union. A man of natural musical talent, he was a leader in the drum corps that during the war escorted each new mili- tary company on its way to Indianapolis. Religiously, he was a member of the Disciples church, as was his wife, and they were loyal and earnest in their support of all worthy causes. It is related in testimony to Mr. Mc- Clure's humane and kindly disposition that in the early days he constantly carried a gun with which he expected to shoot deer, but never shot when he saw the deer, his humane impulses forbidding the act. Of Mrs. McClure it is related that one night when left at home alone a big bear came close to the cabin and attempted to take a sow and pigs, but she scared it away with firebrands. To Mr. and Mrs. McClure were born five children, namely : A boy who died in early youth : Sarah, who was married three times, her last
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husband being Rev. S. P. Klotz; Timothy is a resident of Waterloo, this county ; Olive became the wife of John D. Eckhart, of Toledo, Ohio, but both died at about the same time of typhoid fever; Mary, the wife of Jef- ferson W. Jackman, of Grant township, this county, who is represented else- where in this work.
EMANUEL ROGER SHOEMAKER.
Emanuel Roger Shoemaker, the third son of Henry Shoemaker and Mary Wagoner, his wife, was born in Stoystown, Pennsylvania, April 15, 1832. As every man's biography properly begins with the preceding genera- tion at least, and as his life was colored to an unusual extent by the incidents of his childhood and youth, considerable attention will be devoted to the ex- periences of his father's family in Indiana.
The parents of Emanuel R. Shoemaker were residents of Stoystown, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, where the father pursued the tailoring trade. Their interests in Indiana began in 1837 when Emanuel Wagoner, a brother, entered two hundred and forty acres of land in Smithfield township, DeKalb county, for the sum of one hundred and twenty-five dollars. The family con- tinued their residence in Pennsylvania for three years, and by 1840 there were six children, David, Jacob, Emanuel, Catherine, Mary and John.
In May, 1840, the family left their old home and came to Knox county, Ohio, using as their conveyance a covered wagon pulled by two spirited sorrel mares. They remained there until the last of August, when they took another start, accompanied by the brother who had entered the land for them. On their journey westward they encountered the most serious difficulties, especially in the Black Swamp in western Ohio. As there were few roads they had to make their way through the mud, water, underbrush and over the corduroy bridges. Finally, about the middle of September, they reached Auburn, Indiana.
The father left the family there for a week while he went north to look up his land, which lay three miles north of the present town of Waterloo. He selected one hundred acres of the east side of the two hundred and forty acres entered. comprising the west half of the southwest quarter of section 22, and twenty acres of the east side of the southeast quarter of section 21, and later forty acres more. There were no houses from Auburn to Isaac Smith's, and no lumber available for building purposes, so he bought several hundred feet of lumber at Auburn and hauled it upon his land. In a few
MRS. HARRIET J. SHOEMAKER
EMANUEL R. SHOEMAKER
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days he returned for the family and they reached the site of their future home without shelter other than the wagon, and night was approaching in the wilderness.
Emanuel was then a boy eight years of age, and to the close of his life he could remember this evening. "My mother," he wrote, "was a remark- able person to go ahead. She soon had one boy unhitching the horses, and another searching for water. My father went out to cut forked saplings with an eight-pound ax-for such did we Pennsylvanians use .. With these slender trees he forked a pole against a couple of beeches, and against this pole he stood the boards on end which he had brought from Auburn." When this shack was reared, the wagon was unloaded and a meagre supper was spread. The family, all completely exhausted, lay down for their first night in their new home, only to be awakened by the wolves that seemed to scent the new inhabitants.
The morning brought new troubles. .. A house of some kind must be provided and feed for the horses found. It was a situation with tremendous trials that faced this family, whose head was a tailor, born and reared in a town, with no knowledge of farming, much less of the clearing of land. The timber was so dense that only here and there the sky was visible. Spice- wood, horse-mint, nettles and weeds were so thick that it, was difficult to make a way except along deer trails, until the frost had trimmed the foliage.
The first step was to erect a home. and James Blake was hired to cut logs for a cabin." When he began chopping with his light three and one-half pound ax, the Shoemaker family watched him critically. · He did not slide his- hand the entire length of the handle, and the handle was crooked, they ob- served. He did not chop straight into the tree, but started higher and chopped downward. "He is too lazy to bend his back," they said, "and his ax is only a tomahawk anyway." When the "Yankee" watched the Pennsylvanian wield his heavy eight-pound ax, with every stroke bringing forth a groan, it was his turn to laugh derisively. After a few days enough logs were cut. and when they had been drawn up with great difficulty by the fiery horses, seven or eight men came to the raising. The boards used in the shack were laid across the joist poles, and served as a roof through several rains until the cabin was covered with clap-boards.
During the first winter all fared better than would be expected. By the spring of 1841 seven acres of underbrush were cleared and about ten or twelve trees were left standing on each acre. The first corn crop was planted
(47)
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in Pilgrim fashion by dropping kernels in the trenches made by cutting be- tween the roots of trees.
In June, Henry Shoemaker returned on horseback to Stoystown and sold his town property for a sum considerably lower than he had hoped. Dur- ing the six weeks of the father's absence the family had some startling ex- periences. One Sunday when the mother and children were all in the cabin, two large Indians stepped in the door. They sat down and began talking about the guns which they saw in the room. "No good" was all that the family could understand, and by this the Indians meant that the guns had cap- locks. They soon made it known that they were hungry and without any de- lay a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread and a plate of butter were set before them. Each Indian drew from his belt a huge knife and began wiping it on his hair. To the great relief of the family, both began to eat. When they had finished they left the cabin, as they seemed to know the family were all afraid of them, walked to a fence where each picked up a gun and a deer, and went on their way. Some time afterwards, one of them was found dead on the edge of a cranberry marsh about five miles to the southeast. The names of these Indians were Jon Ess and Raccoon, and it was learned that they were the last two native Indians of DeKalb county.
In the fall of 1841 the father was attacked by a fever. No doctor was to be had, but after a very serious illness he finally recovered. It was no uncommon experience for six or seven members to be stricken with malaria or fever at the same time. When one would recover from his chill he would rally sufficiently to give the other water and a little care.
The winter of 1841-1842 was very discouraging, for it was with great difficulty that sufficient food and clothing were procured for the family. The details were never forgotten by Emanuel R. Shoemaker, who was then a boy of nine years. "Many gallons of meal," he wrote in a sketch of his life, "have I ground on the bottom of a tin pan with holes punched through from the inside to make a rough surface. I would take an ear of soft corn and rub it over the rough pan until I had worried the kernels off. Borrowing flour through the neighborhood was much in vogue among early settlers, but some- times borrowing was impossible. I remember one week when we were all forced to live on vegetables."
During the first few years of life in the new country the nearest mills were the one at Vermont, now called Orland, in Steuben county, and the Union mills, at a distance requiring four to six days for a single trip. Later Thompson's mill was built at Flint and another was completed at Enterprise.
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now called Hamilton, in 1846 or 1847. "Many were the troubles I have had going there to mill," wrote Mr. Shoemaker, the subject of this sketch. "Bags containing. about three bushels of wheat would be put on a horse and me on top of that. The sacks would strike against trees as I would. try to avoid. fallen timber or deep mud holes, and tumble off the horse."
In 1848 the father built a hewed-log house on the north part of the same tract of land, and was able to offer generous hospitality to any visitors who chanced near there. Religious services were frequently held and when a quarterly meeting occurred in the neighborhood, the minister, his family and all guests from a distance were received into the home. "Tlre pioneer mothers could find accommodations for everybody," wrote Mr. Shoemaker, "and I have known complete strangers to come and stay eight and ten days with a team, with no thought of remuneration on the part of my parents."
Before proceeding further with the story of the family of Henry Shoe- maker, we shall pause to relate the connection of this man with the Mexican war of 1848. A complete narrative of this chain of remarkable incidents is contained in the Fort Wayne Sentinel for Saturday, January 1.1, 1913. Pre- facing the narrative by the statement that in 1842, as at present, DeKalb and Steuben counties were in the same legislative district, the story may be tokl in the following brief style.
In this district, Dr. Madison Marsh, a Democrat, and Enos Beall, a Whig, were opposing candidates. On the face of the returns .. Enos. Beall was defeated by one vote, but after votes for Doctor Marsh were thrown out. the former was declared elected by the board of canvassers. The final hear- ing of this disputed election case took place at Indianapolis before a legisla- tive' committee, and the vital contention was over the ballot of Henry Shoe- maker. With the two candidates, he made the trip to the state capital as a witness before the legislative committee and from the testimony given these facts were ascertained: At the polls on election day the vote of Henry Shoe- maker had been challenged and in the dispute which followed he became angry, tore his ballot in two, threw it under the table and left the room. Later it was picked up and found to be for Doctor Marsh, the Democrat. but it was not allowed to be put in the ballot box. At the Indianapolis hearing this vote was counted, and it elected Doctor Marsh by a majority of one. He was accordingly given the legal certificate of election and took his seat in the House.
When the state Legislature came to elect the new Indiana senator to Congress, the contest was an exciting one. Hon. O. H. Smith was then
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senator and a candidate for re-election by the Whigs. Gen. T. A. Howard was the Democratic candidate, and their support was very evenly balanced. Several ballots were taken and the last one resulted in the election of a third and hitherto inconspicuous candidate, Edward O. Hannegan, by a majority of only two votes, one of which was cast by Doctor Marsh.
The annexation of Texas as a state in the Union was then the burning issue, and it presented itself to Congress at the first session after Mr. Hanne- gan's election. He favored annexation and voted in its favor. Had not this strangely remarkable sequence of incidents occurred, Mr. Beall, a Whig, would have furnished the one necessary vote to return Senator Smith to the United States Senate, and, being a Whig, he would have voted against an- nexation. This would have made the vote in the Senate on the resolution a tie, and the President of the Senate, a Whig, would have cast the deciding vote against annexation. 'As the policy of annexing Texas was probably the real cause of the Mexican war, it seems an accurate statement that Henry" Shoemaker cast the vote in 1842 which, by a long series of causes and results, made possible the war with Mexico in 1848.
By the year 1852, 'the family had grown to include five more children, Eva, Sarah, Horace, Malvina and Phebe." Eva and Mary died while young, and the father's health was very poor. In the midst of hardships and what was frequently positive want, the' stories of the California' gold discoveries were most alluring, and the family yielded to the "California gold fever."" On April 8, 1852, tlie father, with two of his older children, Catherine and Emanuel, left home for California via the overland route. " They set out in a one-horse covered wagon, with two yoke of cattle. Their route lay along Bear or Green river, the Humbolt river. across the desert. up the Truckee to Galoway Ranch. Emanuel, the son, inade the statement in after years that, notwithstanding the awful dangers,"all'enjoyed the trip and suffered no ill results except the father, whose eyes became very sore while traveling along the Humbolt and crossing the desert. When they reached the ranch they sold their oxen and walked four miles to Downieville, on the Yuba river in Sierra county, California. The time spent en route was five months and six days, and the harrowing experiences of this journey would fill a volume.
After their arrival, they bought a part of an abandoned flume and some lumber with which they built a small house on Durgan Flat. During the winter of 1853-1854 the father suffered greatly from eye trouble, and in May he returned home via Panama and New York. Catherine, the sister, ivorked with wonderful fortitude and was a great companion for her brother during
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those lonely months. In the summer of 1853 she married Franklin C. Francis, a partner of Doctor Webber in a saw mill on Durgan Flat.
Emanuel Shoemaker continued mining during these years on Coxes Bar. about three miles down the river from Downieville. The hard work, ill health and utter loneliness which he endured can only be realized by a reading of his diary written day by day. These pages reveal the incessant work at "drifting," in the "diggings," cutting timber on the mountain side and chop- ping wood. When the heavy rains fell and prevented work in the mine, he would busy himself with any kind of employment that he could find. The ex- posure suffered in digging the mill wheels out of the ice during the winter always resulted in severe colds and often in serious illness. The pleasures were few, but genuine. Debates were held several evenings of each week and the subject of this biography often participated. Preaching on Sundays and "by candle light" through the week was not only well attended, but appreciated. The greatest happiness came with the letters, however, which could always he expected with each arrival of the mail. The "home letter" never failed of mention in the diary, and its reading was generally followed by a period of loneliness during which he would console himself in writing to his mother.
The desolation was only deepened by the return of his sister, Catherine. her husband and child to "the States" in the fall of 1854. It was somewhat of a surprise when he learned on September 23d of Mr. Francis' expected return home, and he at once helped him close up his business. On the morn- ing of September 26th Emanuel accompanied his sister and her family when they started for the "Bay." He went with them to Marysville, then to 'Sacra- mento, and then to San Francisco, where they arrived after midnight Thurs- day, September 28th. He saw them start for their long voyage down the coast on the steamer "Yankee Blade," the same boat that the father had taken. After they left he returned to Downieville and it was not long before he got word that the steamer had been out only twenty-three hours when she ran · on a rock near Santa Barbara. Two boat-loads were stranded, and among those who were saved was his sister's family. They returned to San Fran- cisco and started again.
Emanuel continued mining on Coxes Bar a year longer. A page from "his diary for Saturday, November 4. 1854, contains this excerpt : "This even- ing, after a very hard day's work. I hurried to the postoffice with John Nobles, but we both found ourselves disappointed. We returned to the house on Durgan Flat. There we sat in silence looking about the room. No one to greet us. All. all looked lonesome and forsaken, while memory ran back
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to the time when all the folks were here. It alnost caused me to weep. Again I turned my eyes to the daguerreotype of those whom I esteem so much, and they looked as natural as life, but it was only an image. They could not speak, therefore I closed the case and laid it away again, and set to work. After which I retired, only to reflect on the past."
On September II. 1855. Emanuel started for San Francisco and his voyage home. He had sold his claim and after the final division was made he found that in these three long, weary years he had earned and cleared the sum of three thousand dollars. He took the same route that his father and sister before him had taken, and left San Francisco September 20th on the steamer "Sonora." The voyage to New York via Panama required twenty- six days, and the diary records an average daily distance of two hundred and fifty miles, a dangerously heavy sea part of the time, and attendant sea-sick- ness. On his arrival at New York city he was met by his brother, David, and together they returned home via Erie, Crestline and Fort Wayne. During these three years spent in California the foundations were laid both of his- comparative ill-health and of his success in later life.
In March, 1856, the father died after an illness of several weeks .. During the years that followed the mother was twice married and in 1886 she died at the home of her son. Emanuel. Both parents are buried in Cedar Lake cemetery, northwest of Waterloo. Through the many years that Grandma Shoemaker was an active woman in her own home with her own family, she never missed an opportunity of assisting where there was illness, and at a time when doctors were very few this able care was an infinite service.
Concerning the other members of the family, the following brief facts may be related. David was assisted by Emanuel in setting up a store in Uniontown, in which he succeeded until about 1860. After this he lost all his property, and in 1891 his death occurred. 'He was buried in the Waterloo cemetery. Jacob, the hunter of the family, served in the army throughout the Civil war. During the 'later years of his life he lived in the West, and he died in Minnesota in April, 1908. His remains were brought to the Waterloo cemetery for interment. Catherine Francis lived with her family in a large home on the south side of Waterloo until May 13, 1900, when they removed to Massillon, Ohio. Her husband, Franklin Francis, died in 1898, and she often returned to Waterloo to visit her friends and relatives.
. John Henry was killed while firing a farewell salute ito his comrades: who were departing for the war. They were the first soldiers to leave the
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town of Waterloo for the front. His was the first grave made in the Water- loo cemetery. Sarah first married Henry Feagler, and while living in Craw- fordsville their son, "Colonel," was accidentally shot while hunting on the eve of his departure for West Point. She afterwards married R. D. Gauby and removed to Arcadia, Florida, where she died in June. 1900. Horace enlisted in the army while a young man, and was seriously injured by the explosion of a shell. He is residing in Auburn. Melvina died when a young woman, and Phebe married William Bonnell and now resides in Los Angeles, Cali- fornia.
The biography of Emanuel R. Shoemaker will now be resumed. In June, 1856, he and his mother went on business to Pennsylvania and visited in Stark county, Ohio, where he met the young woman who afterward became his wife. Harriet Jane Miller, born April 19, 1834, was the eighth child in the family of nine of Henry Miller and Mary Magdalene Weaver, his wife. They resided on a farm one mile south of Canal Fulton, in Stark county. on the Tuscarawas river. Near there ran the old canal, which was an important link in the route of traffic between Cincinnati and Cleveland. The grandparents had come to this part of Ohio with their respective families while young. The father, Henry Miller, was a Pennsylvanian by hirth. The mother was a daughter of a well-to-do Virginian of the non-slaveholding class, living near Hagerstown. He often witnessed the cruel treatment of slaves and was known as a strong opponent of slavery.
After a correspondence of over a year, Emanuel R. Shoemaker and Harriet Jane Miller were married on September 16, 1857. in the Franklin House, Canton, Ohio. They visitd in Pittsburgh, returned for a few weeks with the family of the bride, and came to their new home in Indiana. As the pioneer conditions here were one generation behind the comforts enjoyed in Ohio, it was indeed a brave step for the bride to take, but notwithstanding all the hardships and inconveniences she suffered. she never became homesick. Soon after his return from California he purchased one himdred and sixty acres of land, where the homestead is located. About the year 1861 he bought his mother's and the heirs' interests in his father's farm, and in 1872 added one hundred and sixty acres to the west, known as the Young farm. Later, in 1890, he bought forty acres of the Hemstreet farm to the southeast, which completed the ownership of the entire estate of five hundred and twenty acres. By the practice of economy and thrift the husband and wife acquired an estate which, with the buildings erected for his younger son, comprised two well equipped homesteads. In May, 1895. the family removed to Water-
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loo, where Mr. Shoemaker was building a new home and in November they moved into the residence now occupied by his widow.
Mr. Shoemaker was a man with both local and general public interests. He was appointed justice of the peace October 26, 1872, and served two terms. In November, 1896, he was elected one of the three county commissioners of DeKalb county, and was re-elected for a second term, which was ended by his death. At that time the county was laboring under a heavy burden of debt, which was subsequently discharged very largely through the efforts of Mr. Shoemaker. He critically examined all bills for appropriations and de- manded. that all unnecessary expenditures be voted down. He exacted of all contractors with the county the careful execution of all terms of their con- tract, and many a long drive he took for the purpose of personal inspection of the progress of bridges according to the specifications of the contract. During his term of office the construction of a new court house, jail and poorhouse was under discussion. He hoped for the completion of all these projects, but not until the county could be relieved of its debt.
In politics Mr. Shoemaker valued principle above party. While he was generally known as a Democrat, he was an ardent supporter of Lincoln during the war. He favored the Greenback platform in the later seventies, and the Populist platform in the early nineties. He always adhered to the policy of free trade and during the later years of his life he favored bimetal- lism. He was a stanch supporter of Bryan and held his views on every ques- tion.
As a boy and young man Mr. Shoemaker was intensely devout. While in California he was most religious, and during his early married life he attended the United Brethren church regularly. At this time he would have joined had not his membership in the Masonic lodge prevented him from doing so. Later he became interested in the movement for freedom of religious thought through reading the sermons of Henry Ward Beecher and the works of Voltaire, Paine and Ingersoll, and from 1875-1895 he secured many· noted lecturers on Liberalism who spoke either in Waterloo or at his home in Smithfield township.
Mr. Shoemaker joined the blue lodge of the Masons in December, 1866, in Waterloo, and also became a member of the following lodges, from all of which he received honorable demits on severing his relationship with them- the Auburn chapter, the Angola council, and the Kendallville commandery .;
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