USA > Indiana > Howard County > History of Howard County, Indiana, Vol II > Part 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45
Although a native of Great Britain, Stephen Barnes espoused the cause of the colonists at the breaking out of the war of the Revolution and during the greater part of that struggle served as commissary in the army of General Washington. At the close of the war he retired to his estate and, as already indicated, became a man of considerable local prominence, as well as one of the largest land owners of the county in which he resided. He was married in his native land, but several of his children were born after he came to this country, among the number being a son by the name of William, the father of the subject of this sketch. After the death of Stephen Barnes his estate passed into the hands of his descendants, by whom it was held for many years and on which several generations of the family were born and reared. William
53
OF HOWARD COUNTY.
Barnes first saw the light of day on this ancestral homestead and spent his entire life on the same as an enterprising and successful tiller of the soil. In his young manhood he married Susanna Fowler and in due time became the father of five children, two sons and three daughters, of whom William W., of this review, is the sole survivor. Like his father and grandfather before him Wil- liam Wilson Barnes was born on the ancestral estate in Fairfield county and spent thirteen years of his life under the parental roof. assisting with the work of the farm and attending the schools of the neighborhood in the meantime. Mr. Barnes recently acci- dentally discovered the whereabouts of the teacher from whom he was taught his letters when a child. She is still living at the advanced age of ninety-nine years in Connecticut, and Mr. Barnes has been in correspondence with her for about a year.
In his fourteenth year he was taken from school and put in a store to learn the mercantile business, at which he served an apprenticeship of four years without any compensation whatever, the knowledge derived during the period indicated being considered equivalent to the services rendered. The day on which his appren- ticeship expired young Barnes deliberately walked out of the store and immediately thereafter went to northern New York, where during the ensuing six months he lived with an uncle who paid him twenty dollars a month for his services as a farm hand, this being the first money he ever earned. With the proceeds of his labor, which he had saved with great care, Mr. Barnes, then but eighteen years of age, started for the great West, going by canal to Buffalo, thence by lake to Cleveland. where he expected to secure employ- ment. Finding nothing to do in that city he continued his journey on foot to Columbus, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, making thirty miles per day on this part of his trip. Meeting with no success at the latter place he started on foot for Cincinnati, and
54
MORROW'S HISTORY
after another trip of one hundred and fifty miles arrived at his destination only to meet with the same discouragement that he had previously experienced. After spending ten days in a fruitless quest for employment he left the city, and going about sixty miles to Highland county. passed the required examination for a teacher's license and took charge of a country school which ere the close of the third month had an average attendance of ninety-four pupils. Although but indifferently prepared for this line of work, Mr. Barnes succeeded admirably with his school and earned the reputa- tion of a capable instructor and strict disciplinarian. At the close of his term he purchased a kit of tools and engaged in blacksmithing at the town of Centerfield. a trade in which he had had no previous experience whatever but in which he met with fair success by reason of his natural mechanical skill and for the further reason of never giving up anything he undertook to do. To assist him in the shop. he hired a first-class mechanic who taught him to shoe horses and do various other kinds of work, and during the two years the estab- lishment was in operation he succeeded quite well financially, pur- chasing a good property in the town and accumulating a consider- able sum of ready money.
Seeing as he thought a favorable opening for the goods busi- ness at Centerfield. Mr. Barnes borrowed the sum of three thousand dollars, which, with fifteen hundred dollars of his own, he invested in groceries and general merchandise and in due time was in the enjoyment of a very liberal patronage. He bought his first stock in Cincinnati, but subsequently went to Philadelphia, where he found he could do much better. especially in the matter of dry goods, which he purchased fifteen per cent. cheaper than in the former city and had them shipped by canal to within twenty-five miles of his place, hauling the latter distance by team. His success was such that within five years after embarking in business he was
55
OF HOWARD COUNTY.
free from indebtedness and had one of the largest mercantile estab- lishments in Centerfield, in addition to which he also bought and sold land on quite an extensive scale, in this way more than doubling the capital invested.
Mr. Barnes early became interested in politics and shortly after locating in Highland county was recognized as one of the leaders of the Whig party in Centerfield. In recognition of his services to the party as well as by reason of his fitness for the position he was appointed postmaster of his town by President Taylor and filled the office for a period of seven years, discharging his duties in an able and painstaking manner and proving a satisfactory and popular public servant.
In the year 1846 when Howard county, Indiana, was surveyed and the land put upon the market, Mr. Barnes with his two brothers- in-law made a tour of observation through the new country with the object in view of purchasing land. The party drove through to Anderson, thence through an almost impassable wilderness to Kokomo, at that time a backwoods village of less than a thousand souls, and from the latter place visited various parts of the county. looking for favorable locations. Being pleased with the prospect. he purchased eighty acres in what is now Howard township at five dollars per acre and later added to this from time to time until his holdings in this county amounted to over six hundred aeres, much of which he afterwards disposed of at handsome profits. AAbout the year 1850 he bought for two hundred and fifty dollars a lot on the public square in Kokomo, which he subsequently sold for five hundred dollars, and the original eighty for which he paid the sum of four hundred dollars was sold within a short time for one thousand dollars in excess of the purchase price. Meantime he continued to reside in Ohio, where he made his home until 1804. when he traded his store at Centerfield for three hundred and sixty
50
MORROW'S HISTORY
acres of Iowa land and a liberal sum in money. This, like his other transactions redounded greatly to his financial advantage. He also dealt quite extensively in Illinois lands, purchasing several tracts in the county of Saline, which he traded for a hotel and grist- mill. the latter of which he operated for several years with most gratifying success, in addition to which he also bought and shipped a large amount of grain. continuing both enterprises until embar- rassed by a panic, which caused him a heavy loss, although he went right along with his business without letting his financial condition come to the knowledge of the public. By filling a large contract for flour he obtained sufficient cash to relieve his embarrassment. soon after which he disposed of his business and the greater part of his real estate and in 1864 came to Howard county for the purpose of engaging in the timber and lumber business, purchasing in the spring of 1865 a saw-mill which he located in Howard township. where during the ensuing five or six years he manufactured a large amount of the finer grades of lumber, which he sold at handsome prices. He also dealt in all kinds of building material, which he manufactured and marketed in Kokomo, and while thus engaged continued to trade in real estate in Howard county and elsewhere and seldom, if ever, failed to realize handsomely by his transactions. In addition to his lumber and other interests he cleared and reduced to cultivation a farm of two hundred and seventy-five acres which he purchased originally for one thousand dollars, but which he soll after an occupancy of forty years for the sum of one hundred dol- lars per acre, besides buying and improving other land in the vicinity and contributing much to the material advancement and prosperity of the county in various ways.
Mr. Barnes was an active and influential worker in establishing the Patrons of Husbandry or Grange movement throughout How- ard county, and when the store under the auspices of the organiza-
57
OF HOWARD COUNTY.
tion was started in Kokomo in 1873 he was placed in charge of the same, and the first year did a business amounting to considerably in excess of sixty thousand dollars. A public-spirited man in all the term implies, he kept in close touch with the trend of thought and events and for a number of years wielded a strong influence for the Republican party, of which he became an earnest and loyal supporter when it came into existence and to which he continued his allegiance until 1876, when he severed his connection therewith and accepted the principles of the Democratic party. In partner- ship with a friend, he established a political sheet under the name of The Democratic Protest, which he published during the campaign of 1904 and also edited the organ of The Patrons of Husbandry while acting as agent for that organization, displaying marked aptitude as a newspaper man and considerable ability as a clear. forcible and pungent writer, whose editorials on the leading public questions and political issues of the day gained for him much more than local repute.
Mr. Barnes has been married twice, the first time in Highland county, Ohio, to Eliza J. Littler, who bore him three sons, two of whom are living. She departed this life in 1890, after a long. mutually happy and prosperous domestic experience. John W. Barnes, one of the offsprings of this union, is one of the best known and most highly esteemed citizens of Howard county and a man of influence in public affairs, both locally and throughout the state. He served fourteen years as superintendent of the public schools of the county and for six years was editor and proprietor of The Rich- mond Item, during which time he became as widely and favorably known as an able journalist as he had previously been known as an educator. Returning to Kokomo in 1903. he took charge of The Alhambra, which he still manages and now stands in the front rank of the city's enterprising, representative men.
58
MORROW'S HISTORY
The subject's second marriage was solemnized in December, 1803, with Minnie Justice, a native of Ohio and a lady of sterling worth and high social standing whose courtesy and kindness have become proverbial, and whose numerous acts of charity and benevo- lence have endeared her to a large circle of friends and acquaint- ances.
Mr. Barnes united with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows a number of years ago in the state of Ohio and is still identified with the organization, though not as active in its works as formerly. Although a member of no church, he has great respect for religion and inclines to the beautiful and consistent faith of Universalism.
He has always given his aid and influence to enterprises for the public good, and since becoming a resident of Kokomo has contributed largely to the material advancement of the city and to the social and moral welfare to repletion with good to his fellow men, and now at an advanced age of eighty-eight years he still retains to a marked degree his physical and mental powers, being as keen and alert as in the days of his prime, and keeping abreast of the times in all matters in which the public is interested. He has been a close observer as well as an active participant in the world of affairs, has made his influence felt wherever his lot has been cast and in many respects has been a leader of thought and moulder of opinion among his fellow men. In his beautiful and commodious home on the corner of Jackson and Kennedy streets in the city of Kokomo, he is spending the evening of a long and useful life surrounded by a host of friends whose ardent wish is that his days on earth may yet be many and that his presence may long continue to be a blessing to the world and an incentive to those whose careers are matters for the future to determine.
59
OF HOWARD COUNTY.
RICHARD RUDDELL.
The life of the eminent and successful business man, though filled to repletion with activity and incident. presents fewer salient features to excite the interest of the general reader than the man whose place in the public eye has been won through the glamour and display of military achievement. But to acquire distinction or great prosperity in the business pursuits which give to the country its financial strength and credit requires ability of as high if not higher order than that which leads to victory on the field of battle. This will be readily appreciated by all who tread the busy thorough- fare of trade. Ordinarily, merit may attain a respectable position and enjoy a moderate competence, but to spring from the common walks of life to the first place of monetary credit and power can only be the fortune of a rarely gifted personage. Eminent business talent is composed of a combination of high mental and moral attributes. It is not simply energy and industry: there must be sound judgment, breadth of capacity, rapidity of thought. justice and firmness, the foresight to perceive the course of the drifting tides of business and the will and ability to control them, and. withal. a collection of minor but important qualities to regulate the details of the pursuits which engage attention. The subject of this review affords an exemplification of this talent, if not in its highest development, yet an extraordinary character, and notwithstanding the limited theater of his operations he has achieved a reputation which places him among the first of Indiana's eminent financiers and distinguished business men.
Richard Ruddell, president of the Citizens' National Bank of Kokomo, was born in Rush county. Indiana, on the thirty-first day of August. 1850, of respectable parents whose fortune. however, did not admit of their starting their son in life with those advan-
00
MORROW'S HISTORY
tages which, to a certain extent, supersede the necessity of relying upon one's own exertions. His father. George Ruddell, was a dealer in live stock and fairly successful in his business dealings, thought by no means wealthy in the sense the term is usually accepted. When Richard was a year old his parents removed to Wabash, Indiana, where the father engaged in business and in the schools of which place the son obtained the knowledge of books which, supplemented by contact with the world, has made him a widely informed and practically a well educated man. On quitting his studies young Ruddell worked for some time at various kinds of employment and then accepted a clerkship with a Wabash mer- cantile firm, in which capacity he continued during the ensuing six years, when he resigned his position to engage in the boot and shoe trade in that city. His previous experience as a salesman enabled him to bring to his business a well disciplined mind, with the result that his mercantile venture proved successful from the beginning. and it was not long until he added dry goods to his stock and built up a lucrative patronage which in due time made him one of the most enterprising merchants of the city. After conducting a very prosperous business in Wabash until 1882, he disposed of his inter- ests there, and purchasing the old and well-known dry goods estab- lishment of Haskett & Company in Kokomo, the largest and most successful mercantile house in the city, embarked upon a business which at once placed him among the foremost merchants of the place, and which under his successful management grew in magni- tude and importance until the house more than regained its former ascendancy as one of the leading dry goods stores in the northern part of the state. Increasing the stock by the addition of full and complete lines of general merchandise, he soon built up a trade which amounted to one hundred thousand dollars annually, this volume of business being easily maintained during the six years he
61
OF HOWARD COUNTY.
remained at the head of the establishment, as was also its reputation for fair and honorable dealing. At the expiration of the period indicated, Mr. Ruddell decided to turn his attention to another line of enterprise : accordingly, in 1880. he retired from the mercantile business and on October 8th of that year organized the Citizens' National Bank of Kokomo, which, like his previous enterprises. has fully justified his expectations by becoming one of the leading institutions of the kind in this part of the state, doing a large and steadily increasing business and growing constantly in public favor. As president of this institution he has displayed executive ability of a high order. besides a familiarity with monetary matters which has made him an authority on banking and won for him a con- spicuous place among the representative financiers of the state. In addition to the lines of business enumerated. Mr. Ruddell has also been quite active in promoting the material growth of Kokomo, and to this end has become interested in various industrial enterprises which have added greatly to the city's high standing as an im- portant manufacturing and business center. Among the enterprises with which he is identified and for the growth of which he has con- tributed liberally of his means and influence are the Kokomo Steel and Wire Company, the Kokomo Nail and Brad Company. the Globe Stove Company and others of lesser note, being a heavy stockholder in several of these concerns and officially connected with their management. As a business man fully in touch with the progress of the times. Mr. Ruddell easily stands in the front rank among his compeers in the state of Indiana. being broad- minded and liberal in his relations with the public and possessing a genius for large and important undertakings. His judgment has ever been sound and seldom at fault. his foresight clear and accurate, these qualities, with shrewd tact and well developed com- mon sense, enabling him to achieve a series of continued successes
62
MORROW'S HISTORY
such as few in a much longer life attain. Although in his fifty- eighth year. he still retains to a marked degree the possession of his physical powers, while his mental faculties are as strong and vigorous as they were at the beginning of his career. His private life has been marked by honor, integrity and a strong sense of justice, which have won for him the confidence and esteem of all who come within the range of his influence. Independent in his political views, he has ever avoided, rather than sought, the arena of political conflict, though always ready to assume any burden his friends might deem it expedient for him to bear. With an abiding interest in the welfare of his fellow men, he has been active in promoting the general good, and for a period of nine years was a member of the city school board, serving as secretary-treasurer and president of the board three terms each.
Mr. Ruddell has a beautiful and palatial home, one of the finest and most attractive in the city, the presiding spirit of which is the gentle and refined lady who so worthily bears his name and to whom he was united in marriage in June, 1878. Mrs. Ruddell before her marriage was Rose McLain, the daughter of Judge Mclain, of Wabash, in which city she spent her girlhood and received her educational training. She has borne her husband three children, the oldest of whom, a daughter by the name of Ruth, is the wife of J. C. Patton ; Raymond, the second in order of birth, is manager of the Kokomo Nail and Brad Company, and Fred. the youngest member of the family, holds a position in the bank. Mrs. Ruddell, who is a lady of many admirable qualities. moves in the best social circles of Kokomo and is also interested in various lines of educational and benevolent work, being a member of the Orphan Home Society.
The Citizens' National Bank, of which Mr. Ruddell is presi- ·lent and chief stockholder, was organized October 8, 1880. with a
63
OF HOWARD COUNTY.
capital of one hundred thousand dollars, which was increased to two hundred thousand dollars in December of 1907. The bank has met with encouraging success and, as stated in a preceding paragraph. its steady growth in public favor, managed as it is by safe and conservative business men, is indicative of its solidity and popularity, being at this time one of the best known institutions of the kind in the northern part of the state. There are now on deposit about one million one hundred thousand dollars, with sixty thousand dollars surplus. The original incorporators were Richard Ruddell. Jacob R. Bruner, George W. Landon, J. C. Blacklidge and others, the first named being elected president, which respon- sible position he has since filled to the satisfaction of all concerned. The others officials at this time are G. W. Landon, vice president ; Frank Mccarthy, cashier; R. F. Scherer, assistant cashier.
WILLIAM L. BENSON.
It is one of the beauties of our government that it acknowledges no hereditary rank or title-no patent of nobility save that of nature's, leaving every man to establish his own rank by becoming the artificer of his own fortune. Places of honor and trust rank and preferment thus happily placed before every individual, high or low, rich or poor, to be striven for by all, but earned alone by per- severance and sterling worth, are most always sure to be filled with deserving men, or at least by those possessing the energy and talent essential to success in contests where public position is the prize. William L. Benson, the subject of this review, affords a conspicuous example of the successful self-made American who is not only eminently deserving of the confidence reposed in him by his fellow
+9
MORROW'S HISTORY
citizens, but also possesses the necessary energy and talent that fit him to discharge worthily the duties of the responsible place with which he has been honored by the people of his county. A man of vigorous mentality and strong moral fiber, he achieved signal suc- cess in a calling in which but few rise above mediocrity, and since entering the service of the public he finds those same qualities the chief factors in the carving out of a career that has been above the suspicion of reproach and an honor to the county which he so ably and acceptably serves.
Mr. Benson's paternal ancestors were English and Welsh, and the first representatives of his family to come to the United States were his grandparents, Robert and Mary E. Benson, having moved in an early day to North Carolina, where they lived for some time after emigration from England.
Jesse L. Benson, son of the above and father of William L .. was born near Raleigh, North Carolina. April 1, 1810. and when a young man married in Cincinnati, Ohio, Deborah Z. Coles whose birth occurred in September of the same year ( 1810) at Reading. Pennsylvania. He came west several years prior to his marriage and about 1833 settled at Rockville, Park county, Indiana, then moved to Thorntown, Boone county, when there were only two houses in that now prosperous city. He was the first merchant at Thorntown, where he conducted a thriving business until 1861. when he moved to Westfield, in the county of Hamilton, where his brother. Julius L., had located some years previously to practice medicine. Mr. Benson had already prepared himself for the med- ical profession by a course in the Ohio Medical College at Cincin- nati, and immediately after moving to Westfield he became asso- ciated with his brother and during the ensuing year and a half the two built up a large and lucrative professional business and achieved more than local repute as successful physicians. At the expiration
OF HOWARD COUNTY.
of the time indicated Mr. Benson changed his place of residence to the town of Atlanta. Hamilton county, where he practiced about one year and then moved to Windfall in 1863, and in a few months afterward he removed to the town of Jerome, Howard county. After a successful practice of five years at that place he moved to Waupecong, thence subsequently to Miamitown. where he con- tinued to reside until 1870, when he returned to Jerome, where his death occurred three years later. His widow survived about eleven years, departing this life in Kokomo on the twenty-first day of March, 1881.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.