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 48
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His father, Daniel Hart, was born and brought up in Pennsylvania, and removed with his parents to Wayne county, Indiana. Migrating with his family to Huntington county, Indiana, from Wayne county, in 1851, he bought land in Jefferson township, and from its primitive wildness cleared the farm now owned and occupied by his son Noah, and was there engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout his remaining years. He married Mary A. Shideler, who was born in Ohio and also removed with her parents to Wayne county, Indiana. There their marriage took place,
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and to them four children were born, as follows: Samuel, of Lancaster township; Isaiah, of Jefferson township; Daniel, deceased ; and Noah.
Two years old when he came with the family to Jefferson township, Noah Hart grew to manhood amid pioneer scenes, and as a boy attended the pioneer schools of the district during the long winter terms, but in the summer season assisted his father on the farm, becoming fully as familiar with the science of agriculture as with his books. Following in the footsteps of his ancestors, Mr. Hart selected farming as his chosen occupation, and having met with unquestioned success in his undertak- ings is now the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of rich and fertile land on section 2, Jefferson township, it being situated one-half mile south, and one and one-half miles east, of Lancaster.
Mr. Hart married, March 16, 1878, Emma Redding, who died in 1901, leaving one daughter, Etta, who was born May 30, 1881. She is now the wife of Ira L. Drubenstot, and has two children, Veva V. and Dosey E. Politically Mr. Hart is a prohibitionist, and religiously he is a member of the Wesleyan Methodist church at Lancaster.
AARON E. SMITH. Successfully combining the vocations of farming and auctioneering, Mr. Aaron E. Smith has long been one of the sub- stantial and respected citizens of Jackson township. The family have been identified with Huntington county since the early days, and Mr. Smith by his own success has fortified the position which the family as a whole enjoys in this part of Indiana.
Aaron E. Smith was born in Union township of Huntington county, February 9, 1860, a son of Samuel A. and Sarah J. (Arick) Smith. Both parents came from Wayne county, Ohio, locating in Huntington county, a number of years before the Civil war. They had a farm in Union township. The mother died when Aaron E. Smith was four years of age, and after that he went to live with his grandfather and grand- mother Arick, in whose household he was reared up to the age of four- teen. After that he went to his father's home in Jackson township, and continued with the latter until his death. As a boy Mr. Smith at- tended school in Jackson township, but the necessity for work in order to earn his own way, and to contribute to the support of the family was so insistent that his early education was much neglected. Until he was twenty-six years of age Mr. Smith lived at home. In 1886 he married Miss Anna Walter of Jackson township. She was born and reared in that vicinity, had an education in the district schools, and afterward taught school in Huntington county until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Roanoke, and she is a steward in the church organization. In politics Mr. Smith has always been a republican up to the campaign of 1912, when he joined forces with the progressive and cast his ballot for that party can- didate.
Mr. Smith is an auctioneer of considerable note, and has a very suc- cessful record as a public salesman, his services being much in demand throughout this section of Indiana. He has followed that profession
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more or less actively for the past seventeen years. When he started out for himself he had nothing, and now owns seventy acres of land a mile west of Roanoke, on the Fort Wayne and Huntington Gravel Road. He has a finc residence, strictly modern in all its appointments, and one of the best country estates in Jackson township.
NATHAN L. HIGHLANDS. The little community of Roanoke has no more enterprising and public spirited citizen than the well known mer- chant Nathan L. Highlands, who has spent practically all his life in this county, and has built up a mercantile establishment at Roanoke, which is a credit to the village and to his own personal ability.
Nathan L. Highlands was born on a farm in Jackson township of Huntington county, April 8, 1878, a son of James and Mary (Nortcutt) Highlands. His father was born in Warren township, and the mother was likewise a native of the same locality. Grandfather Nathan High- lands was a Pennsylvanian by birth, in young manhood came west and settled in Wabash county, Indiana, and later in Huntington county. James Highlands the father, grew up on a farm in Warren township, had a common school education, and was still quite young when the war broke out. He volunteered for service in defense of the Union, went out with the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, and saw active service in the armies of the north from 1862 until the close of the war. Returning an honored veteran to Huntington county, he married and began a career of industry as a farmer in Jackson township, where he remained until his death. In politics he was a stanch democrat, and served as trustee of Jackson township for one term. He had fraternal affiliations with Little River Lodge No. 275, I. O. O. F., and at one time was noble grand in that organization. Of his children there are six still living, as fol- lows: Mattie, wife of George Edwards, of Jackson township; Della, wife of George B. Fields, of Hartford City; John, of Roanoke; Hattie, unmarried; Nathan L .; and Klea, wife of Arthur Kelsey, of Jackson township.
Nathan L. Highlands was rearcd on a farm until he was fifteen years of age, and in the meantime had more or less regular training in the dis- trict schools. After moving to Roanoke he attended the Roanoke and Jackson township high school, and is a graduate of that institution. His experience in business began early, and his first important position was as foreman of the A. T. Vail Stave Factory. In this line of manufactur- ing he became very proficient and later was transferred to Ellison, Ohio, and continued in that line for three years. Finally he returned to Roanoke, and went in with Mr. E. E. Richards, and was associated with that well known merchant for six years. In March, 1908, he went into business for himself, and for four years was alone. Since then he has been associated with Mr. Settlemyre, and their establishment is a pros- perous and going concern in Roanoke.
In 1900 Mr. Highlands married Tillie E. Settlemyre, who belongs to the well known family of that name in Jackson township. They are the parents of two daughters : Leona C., aged twelve, and Maymc, aged ten.
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The family worship in the United Brethren church and Mr. Highlands is a trustee of the same. Fraternally he is affiliated with Tent No. 124 of the Knights of the Maccabees. In politics he is a prohibitionist, and wherever possible uses his influence to promote that cause. He has served as a member of the Roanoke school board since 1908.
FRED H. BOWERS. Among those members of the Huntington county legal profession who are distinguished for what they have accomplished in the direct line of their calling rather than from any public recognition secured in the direction of public office, a prominent name is that of Fred H. Bowers, for fifteen years a familiar figure in the courts, and identified with inany important cases and interests. As senior mcm- ber of the firm of Bowers & Fcightner he helps make one of the strongest legal combinations in this section of the Hoosier state, and in his home community is equally well known as a citizen willing to sacrifice his in- dividual interests in behalf of the larger good of society.
Fred H. Bowers was born in Sandusky county, Ohio, May 3, 1870, a son of Jacob and Louisa (Eckart) Bowers. His father was born in the same county in 1838, and his mother at Buffalo, New York, in October, 1845. Jacob Bowers early in life adopted the vocation of farming, and has followed it for many years in the vicinity of his birthplace. It was the usual experience of a farmer's son that characterized the early life of Fred H. Bowers, who divided his time between his books and his farm chorcs. Later he became a student in the Normal School at Fostoria, Ohio, and after completing his course in that institution spent three years on the farm and in teaching the district schools. Next he entered the Northwestern Collegiate Institute at Wauseon, Ohio, and pursued his studies there two years, taking a scientific course. Teach- ing then became with him a profession, and he served three years as superintendent of the city schools of Bradner, Ohio. From that he entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and was graduated from the law department in 1899. Later in the same year Mr. Bowers was admitted to the Indiana bar at Fort Wayne, and at once established himself in practice, later moving to Huntington. This city has been his field of endeavor and the scene of his success. Soon after coming here he formed a partnership with Carey Landis, a schoolmate, under the firm name of Bowers & Landis, but the association was dissolved after a few months. Mr. Bowers in 1905 joined in practice with Milo N. Feightner, ex-mayor of Huntington, and for the past nine years they have conducted a general practice under the style of Bowers & Feightner.
In politics Mr. Bowers affiliates with the democrats taking an active part in local, county and state politics, and on several occasions has represented his party in state conventions as delegate. His only pub- lic service through an office has been as county attorney, a position to which he was elected in 1911-12-13, and also as city attorney and presi- dent of the board of public works. Fraternally Mr. Bowers is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, Lodge No. 805 of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, the Tribe of Ben Hur and the Court of Honor.
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He has been successful in a number of business ventures in Huntington county, and his standing in professional, business and social circles is deservedly high. Mr. Bowers is one of the prominent workers in the Central Christian church of Huntington, and is teacher of a bible class which is the largest numerically in northern Indiana.
In 1894 Mr. Bowers was united in marriage with Miss Hattie Metzler of Williams county, Ohio, daughter of John D. and . Elizabeth (Lees) Metzler. To this union have been born three children: Lee M., a grad- uate of the Huntington high school; Lillian, a student in the high school ; and Donald D.
WILLIAM E. CALEY. The Caley family has been identified with this section of Indiana for seventy years. The family home throughout most of this time has been in the western section of Wells county, and Mr. William E. Caley spent part of his active career in Wells county, and part of it in Clear Creek township of Huntington county. Mr. Caley now lives retired in the city of Huntington, and is a man whose sub- stantial industry during his earlier years enabled him to acquire a com- petence, not only for himself but also sufficient to enable him to give his family the best of educational advantages and the fruits of a good home. Mr. Caley stands high in the esteem of the local citizenship of Huntington, and is a man whose word is regarded as good as his bond.
William E. Caley was born in Union township of Wells county, Janu- ary 20, 1862. His parents were George F. and Mary C. (McBride) Caley. George F. Caley was born in Highland county, Ohio, the oldest son of Samuel B. Caley, who moved to Indiana, first locating in Hun- tington county, and later in Wells county. George C. Caley, who has been a resident of Wells county since 1843, is now the oldest citizen in point of years of residence in that section. George E. Caley had two sons, William E. and Samuel M., the latter being a resident of Union township in Wells county.
William E. Caley was reared on the old homestead located three and a half miles north of Markle. From early childhood until he was about sixteen, his time was divided between attendance at the district school and the lighter duties of the home farm. His district schooling was fur- ther supplemented by attendance at the Wells county Normal School, and that was followed by several years of teaching in his native county. Since then, until his retirement from active pursuit, Mr. Caley has been closely identified with agricultural management. Mr. Caley married Alice C. Hamilton, a daughter of William M. Hamilton of Warsaw, In- diana. Mrs. Caley was educated in the district schools and also the normal school. After their marriage they moved to a farm northeast of Markle, and made that their home until the spring of 1907. In that year the place was sold and the family went to Champaign, Illinois, in order that the daughters might live at home while attending the State University of Illinois. In the fall of 1911 Mr. Caley returned to Indiana, and they have since had their home in the city of Huntington. The two daughters are Floy E., who graduated from the common schools, the
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Markle high school, and the University of Illinois, with the degree of A. M., and is now a teacher in the Huntington high school. Mary C., whose attendance at school was along the same lines, and in the same institu- tions as her sister, is also a teacher, and connected with the Huntington county school. The family are communicants of the Central Christian church at Huntington. Mr. Caley still owns eighty acres of land, the west half of the northwest quarter of section 36 in Clear Creek township, and has a well improved and a highly profitable country estate, to which he gives his supervision, although nominally retired from business.
JASPER C. ROBERTS. A fine representative of the worthy agricul- turists of Huntington county as well as a respected citizen of Jefferson township, Jasper C. Roberts is well and favorably known as proprietor of the Salamonie Stock Farm, lying ten miles south of Huntington, on the Salamonie pike, and six miles northwest of Warren, Indiana. A native of Jefferson township, he was born on the farm of his father, . Samuel Roberts, October 30, 1861.
Samuel Roberts was born in Darke county, Ohio, and was there brought up and educated. Soon after his marriage, about 1848, he came with his family to Indiana, locating in Jefferson township, Hunting- ton county. Being favorably impressed with the country roundabout, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of wild land, and on the farm which he improved was actively engaged in tilling the soil until his death, May 15, 1897. He married, in Darke county, Ohio, Sophia Wiley, a native of that county. She survived him nearly three years, . passing away February 18, 1900. Seven children were born of their marriage, as follows: William W., of Salamonie township, Huntington county ; Sarah, wife of George S. Morris, of Jefferson township; Nancy, deceased; George I., of Jefferson township; Lindsey, also of Jefferson township; Verilla, wife of John Anders, of Warren, Indiana; and Jasper C.
The youngest member of the parental household, Jasper C. Roberts was educated in the common schools, attending both the summer and winter terms, and on the home farm acquired a thorough knowledge of the various branches of agriculture. Beginning life for himself poor in pocket, but rich in energy and ambition, he turned his attention to farming, and met with such well deserved success that he was enabled after a few years to buy his present farm of ninety-three acres, in Jef- ferson township. His skill in the management of his land, and his un- wearied industry, was amply rewarded, his farm now comparing favor- ably with any in the vicinity regarding its improvements and productive- ness.
Mr. Roberts married, December 29, 1886, Lillian I. Beekman, who was born in Jay county, Indiana, February 2, 1866. Her parents, Leander and Hannah (Maddox) Beekman, moved from Jay county to Grant county, Indiana, in 1867, and there reared their family, which consisted of eight children, as follows: Mary E., wife of D. L. Hatcher, of Grant county ; William, deceased ; C. F., of Huntington county ; Laura,
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wife of M. H. Johnson, of Warren; Stephen A., of Warren, Indiana ; Rebecca I., deceased; Alice, wife of G. C. Mince, of Warren; and Mrs. Roberts. Four children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Roberts, namely : Alva W .; Nettie O., wife of Curtis O. Blair, of Rock Creek township ; Anna V .; and Clyde E., attending school at Lancaster Center. Politically Mr. Roberts is a strong prohibitionist. Religiously neither he nor his wife are affiliated with any church organization, but they are honest, Christian people, eminently worthy of the high regard in which they are held throughout the community.
JAMES M. TRIGGS. One of the men who have had a prominent part in upbuilding industries in Huntington and making good the motto of the city, is James M. Triggs, the founder and manager of the Majestic Fur- nace & Foundry Company. Mr. Triggs started this business in 1907, when the company was incorporated with a capital of $30,000 under the name of the Majestic Furnace & Foundry Company. It is a large and important industry. The plant is in a building one hundred and thirty -. two by one hundred and forty feet, two stories in height, and equipped with the latest machinery, all the power being electric motors. The payroll is distributed among some sixty employes, and the company manufacture furnaces, coal chutes, garbage receivers and builders' spe- cialties. The output is distributed all over the United States. The busi- ness is on a solid basis of commercial success, and its stock holders enjoy large dividends on the capital invested.
Mr. Triggs besides being manager is secretary and treasurer, and Peter Martin is vice president, while the president of the company is W. W. Hawley.
James M. Triggs was born in Jackson county, Michigan, June 4, 1871, representing an old family in that section of the state. His parents were William M. and Innocent (Fuller) Triggs. His youth was spent in his native county and while there he attended the common schools and subsequently high school. His school days may be said to have ended when he was fourteen years old. His first business experience was in a hardware store at Morenci, Michigan, and later he went on the road as a traveling salesman representing a hardware house in Cleveland and covered the states of Ohio and Indiana for several years. Later he left the road in order to take the management of the hardware store in which he was first employed at Morenci, Michigan, and after a broad and varied experience in business affairs, he came to Huntington and established his present business. He was a leader and promoter in the enterprise, but associated with him some of the well known men of Huntington as stock holders. His business has more than justified the early anticipa- tions as to its success, and no list of Huntington industries would be complete without mention of the Majestic Company.
In 1892 Mr. Triggs married Miss Myrtle Datesman, daughter of Jess Datesman of Morenci, Michigan. They are the parents of three children : Kenneth, Helen and Lawrence. Mr. Triggs is affiliated with Amity Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and is popular in both business and social circles
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at Huntington, being always alive to any movement that concerns the welfare of the community. His home is at 1011 Byron street.
CASWELL-RUNYAN COMPANY. Less than a decade has passed since Huntington first began to follow in an energetic fashion its aspirations towards greatness as an industrial and manufacturing center. In that time a great deal has been accomplished, and the citizens have done much to justify the motto "Opportunity's Gateway" which has been taken as the commercial watchword of the city. The first important establish- ment to locate in Huntington through the "Opportunity's Gateway," was the Caswell-Runyan Company. This plant is known as the "home of cedar chests." Though its products are not confined to cedar chests its chief success has been based upon that output. The founder of the business is Mr. John Wallace Caswell, who for some years was engaged in manufacturing lines in North Manchester, and served his novitiate in that place and was well prepared to carry on the business with which he has been identified in Huntington.
The story of the founding of the Caswell-Runyan Company was well told in the Huntington Herald of April 21, 1913, and the article that appeared in that paper will be quoted in part. "In 1907 when Hunt- ington organized her factory fund, the first factory to be located was the Caswell-Runyan Company, that concern coming on the personal solici- tation of Mr. J. F. Bippus. Building operations were commenced in May, and the factory started the 27th of August and had been in operation just two months when the panic of 1907 struck the country. At that time the operators were the only exclusive manufacturers of cedar chests and shirt-waist boxes in the United States. There were other concerns making these articles as side lines, but the business was prac- tically unknown and unheard of. Some can no doubt recall the impression of the original building, which was one hundred and fifty by two hun- dred feet, in the minds of the people, who thought the company must be insane to erect a building of that kind for the manufacture of some- thing most of them had never heard of, as it was thought the building was of sufficient size to make all the cedar chests that could be used in the United States or any other country. However, the possibilities of the business had been very carefully considered, and canvassed among the handlers of this product, and after being in operation about two years, it was found necessary to more than double the capacity of the plant. They now have something over one hundred thousand feet of floor space, and insurance men as well as factory inspectors pronounce it the most up-to-date wood-working plant in the state of Indiana, and, what is more, it is the cleanest to be found anywhere in the state. Every machine is operated by electricity, and this plant was the first in the city to install this kind of power exclusively. Since then practically every other estab- lishment in the city has been so equipped."
The chief product, as already stated, of the Caswell-Runyan Com- pany is cedar chests. Next in importance is matting-covered boxes, used for the storing of clothing. Then come bolster rolls, an article used for
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decorating beds. Fourth in order of importance are screens, not common window screens, but an article used as a matter of decoration inside the house, and made of burlap and other fabric. Another product is hall trecs, besides some of the staple articles of furniture lines. The material for the cedar chests is acquired principally from the mountain districts of Tennessee. The cedar in that locality is said to be of the same species and character as the famous cedars of Lebanon, and the popularity of the cedar chests made of this specially selected material is due to the fact that moths will avoid the fragrant cedar wood, and the odor of cedar is pleasant in itself, and the wood is so attractive as to make a cedar chest an ornate article of furniture. During the year 1912, as a measure of the magnitude of the business done by this company, more than four hun- dred carloads of manufactured goods were shipped from the Hunting- ton plant. This is more than a full carload every day in the year. The goods are distributed from Maine to California, and from New Orleans to Duluth, and the salesmen of the company visit practically every city of twenty thousand people or more in the country. The business is a very important institution in Huntington, the company started with a capital of seventy-five thousand dollars, and the stock now is two hundred thou- sand dollars in common, and ten thousand dollars in preferred. The employes number between one hundred and twenty-five and one hun- dred and seventy-five, and many of them are expert workmen, cabinet makers, and wood-turners, getting large salaries in the mechanical trade. Thus the payroll is an important item in Huntington's aggregate pros- perity.
The officers of the Caswell-Runyan Company are Winfred Runyon, president ; John A. Snyder, vice president; J. W. Caswell, secretary- treasurer.
JOHN WALLACE CASWELL. The secretary-treasurer of the Caswell- Runyan Company is a native of Indiana, got his first experience in manu- facturing at Fort Wayne, and has concentrated his attention along one line, which is possibly the chief secret of his success. Mr. Caswell has numerous business relations with the city of Huntington.
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