History of Elkhart County, Indiana; together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history: portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 81

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, C. C. Chapman & co.
Number of Pages: 1192

USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > History of Elkhart County, Indiana; together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history: portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 81

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Mr. Blunt experienced religion when about 12 years of age, but was connected with no Church until 1867, when he united with the Congregational Church at Deposit, N. Y. Since coming to Goshen he and Mrs. Blunt have united with the Presbyterian Church. The professor stands prominent as an educator. During the past 15 years he has lectured and worked, more or less, in county insti- tutes. He has been one of the principal lecturers in the Elk- hart County Teacher's Institute for the last eight years, and is one of the originators of the Elkhart County Normal School. In 1876 he took charge of the Goshen city schools, and has been eminently successful as their Superintendent in advancing the educational interests of Goshen until these schools have become an honor to this thrifty little city. He still remains in this posi- tion.

Rev. Henry A. Boeckelmann, Pastor of St. John's (Catholic) Church, Goshen, was born in Hanover, Germany, March 31, 1851. His father's name was Francis Boeckelmann,and his mother's maiden name was Ann Schroeder. He came to this country with his pa- rents in the fall of 1853, when he was but three years of age. The passage was made in the ship Cerro Gordo, which sailed from Bremen and landed in New Orleans. At that city the family took passage on a river steamer and voyaged np the Mississippi and Ohio, and at length reached Logansport, Ind. Mr. Boeckelmann remembers his parents relating how that on the passage over from Enrope the Moorish pirates attacked the vessel, when some dis- tance from the Spanish coast, but were repulsed by the determined resistance offered by the crew. The voyage from the very begin- ning was tempestuous and unfortunate. When the Cerro Gordo had got outside of the Bremen harbor it encountered a hurricane,

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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.

and was driven back to port. A young man had already died aboard the ship, and the corpse was left on shore where the vessel was driven back. When the ship set sail again continuous gales were experienced, and a long time was consumed making a few hundred miles. The sea was so heavy, and the ship behaved so badly, that many of the inexperienced landsmen sickened with very fright, and during a severe gale, when the mainmast broke and fell into the sea, the terror culminated in a scene of wild confusion. It was thought that several died of fright. Dur- ing the passage, which consumed four months, 32 deaths occurred on board.

When the elder Mr. Boeckelmann and his family were settled in Logansport, he engaged in the stone business, which he fol- lowed for many years. Henry attended common and parish schools, and early evinced a tendency to books and a learned pro- fession. At the age of 18 he entered the Christian Brothers' Col- lege, St. Louis, where he remained six years and one term, gradu- ating at the close. He then began a course of theological study at St. Viateur's Seminary, Bourbonnais Grove, Ill. This curriculum was passed in 1877, and for one year thereafter Mr. Boeckelmann remained as professor of natural sciences. After the expiration of this engagement he enjoyed a vacation, and at length received an appointment to the pastorate of St. John's Church, Goshen, by Bishop Joseph Dwenger, of Ft. Wayne diocese. He arrived at the scene of his labors July 28, 1878. He has continued this pas- toral relation ever since. He succeeded Father M. F. Noll. He has a flourishing congregation. During his residence in Goshen he has built a house of worship in Millersburg, where there is a Church of several families. Father Boeckelmann is a gentleman of genial temper and cultivated, liberal mind, courteous and compan- ionable, and is highly prized by the people to whom he ministers.

John W. Chapman was born July 20, 1828, in Hocking county, Ohio, and was the son of Jasper and Mary (Inbody) Chapman. His father was a farmer, and removed to Elkhart county, Indiana, when John was young. At 18 years of age Mr. Chapman en- gaged to learn the edge-tool trade at Waterford, this county, and continued that occupation for 12 years. He at length bought a farm three miles from Goshen, on the west side of the river, and improved it. He also made edge-tools on his farm. He was mar- ried when he was 20 years of age to Miss Phoebe Snyder, of this township. They have had seven sons and two daughters. The sons all remain at home, and assist their father in farm labor and in the manufacture of cutlery. At first Mr. Chapman began to make edge tools on a small scale, and his power was furnished by a foot- lathe only. Then his business so increased that he procured a six- horse engine, and continued operations on his farm. Finally he bought property and established a factory a little west of Goshen, placed a 35-horse-power engine therein, and enlarged his facilities -o that now he employs 12 or 14 hands constantly. His goods

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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.

have now been placed in the hands of large jobbers, and are meet- ing with inuch favor and a ready sale. His manufacture embraces butcher, bread, pruning and table knives. Mr. Chapman's enter- prise may be the nucleus of a large business in the not distant future.

Wmn. W. Cobbum was born in Hocking county, Ohio, Oct. 4, 1827, and is a son of James and Sarah (Webb) Cobbum, the former a na- tive of Rockbridge county, Va., and the latter of Harrison county, Va. He was reared on a farm, and educated in the common school. At the age of nine he had a white swelling upon his left lower arm, which rendered him a cripple for life. In 1838 he came with his parents to Wells county, Ind., and located on a farm. At the age of 14 he engaged as an ox-driver, which business he followed for nine years. He then worked in an ashery two years; since which time he has spent the most of his time on a farm. He was Superintendent of the County Infirmary four years in Wells county, and has occupied the same position in Elkhart county for nearly three years past. He was married in 1851, to Miss Elizabeth Burgess, by whom he had 1 child, deceased. She died in March, 1857, and he again married in 1861, this time Miss Urillah Shonp, daughter of David Shoup, of Lagrange county, Ind. Mrs. Cobbnm is a native of Bedford county, Pa. They have 4 children, viz: David, Charlotte E., Emma A. and Amos W. The first Metho- dist sermon in Wells county, Ind., was delivered in the house of Mr. Cobbum's father in 1839, by Rev. Elza Lank.

Jucob G. Cooper, an early settler of this county, was born in Northumberland county, Pa., Feb. 25, 1813. His father, John Cooper, was a native of Germany, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. He narrowly escaped being taken prisoner at the surrender of Hull. The subject of this sketch was brought np on a farm, and received a common-school education in Fairfield county, Ohio. He worked upon the Ohio canal for three summers during its construc- tion. Ile then went to Hancock county, Ohio, and purchased 80 acres of timber land. He worked very hard; his father died when he was but 15 years old, which threw a great responsibility upon him. He came to this county in 1849, settled on sec. 17, Middlebury tp., where he engaged in farming for several years. He was mar- ried in 1835 to Miss Judith Woodward, by whom he had 13 chil- dren, but 3 of whom are living, viz .: Julia A., James O. and Oscar D. Mrs. Cooper died in 1862, and he again married, this time Sarah Karn, of German descent. Six children are the fruit of this union: Carrie A., Aredia B., Hattie M., Sena E., Nellie M., and Gracie. Mr. C. is a Christian man and holds a letter from the M. E. Church in the county where he formerly lived. He re- moved to Goshen in 1865. He still owns a good farm.

B. H. Crider was born in Franklin county, Pa., Nov. 7, 1816, and is a son of George and Frances (Hoover) Crider, also natives of Pennsylvania, and of German descent. Mr. Crider was reared on a farm and received a common-school education. At the age of 19 years

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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.

he learned the carpenter trade, at which he has worked for the most part for over 20 years. He was married in 1843 to Miss Sarah Sanrbaugh, by whom he has 2 children: Orlando and Retta. For 16 years after he was married Mr. Crider engaged in farming. He came to White Pigeon, Mich., in 1855, and to Elkhart county in 1856. In 1859 he went into the grocery business in Goshen. This he soon abandoned, when he engaged as a clerk with Wm. A Thomas, of Goshen, for the period of three years in his dry-goods store, then located in Ligonier, Ind. He then worked at his trade until 1864. At that time he was appointed Superintendent of the County Poor Farm, which situation he held until 1878. He is now working at his trade, and is a fine workman. He erected the First Baptist church edifice and several nice residences. He has been a worthy member of the M. E. Church for 40 years.

Emanuel F. Cripe was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, March 7, 1829, and is a son of Samnel and Susannah Cripe, who- removed with their family to this county in 1830. This was when the Indians were very numerous and whites few. Emanuel attended school in a log cabin, and David Pippenger was his first teacher. His father and uncle, Emanuel Cripe, purchased the first stove for the school-house and waited two years for their money. Mr. Cripe, having but limited early educational advantages, is a self-made man. In September, 1851, he married Miss Fannie Mikesell, by whom he has had 10 children, 9 now living, viz .: Milton, Mary J., Elias, Sarah E., Milo, Alice, Arminda, Ira and Sadia. The deceas- ed's name was Elijah. Mr. Cripe owns 160 acres of valuable land, and is a farmer. He is a worthy member of the German Baptist Church.

Charles A. Davis was born in the tp. of Concord, this county, Oct. 4, 1846. He was the son of Henry G. Davis, and his mother's maiden name was Cynthia T. Tibbits. Both parents were of Eng- lish descent, the father being a Vermonter, and the mother a native of Michigan. His early education was obtained in the common schools. At the age of 18 he attended the Catholic school at Notre Dame, in St. Joseph county, Ind., remaining there 10 months. Subsequently he spent a year and a half at the Methodist Univer- sity at Kalamazoo. He then returned to the farm and remained a year. His father had erected a saw-mill on his farm, and Charles purchased it and carried on the business for six years. He made this quite profitable. He was married in 1870 to Miss Henrietta Francis, and they have 2 daughters and 1 son. In 1870 he came to Goshen, bought an interest in the planing mill then run by J. B. Drake, and the two proprietors continued business together for three years, when Mr. Davis rented Mr. Drake's share and has since conducted the entire business alone. Besides planing Inmber he makes scroll work and moldings, and is doing a thriving busi- ness. Mr. Davis is a Freemason and a Knight of Pythias, and is. a representative man among the mill-owners of Goshen.

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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.

Mr. Frank B. Defrees, son of IIon. J. H. Defrees, is a native of Goshen, having been born there in 1843. His childhood was spent uneventfully, as is usnal with American-born children; he attended the common schools, and thus acquired the rudiments of education. In 1861, when he was at the age of 18, he went to Evanston, Ill., entered the Northwestern University, and began a course of stndy. He remained there until 1864, when he enlisted in the 136th Indiana Regiment, and went ont for a 100 days' service. His regi- ment was ordered to the front, and joined Sherman's army in Middle Tennessee. In November, 1864, having been discharged from the service, he returned home to Goshen and went into the mercantile business. He sold his stock and good will in 1875. He had engaged in the manufacture of linseed oil in 1872, which he has since continued. He has lately commenced in a flouring- mill. Mr. Defrees is a gentleman of business sagacity and energy, and has generally made a success of whatever he has undertaken. He is a Methodist, and a zealous promoter of the moral and social welfare of the community. As a member of the Odd Fellows' fraternity he has occupied all the local offices in that order, from the lowest to the highest, and is now mentioned for Junior Warden in the Grand Lodge. Mr. Defrees, on March 27, 1866, was mar- ried to Miss Mary Elma Beers, daughter of Rev. H. Beers. They have 2 daughters.

Hon. Joseph H. Defrees was born May 13, 1812, in Sparta, White Co., Tenn. He is of French descent, and during one of the numer- ous persecutions of the Huguenots, his ancestors fled from France to Holland, and thence to America, some time previous to the Rev- olutionary war. Three brothers emigrated together, and one of them settled in Virginia, another in New York, and the third in North Carolina; the subject of this sketch is a descendant of the first mentioned, and is a son of James Defrees, who was once Postmaster at Piqua, O., and who first married Margaret Dougherty and had 9 children, and subsequently Mrs. Mary ( Frost ) Rollin, and by her had 4 children; in 1835 he moved to Goshen, Ind., and finally died in Syracuse, Kosciusko Co., and is buried in the Goshen cemetery.

Joseph H. attended school in his childhood in Tennessee, and from six or seven to 14 years of age he attended school at Piqua; he then worked three years at blacksmithing; next learned the printer's trade in the office of the Piqua Gazette; in 1831 he left Ohio in company with his brother J. D. Defrees, and established the North- western Pioneer at South Bend, Ind., a Whig paper, and the first west of Detroit; in 1833 he sold out his interest in this paper and commenced merchandising at Goshen, then a place of about 40 log cabins; here he was County Agent to sell town lots, and Sheriff for a portion of the term; in 1849 he was elected to the House of Rep- resentatives, in 1850 to the Senate, 1866-'67 he was a member of the Lower House of Congress, during the exciting times of recon- struction, and in 1870 he was again elected to the Lower House of the State Legislature, where he was the first to introduce the bill

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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.

disfranchising those who had been educated at the public expense and had taken up arms against the Government. His speeches in Congress were not so numerous as his acts, but whenever he did speak, it was in a plain, off-hand manner, without rhetorical flourish, and to the purpose.

In 1832 Mr. Defrees married Mary A., daughter of John R. and sister of Frank B. Mckinney, ex-Member of Congress, and has had 6 children, as follows: James M., who married Victoria Holton, and died in 1859; he was a graduate of Wabash College at Craw- fordsville. a lawyer, and at one time Prosecuting Attorney of this district; Margaret J., who died in infancy; Hattie E., who was educated at Fort Wayne College, and married John H. Baker, a prominent lawyer in Goshen; Frank B., who was educated at Evanston. Ill., married Miss Beers, of Goshen, and has since been a merchant; Mary E .. who was educated at Fort Wayne and Evan- ston, and married J. A. S. Mitchell, an attorney at law and once the Mayor of Goshen; Sarah C., who was educated at Pittsburg (Pa.) Female College, and married Cyrus J. Thompson, a lawyer at St. Paul, Minn. Mrs. D. died in February, 1864, and in the latter part of 1865 Mr. D. married Mrs. Margaret (McNaughton) Pearce, a native of Scotland.

Aaron Delotter was born in Enterprise, Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1834. His father's given name was Louis, and his mother's maiden name was Maria Stiver. The family resided at Aaron's birth-place till the fall of 1845, when they removed to a farm near Milford, Kosciusko county, this State. In 1848 Aaron went to Leesburg to learn a trade, and chose the carriage-maker's art. His advantages for an education had been limited, 11 months of district schooling comprising his entire curriculum. His apprenticeship expired in 1853, when he came to Goshen and worked till 1861 at his trade. During that year he enlisted in the 29th Indiana Regiment as a member of the regimental band, and continued that relation for 14 months. He was in the battle of Pittsburg Landing. Returning home at the end of his term of enlistment, he soon re-entered the service of the Quartermaster's department at Nashville, Tenn., and remained through the war. After his discharge from the army he worked at his trade as a journeyman until 1867, when he moved to Logansport and embarked in the tobacco and cigar business, and continued thus till 1874. His genins then led him into the novel enterprise of selling confectionery from a flat-boat, which he prose- cuted from St. Louis to New Orleans, along the banks of the Mis- sissippi. This not proving very remunerative, Mr. Delotter returned to Logansport in 1876, and continued the confectionery business till 1878, when he resumed the tools of the carriage-maker. At length himself and brother opened a shop in Goshen, where Mr. Delotter is at present engaged. In 1861 he was married to Miss Cecilia A. Alfred, daughter of L. A. Alfred, the noted excursion Superintendent, by whom he has 1 child. He is a Freemason and a Good Templar, being Past Worthy Chief of the latter order.

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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.

John B. Eckhart was born in Hesse-Cassel, Prussia (then Ger- many), Dec. 17. 1821, and is a son of John and Elizabeth Eckhart. He came to New York city when a young man. He worked there three months, and then worked on the railroad, when it was being built through the Alleghany mountains. After working there four months he, in company with another German, walked to Columbia, Ohio; they waded the Monongahela river and other streams, and crossed the Ohio river on the bridge at Wheeling. It was in the month of July, and a very hot July; therefore they took advantage of the moonlight nights, traveling in the nights and sleeping in the daytime. Mr. Eckhart had not as yet learned to speak the English language, but he had with him a small translation of the most com- mon terms, which he used while prosecuting the journey in making his desires known. He worked on a farm while at Columbia for some time, when he learned the cooper trade. He came to Goshen in 1851. That portion of the city in which he now resides (Eighth street) was then a woodland. He worked for some time at 40 cents per day. In March, 1862, he married Miss Margaret Michel, by whom he has had 4 children; 2 of them are living, viz., Charley F. and Dora A. While working on the railroad Mr. Eck- hart met with a severe accident, by a stone thrown directly over him from the point of blasting, striking him in its downward flight. It broke his skull, and the brain was left bare. His life was despaired of for several days, but he finally recovered. For several years, however, he could not walk straight, his appearance to one from a little distance being that of a drunken man. He is now doing a good business at coopering, and his trade is constantly increasing.

Dr. Erastus Winter Hewett Ellis, one of the most notable citi- zens of Elkliart county, and father of W. R. Ellis, the present Postmaster, was born in Penfield, Ontario (now Monroe) Co., N. Y., April 29, 1815. His father was Dr. William Robinson Ellis, born in Windham connty, Conn., who was an officer in the Revolu- tion, and served under Gen. Washington. In the year 1820 Eras- tus' father, in company with a brother, determined to seek their fortunes to the southwestward, and as a means of transit, shipped in a boat at Olean, and voyaged down the Alleghany river to Pitts- burg, thence down the Ohio to Cincinnati. Erastus was then a small boy, and he can remember bnt little of the voyage, but the sound of an organ in one of the churches in Cincinnati fixed his attention, and caused him to remember that city. The two brothers stopped at Jacksonburg, a small town in Butler county, Ohio, where Erastus' father at last settled. There his school days began. His first teacher was Peter Muntz, who afterward died in Elkhart county, Ind. A school-book was afterward found in this gentle- man's possession, which the elder Ellis had written, entitled " Mirror to Noah Webster's Spelling Book," which showed, that though he was a flat-boat pioneer, he had an eye to education and text-books. Erastus was remarkable as a speller, no doubt deriv-

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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.

ing his proficiency in this difficult branch from his father's " Mir- ror." His father took pleasure in showing him off, and made him the champion orthographer of the country around. The Doctor quaintly and facetiously remarks in his " Memorandum," "I am a tolerable speller yet, but I have had a good many bad spells since I was a boy." His father was several times disappointed in busi- ness, and, though always a successful medical practitioner, he be- came impatient of long continuance in one place, and removed frequently. He went to Leavenworth, Ind., back to Bellfontaine, Ohio, then to Maumee, and finally, in the spring of 1826, down the lake to Buffalo, and thence to Knowlesville, N. Y., where Erastus' mother died, in November, 1828. Besides Erastus, she left his brother, Wm. R. Ellis, five years younger; his sister, Lucy Ann, born in 1822, and a brother, born in 1824. The latter died in the Union army in 1863 or 1864, near Nashville, Tenn.

While at Knowlesville Erastus attended one term at Gaines' Academy studying Latin, and in the winter and spring of 1829 he taught school in the town of Royalton, Niagara county, N. Y. At the close of his term he began to prepare for the study of medicine at Brockport, N. Y. He reached that place in company with his father, about Sept. 1, 1829, and entered the office of Dr. John B. Elliott as a student. He remained with Dr. Elliott for seven years, attending his drug store and receiving tuition, board and a portion of his clothing in return for his services. Here he identified himn- self with Sunday-school work, and was a member of the choir in the Presbyterian Church. In the winter ot 1833-'4 he attended lectures at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. Part of the time here he was a room-mate of Dr. David Brainard, the eminent physician of Chicago. He received his diploma at Rochester, N. Y., when he had not reached his 19th birthday. Being quite a pol- itician, and an enthusiastic Jacksonian- Democrat, by request of the prominent members of his party he, in 1834, assumed the editorial control of the Village Herald, which was devoted to the success- ful candidacy of Wm. L. Marcy as Governor of the State of New York. This relation continued about four months. He also orig- inated the Token, a literary semi-monthly publication, which had a circulation of 1,000 copies. He was appointed Commissioner of Deeds of Monroe county in 1835, in which office he accumulated his first capital, $100. He was commissioned a Lieutenant in the militia about this time. In 1836 the ambition of the young physi- cian prompted him to "go West," and, in company with several other families, he arrived in Mishawaka, St. Joseph Co., Ind., about Aug. 7, and soon entered upon the practice of his profession. In the spring of 1837 he removed to South Bend, his father having preceded him to that point. Father and son there engaged in medical practice together. The next year they removed to Elk- hart. Here they had an extensive ride. He says that at that time every house was a hospital. He at this period in his career intended to continue the practice of medicine for life, but being a delegate

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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.

to a Democratic Congressional Convention at Lafayette, that con- vened Jan. 8, 1839, he became known as a Democratic politician, and was importuned to take editorial control of the Goshen Dem- ocrat, Hon. E. M. Chamberlain urging the proposition upon him, and assuring him that it would not seriously interfere with his medical practice. The proprietors agreed to compensate the Doc- tor with the munificent salary of $200 a year and board! His board cost his employers 82'a week. He soon purchased a share in the office, which stood on Main street. He says that he soon found it impossible to practice medicine and wield the editorial quill at the same time, and after the first year he abandoned the saddle-bags altogether. His father died at Elkhart, Sept. 23, 1839, regretted on account of his excellent qualities. The circulation of the Dem- ocrat was but about 400 copies, and the job printing limited, but the Doctor succeeded in placing it on a paying basis. During the campaign for Martin VanBuren, he issned the Kinderhook Dutch- man, an edition of 1,200 copies of which were printed. In Ang- ust, 1844, he was elected the first Anditor of Elkhart county over C. L. Murray, and was re-elected in 1846. The salary of this office, though but $600, gave life-blood to the Democrat, and a little money to Dr. Ellis. In 1850 he was elected Auditor of the State of Indiana, when he resigned both the Auditorship of Elkhart county and his editorial position.

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History of Elkhart County, Indiana; together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history: portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 81

Author: Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, C. C. Chapman & co. Number of Pages: 1192

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, C. C. Chapman & co.
Number of Pages: 1192