USA > Indiana > Huntington County > History of Huntington County, Indiana : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 12
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Both of his parents are deceased. The name Gill is of German origin and was spelled Güll in German-but in English it is Gill.
PAUL J. BUCHANAN. One of the large local industries that give character and prosperity to Huntington is the Sanitary Plumb- ing and Heating Company, a business that employs a large number of skilled workers, puts in circulation a great deal of capital, and is a large contributor to the aggregate business of the city. The manager of this plant is Paul J. Buchanan, a young man in years, but who has satisfied all the rigid requirements of
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business success and has the complete confidence of his superiors and associates in business.
Paul J. Buchanan was born in the city of Huntington February 21, 1889, being the second son of Samuel and Catharine (Ryan) Buchanan. His father, Samuel Buchanan, had long been one of the prominent resi- dents of Huntington county, which he served as clerk and was active both in business and in public affairs. He was born in Perry, Ohio, March 12, 1833, being sixth in order of birth in a family of eight children born to John and Mary A. (Dempsey) Buchanan, the former a native of Penn- sylvania and the latter of Maryland. When Samuel Buchanan was thircc years old his parents came to Indiana, and located in the little village that has since developed, during a period of eighty years, into the city of Huntington. Samuel Buchanan grew up on the streets of the then village, and played in fields which have since been covered over with factories and residences. His advantages in the way of schooling were limited by the character of the schools then in existence, and was always known as a man of practical and hard sense, and suffered little handicap from the lack of early opportunities. He received a fairly liberal educa- tion by serving an apprenticeship at the printer's trade. He began in the fall of 1848 with Colonel Milligan, who at that time was editor and publisher of the Democratic Age. Mr. Buchanan remained with Colonel Milligan about five years. In 1853 he entered the employ of D. L. Shearer, dealer in grain and dry goods, and that work occupied him until January 3, 1856. At that date he became agent for the W. St. L. & P. Railway of Huntington. The company later transferred him to a similar position at Fort Wayne, and in the fall of 1856 he was made freight con- ductor with the Wabash Company. Leaving railroading in the fall of 1858 he went out to Leavenworth, Kansas, which was then on the frontier, and sold goods in that town for a year or more. Returning to Hunting- ton he began buying grain for George L. Little of Fort Wayne. In 1862 he began selling agricultural implements and in 1864 was again in the grain business associated with Fred Dick. The partners also con- ducted a grocery store, and in 1871 increased their business with a stock of hardware. The firm continued with considerable degree of pros- perity until early in 1880, when the partnership was dissolved. Samuel Buchanan then continued the grain and agricultural implement business alone, until the fall of that year, when with his two sons he once more took up the grocery trade. In the spring of 1882 the grain business was entirely dropped, and the stock of agricultural implements was discon- tinued in the fall of 1882, and in the following spring they also retired from the grocery line. In the fall of 1882 Samuel Buchanan was elected clerk of Huntington county, and gave one term of proficient service in that capacity. His other public service was as a member of the city council, from September, 1870, to May, 1876, and he served as chief of the Huntington fire department from 1878 to 1882 and again beginning with the spring of 1886. Mr. Buchanan is a member of the Catholic church and of the democratic party.
On September 22, 1859, he married Mary J. Wicst, who died January
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21, 1881. On May 21, 1883, he married Catharine Ryan. The nine chil- dren of the first marriage were : Joseph F., Jesse E., George W., Samuel B., William, Mary R., Anna, Thomas J., and Jonna E. The children of the second marriage were : Charles L. and Paul J.
Paul J. Buchanan received the rudiments of his education in St. Mary's parochial school, and was graduated in the eighth grade when he was fifteen years old. On leaving school he learned the plumbing busi- ness with his father, and later with C. E. First of Fort Wayne, with whom he remained eighteen months. Thus at an early age he had sup- plied himself with the knowledge and practical experience which have proved a solid foundation for a business career. On returning from Fort Wayne to Huntington he was employed in the electric light busi- ness and as a gas-fitter for two years. In 1913 he became manager of the Sanitary Plumbing & Heating Company. This is a large establishment, is incorporated, and all the stock is owned by local capital. He has super- vision of all departments of manufacture, and a large number of men are employed. The business has a large local trade in the city of Hunt- ington as well as in neighboring towns and the surrounding country.
Mr. Buchanan was married November 11, 1909, to Miss Mabel Sumner, a daughter of Calvin and Myrtle (Davis) Sumner. Her parents are old and respected citizens and farmers of Huntington county.
FREDERICK SAMUEL COOPER GRAYSTON, M. D. It is doubtful if there is a vocation in life which offers opportunity for greater genuine service to mankind than that of doctor of medicine, and the physician who fully appreciates his responsibilities and responds conscientiously to every call made upon him is a public benefactor in the highest sense of the term. There can be no question as to the reward that will be his in the after life. Such a man was the late Frederick Samuel Cooper Grayston, one of the best known and most generally beloved medical practitioners whoever ministered to the ills of the people of Huntington county. Lofty ideals, purity of mind and unselfish devotion to his profession and to the welfare of others were manifested strikingly throughout the long period in which he practiced his calling in Huntington and the surrounding country, and in return he was esteemcd and loved by those who came under his minis- tration.
Doctor Grayston was born at Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, April 6, 1823, at which place his father was a practicing attorney. His early education was secured in the schools of his native town and after his graduation from Seckford Academy he spent some time with his father. The legal profession, however, held no attractions for him, and evidencing a preference for medicine he was apprenticed to a pharmaceutist, with whom he studied chemistry, making such progress in this line that at the age of twenty-four years he became assistant to a medical practitioner at Tamworth, with whom he mastered the various branches of medicine. In 1849 he was married to Miss Isabella Custance, and in the following spring determined to emigrate to the United States, and accordingly took passage on a vessel starting for this country, but soon after the start of
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the journey the ship was overtaken by a furious tempest on the Irish coast. A terrible night passed on the waves, but in the following morn- ing the passengers were rescued and landed at a point in County Wexford. Doctor Grayston, when recuperated from the illness caused by exposure, returned to England by way of Dublin, adding to his knowledge of the beautiful and picturesque country by visits to various points of interest. In September, 1850, he again started for America, and this time was suc- cessful in reaching our shores. Receiving excellent reports as to the opportunities offered by the growing county of Huntington, in Indiana, he continued on his journey until he reached the village of Huntington on the 12th of October of the same year. Early in the following year, desiring to further his medical knowledge, he removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and became the pupil of L. M. Lawson, attending private classes in the hospital during the summer, and in October entered the Medical Col- lege of Ohio, there completing a full course of lectures. It may be well to note that the faculty of this school embraced some of the most distin- guished members of the profession, among them Professors Mussy, John Lock and John Bell, names with which to conjure. With such excellent preparation, Doctor Grayston returned to Huntington in the spring of 1852, and this city continued to be his field of activity and the scene of his successes until his death. The Doctor was always an enthusiastic student of his profession. In 1860 he attended the Chicago Medical College and graduated therefrom, receiving a prize for the best essay on diphtheria, and in 1864 Rush Medical College conferred upon him the ad eundem degree. In 1866 he was appointed United States Examining Surgeon for Invalid Pensioners, a position which he efficiently filled up to the time of his death. He was an indefatigable worker in the medical societies of Huntington and adjoining counties and of the state, and was one of the most frequent, and accounted among the most able, contributors on subjects of special interest.
Mrs. Grayston, who survives the Doctor, makes her home in Hunting- ton, where her son, Dr. Charles E. Grayston, is following in his father's footsteps and is one of the leading specialists of the city. A review of the younger man's life will be found on another page of this work.
CHARLES E. GRAYSTON, M. D. The medical fraternity of Huntington county has been honored by the activities of several physicians by the name of Grayston, the immediate subject of this review being Charles E. Grayston, a specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, at Huntington, where he has long been in the enjoyment of a representative practice. The son of a physician, he was early given the benefit of the excellent preceptorship of his father, subsequently prepared in recog- nized colleges of medicine, and since his graduation therefrom has con- tinued to be a constant and earnest student. His standing in his profes- sion is high, especially in his special field, and the confidence in which he is held by the general public is but an appreciation of the services he has rendered to his community. Doctor Grayston is a native son of Hunting- ton, and was born November 17, 1857, a son of Dr. Frederick Samuel
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Cooper and Isabella (Custance) Grayston. The father, who was a prac- tieing physician for many years in Huntington county, was born at Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, April 6, 1823, and was the son of a prac- ticing attorney of that place. A complete review of the father's life will be found on another page of this work.
Charles E. Grayston acquired his early educational training in the public and high schools of Huntington, and after leaving the latter insti- tution in 1877 beeame a student in a select school, where he pursued his studies for two years. Following this he took up the study of medieine and entered the Medieal College of Cineinnati, Ohio, from which he was graduated with his degree in 1882. His first field of practice was in Huntington, Indiana, where he has still continued. Soon after eoming here he took a special course in chemistry in the Polyclinie Institute, where he remained two years, then took another spceial course in the same institution, and completed his preparation by a special course in the diseases of the ear, eye, nose and throat in New York City. Return- ing to Huntington, he settled down to devote his entire attention to his spceial line of practice, and his undoubted ability and wide knowledge have enabled him to build up a large and luerative professional business. Doetor Grayston is a member of the Huntington County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medieal Society and the American Medical Association. He also holds membership in the Knights of Pythias. A general favorite in social eireles of the eity, his pleasant home is a eenter of culture and refinement. This residence, on Tipton street, is one of the handsome ones of Huntington, a substantial briek with every possible eonvenienee, an extensive lawn and attractive surroundings, and commanding a fine view.
In 1883 Doctor Grayston was married to Miss Jennie Davis, daughter of Jesse Davis, an old resident of Huntington eounty. Three children have been born to this union : Florence ; Jesse, a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and now serving as interne in the Cook County Hospital, Chieago; and Anna, a student in the Huntington High school. Dr. Grayston is a member of the Central Christian Church.
IRA LANDIS. Close application, diligent study of the trade and the public demands, unabating enterprise and striet integrity constitute the salient elements which have led Ira Landis forth from a comparatively humble financial position to the plane of affluenec. His eareer is char- acteristie of the struggles that have marked the lives of many of our most prominent men, yet always he has been going forward and upward, and today, as the head of the large mercantile firm of Ira Landis & Sons, he is recognized as one of Huntington's leading business eitizens.
Abraham G. Landis, the father of Ira Landis, was born in Montgom- cry eounty, Ohio, in 1836. In carly youth he learned farming, a voeation which he followed for some years, but in later life turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, and was so engaged at the time of his death, May 2, 1900. Abraham G. Landis was married to Miss Julia Ann Troxal, who was born in Pennsylvania, and accompanied her parents to Ohio in
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girlhood, and she survived her husband some years, her death occurring in 1911. Ira Landis was born on his father's farm in Montgomery county, Ohio, April 6, 1857. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, and proved himself an excellent farmer. In the meantime he was secur- ing such educational advantages as were attainable in the district schools of his vicinity, and continued to study until he was twenty-two years of age. Mr. Landis then returned to farming, and the following six years found him busily engaged in raising crops and breeding cattle. It was not his intention, however, to devote his career to agricultural pursuits, for he had always cherished a belief that he could make a greater success in mercantile lines, and, finally, in 1893, he accepted a business opening and established himself as the proprietor of a meat market in Hunting- ton for seventeen years. This business proved a success almost from the start, and vindicated Mr. Landis' belief in his abilities. It continued to develop and grow, and by 1905 Mr. Landis found it necessary to seek a larger field for his activities. Accordingly he came to Huntington and opened his present establishment on East Market street, near the Erie Railroad depot, where he has continued to deal in dry goods, groceries and produce. Mr. Landis is public-spirited in a marked degree, giving his co-operation and aid to many movements for the public good. His life illustrates very closely what may be accomplished by a strong will and a determination to succeed, for, starting out with no assistance of either a financial or educational nature, he has worked his way upward to a prominent position among the world's workers. He is always found on the side of progress, whether in business, community or social inter- ests, and is accounted one of the leading and representative citizens of the city in which he makes his home.
In 1879 Mr. Landis married Miss Sarene Putterbaugh, of Darke county, Ohio, a daughter of George Putterbaugh, an old and respected citizen, formerly of Pennsylvania. Two children have been born to this union : George C., a graduate of the Huntington high school, and Boyd A., who is interested in the department store business as his father's partner. Mr. Landis is a popular member of the Odd Fellows, with which he has been connected for twenty years, and now holds membership in Lafon- taine Lodge No. 42 of Huntington. He is a republican, but has never cared for public office, having been too busily engaged in his business ventures. His handsome residence is situated on Center street.
MICHAEL J. BECKER. The adroit manipulation of the chisel has at all times commanded a liberal share of the world's applause and admira- tion. It has preserved to us the beauty of antiquity, has marked the resting-place of our dearest and most beloved friends, and has made the home of their mortal remains a garden of art and loveliness; it has also contributed largely to the beauty of our cities, the adornment of our public parks and to the perpetuating of the memory of the great and the good. In this connection it is a pleasure to present a review of the life of one of the masters of his craft, Michael J. Becker, who as a born carver of stone has won his way to fame and recognition.
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Mr. Becker was born in the city of Huntington, Indiana, November 29, 1859. He is the youngest son of Jacob Becker, one of the early resi- dents of this city, a native of Prussia, who was born July 25, 1824, aud was the oldest of five children, four sons and one daughter, the mother being Mrs. Elizabeth (Loch) Becker, also a native of Prussia. At the age of twelve years Jacob Becker began to learn the trade of a stonecutter, and on completing his apprenticeship started to work as a journeyman, but left his trade when he joined the army, as is customary with the youths of his native land. Entering the Prussian military service, he remained therein for four and one-half years, and during this time, in February, 1850, was married to Miss Elizabeth Klein, daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Stoll) Klein, natives of Prussia. In 1852 Jacob Becker, his wife and child, father and mother, three brothers and a sister, emi- grated to America and reached New York on the 5th of April. From that city the little party removed to Williamsport, New York, and later to Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, and Huntington was reached December 11, 1852. The period from 1873 until 1877 was spent in Logansport, but in the latter year Mr. Becker returned to Huntington, and here continued to reside until the time of his death. He was an honest, industrious and thrifty workman, skilled in his trade and possessed of strict integrity. He won the friendship and esteem of his fellow men and at all times proved himself loyal to his adopted country and its interests. In polit- ical matters he was a stalwart democrat, while his religious connection was with the Catholic church. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Becker: Elizabeth, Jacob F., Nicholas, Peter, Michael J., and Margaret, of whom three are deceased.
Michael J. Becker was educated in the Catholic schools of Huntington, but at the age of thirteen years laid aside his books to take up the hammer and chisel in association with his father, who had entered the monument business. Thus he learned the business of a stone cutter and then a letterer, gradually acquiring a knowledge of every department of the business. At the age of nineteen he took over the management of the business, which he has since conducted with a full measure of success, and this is now one of the oldest concerns of its kind in Huntington county, as well as one of the most reliable. An artist of truc genius, his love for the picturesque and beautiful asserts itself in every detail of his business, and the work that comes from his establishment has excited admiration all over Huntington and the surrounding country. The mechanical equipment of the monument works is driven by electricity, sufficient horse power thus being secured. An ever increasing volume of business testifies to the place Mr. Becker has made for himself in his special field of endeavor. Mr. Becker is a member of the Knights of Columbus, he belongs to Ss. Peter & Paul's Catholic church of Hunt- ington, which the members of his family also attend and in the work of which they have been active. The pleasant family home is located at No. 1034 Oak street.
In 1881 Mr. Becker was married to Miss Margaret A. Foster, a daugh- ter of Michael and Catherine (Klein) Foster. To this union have been
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born the following : Ferdinand J., a graduate of the Huntington Business University, who is associated with his father in the monument business; Carl G., a graduate of St. Joseph's College; Hilda E., a music teacher ; Marcellus C., a graduate of St. Francis College and a musician; Leo M., also associated with his father ; Bertha M., a graduate of St. Mary's high school; and Beatrice, Margaret and Agnes, students of Ss. Peter & Paul's school. The entire family are musically educated and have a family orchestra that has attracted wide attention and interest at the many occasions at which they have exemplified their talent. Mr. M. J. Becker has played with the city bands of Huntington since he was four- teen years of age in the capacity of cornetist, and also filled the same position in the Huntington theater for many years.
ADAM PASTOR. While it is his special distinction in being the oldest grocer engaged in business at Huntington, Adam Pastor has also gained wide recognition for his business ability in that and other lines and is a man whose progress has been made from an humble financial position to one of affluence. Since the close of the Civil war, through which he served in the ranks of the Union army, he has been identified with the business interests of Huntington, has watched the growth and devel- opment of that city, and has contributed his own share thereto, and has prospered along with the city's prosperity.
Like a number of his community's citizens, Mr. Pastor is a native of Germany, having been born in Bavaria May 29, 1841. He was a lad of eight years when he accompanied his parents, Nicholas and Ellen (Steer) Pastor, to the United States. The family after landing in New York city went at once to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and then to Huntington county, settling on Little River in 1850. The mother died in 1854 in Huntington. These children were born to Nicholas and Ellen Pastor : Adam, Margaret, deceased ; George, a florist in Huntington; one that died in infancy ; and Charles, deceased.
Adam Pastor was reared in Huntington, received his primary educa- tion in a primitive old log schoolhouse in the vicinity of his father's farm, and subsequently was a student in a school conducted in the old log court- house building. He was twenty-five years of age when his father died, and at that time he began a career of his own in the employ of Thomas Blackburn, a Huntington baker. Thus engaged in August, 1862, his work was interrupted when he answered the call of his adopted country and shouldered a musket for service in the ranks of the Eleventh Indiana Battery, which was at once sent to the front and attached to the Army of the Cumberland under the command of General Thomas. He took part in a number of hotly contested battles, including Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain and Jonesboro, and was always found fighting valiantly and faithfully, but escaped wound or capture, and was given his honorable discharge in July, 1865.
Returning to Huntington, Mr. Pastor found employment as a baker in the establishment of Mr. Thomas Blackburn. With native industry and thrift he carefully saved his earnings with the idea of becoming Vol II- 7
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proprietor of a store of his own, and in 1888 this ambition was realized when he opened a grocery, since which year he has continued to carry on business as sole proprietor. From humble clerkship has come some of the most successful merchants in our land. In America the road to pros- perity is that of usefulness and activity, supplemented by laudable ambi- tion, and these are the qualities which have gained Mr. Pastor prosperity and position. Few residents of Huntington have so long been connected with its interests, and during the nearly half century in which he has made his home in the city he has always stood for its upbuilding and progress along substantial lines and co-operated in many movements for the public welfare. His goods are delivered in a handsome automobile delivery wagon, and other innovations in his business show that he is able to adapt himself to modern methods. In addition to his own store building and substantial dwelling, he has invested in other property.
In 1869 Mr. Pastor married Miss Emma Hagee of Peru, Indiana, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Musselman) Hagee. To their mar- riage has been born one son, Edward, who is his father's assistant in the store. Edward Pastor married Miss Lacy Rex, and they have three chil- dren. Mr. Pastor is a member of James R. Slack Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and his political belief is that of the Democratic party. With his family he attends the German Reformed church, to the support of which he is a liberal contributor.
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