USA > Indiana > Marshall County > History of Indiana : containing a history of Indiana and biographical sketches of governors and other leading men. Also a statement of the growth and prosperity of Marshall County, together with a personal and family histry of many of its citizens, Vol. II > Part 23
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Prominent among the well-known citizens of Marshall county, is John N. Wilson, the present efficient sheriff, who was born in
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Shelby county, Ind., November 7th, 1847. His parents, Walter and Elizabeth (Worthington) Wilson were both natives of Kentucky, from which state they moved to Indiana at an early day, settling in Shelby county, about the year 1838. Subsequently in 1852 they removed to La Porte county, and after a residence there of some years, located in St. Joseph county, at the village of New Carlisle, where Mrs. Wilson's death occurred in 1876. Mr. Wilson departed this life at the residence of his daughter in La Porte county, March, 1879. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson reared a family of nine children, five of whom, all boys, still survive. John N. Wilson was reared principally in La Porte county, in the schools of which he received a good English education. In August, 1876, he began farming for himself in Center township, Marshall county, four miles south of Plymouth, upon land which he had previously purchased. In May, 1886, he was nominated by the democratic party for the office of sheriff of Marshall county, to which position he was triumphantly elected the fol- lowing fall. Such was the ability with which he managed the office that he was renominated without opposition, and again elected in 1888, being the present incumbent. Mr. Wilson enjoys great personal popularity throughout the county, and as a pub- lic official, has endeavored to serve the people rather than party. He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Plymouth lodge and chapter, also to commandery, No. 26, K. T. He was married September 12th, 1867, to Sarah E. Con- nor, of La Porte county, who has borne him five children, two sons and three daughters, one of whom, a daughter, is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are members of the Christian church at Argos.
Dr. James H. Wilson, physician and surgeon, is a native of Indiana, born in Shelby county, February 5th, 1838, son of Wal- ter and Elizabeth (Worthington) Wilson. He was reared in Shelby county until fourteen years of age, at which time he ac- companied his parents to the northern part of La Porte county, where he grew to manhood. He received his literary education at New Carlisle, St. Joseph county, an institution under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal church, and later took a business course at Bryant & Stratton commercial college at Chicago. Having decided to make the medical profession a life work, he began the study of the same at New Carlisle in the of- fice of Dr. J. Davis, and afterward entered the medical depart- ment of the Michigan university at Ann Arbor, from which in- stitution he graduated in the class of 1873. He began the prac- tice of his profession at Argos in 1871 before completing his medical course in the university, and continued in that town un- til his removal to Plymouth, in August, 1878. Since locating in the county seat the doctor's well known professional ability has
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won him a large and lucrative practice in the city and surround- ing country, and he now enjoys the distinction of being the lead- ing physician and surgeon of the county. While giving attention to the general practice, he makes a specialty of surgery in which he excels, being frequently called upon to perform difficult op- erations requiring great skill, by parties living at remote dis- tances from his usual field of practice. He is a member of the Marshall county medical society, and was the first secretary of the same, in which position he served for several years. He has also served as president of this organization, which at this time is an auxiliary of the state medical society and the American medical association. He is also a member of the national asso- ciation of railway surgeons, and of the tri-state surgical society of the Lake Erie & Western railroad, in the organization of which he was a prime mover and charter member and of which he has since served as secretary. The doctor is a democrat in politics, and has served as mayor of Plymouth, and also as member of the town school board of Argos, and is now secretary of the Mar- shall county board of health. He has served as surgeon for the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad, and Lake Erie & Western railroad for two years, and has given eminent satisfac- tion in those official capacities. He was married in 1871 to Miss Lizzie A. Hay, daughter of David Hay of New Carlisle, Ind.
Charles H. Woodbury was born in the town of Bethel, Wind- sor county, Vermont, October 11, 1831, and is the son of Calvin and Amanda (Cushing) Woodbury, both natives of the same state. In 1833, the family moved to Delaware county, Ohio, and from there, in 1848, to Marshall county, Ind., settling in West township, where the father died in 1851. He was a man of in- telligence, a whig in his political belief, and in religion a Unitar- ian. His widow survived him thirty-five years, departing this life in 1886. They had five children who grew to maturity, all dead but the subject of this mention. Their names are as follows: Mariah, wife of Newton R. Packard; Mary; Ellen, wife of A. C. Cap- ron, and Henry. Charles H. Woodbury was reared principally in Ohio, and his educational training was limited to the branches taught in the country schools of that period. In 1859 he went to California, and until 1865 was engaged in farming and mining in that state, and the latter year returned to Indiana, locating in Marshall county. He made the trip west by the overland route and returned by water. He was married in 1868 to Miss Ma- tilda Vinall, daughter of Dr. Vinall, of Plymouth, and two years later settled upon his present farm in Center township, where he has since successfully pursued the agriculturist's vocation. Po- litically, Mr. Woodbury is an earnest supporter of the democratic party, and fraternally, belongs to Plymouth lodge and chapter, F. & A. M. He is not a member of any church, but his wife and
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family are members of the Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Woodbury have seven children, viz .: Maggie, Alice, John, Ger- trude, Oscar, Bessie and Harry.
William Zehner, the subject of this sketch, though of German descent, is of American parentage, his great grandfather, Adam Zehner, having come to this country from near Swoltzwalt, Ger- many, in the year 1746, at the age of twenty years, working three years for his passage to America. Settled in Schuylkill county, Penn. Served in the war of the revolution. Died in the year 1809, at the age of eighty-three years. His grandfather, David Zehner, was a captain in the war of 1812, and bore a distinguished reputation; after the close of the war he engaged in the milling business in Schuylkill county, Penn. He died in 1831. His father, Solomon, was a miller, as were also all of his brothers, seven in number. Six of his sons being millers, the seventh be- ing a merchant. In 1842 Mr. Zehner moved his family from Columbia county, Penn., to Wayne county, Ind., and in 1851 moved to Marshall county, settling in the woods four and a half miles southeast of Argos, where they lived two weeks under an elm tree while they built a rude log cabin which still remains to this day, having stood the storms of near forty years, the timber being cut in the month of August, and still remains apparently sound. At that early period the woods were alive with all kinds of game, deer and wolves being very plentiful, while the Indians, who were quite numerous, were about the only neighbors of which our pioneer family could boast. After a short sojourn at this place, the Zehners bought the Wolf Creek mill, which re- mained in their possession for a number of years. In August, 1852, William Zehner's father died, and one year later, William and David Zehner, both being now of age, began the milling business upon their own responsibility. William soon purchased his brother's interest and ran the mill alone about eight years. In 1861 he erected the mill at Sligo, which he operated until 1886, when he moved to Plymouth and began the manufacture of flour in that city, which he still carries on. Mr. Zehner's recollections of early life in the county are very vivid and his experience during the pioneer period is very interesting. During his mill expe- rience at Wolf Creek, he operated the only mill in Marshall county, and he describes his business as having been very exten- sive for the time, having been compelled to run the machinery day and night in order to supply the great demand for flour. He kept no books, all the pay being taken out in toll. In fact, all kinds of business at that time was carried on by barter, the only money in use being a little Union Plank Road currency of ques- tionable value, and a few State bank notes which were about on par with gold. "About the worst money I ever saw," says Mr. Zehner, "was that issued by independent banks. You could not
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tell one day whether it would be worth anything the next day or not." At this time Mr. Zehner is proprietor of the largest flour- ing mill in Marshall county, which, with the latest improved ma- chinery put in in 1887 by the Nordyke & Marmon company, of Indianapolis, manufactures 100 barrels per day. The product of this mill has an extensive sale and is noted for its superior qual- ity. Mr. Zehner was married in 1858 to Margaret L. Grossman, of Lancaster county, Penn., daughter of Jacob Grossman. They have seven living children: Sylvester V., Cyrus W., Mrs. Mary Hosler, Mrs. Salome Long, Salena, Ellen and Jessie, the last three of whom still reside under the parental roof. Mr. Zehner has served four terms as township trustee, and formerly took an active part in politics, voting the democratic ticket. He and wife are both members of the Reformed church. Mr. Zehner's mother, Salome Zehner, was descended from German ancestry, her grandfather, John Michael Hoppas, having been a gallant soldier in the war for American independence. Born January 12, 1753, and died July 30, 1833. From Hanover, Whittenberg on the Rhine, her father, Michael Hoppas, was born March 21, 1781, and died April 21, 1857. He served in the war of 1812.
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CHAPTER IV.
BY SAMUEL W. GOULD, M. D.
ARGOS, IND .- ORGANIZATION AND GROWTH-EARLY STRUGGLES- SPIRITED SKETCH OF PRIMITIVE DAYS- SIDNEY WILLIAMS, THE OLD PIONEER -WHAT HE DID FOR ARGOS- INDUSTRIES-RUNNING REVIEW OF THE SAME - ADVENT OF RAILROADS - GREAT BOOM FOR ARGOS-CHARACTER OF THE SOIL - RICH IN AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES - CHURCHES - SCHOOLS-SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC.
HE village of Argos is located in the southern part of Marshall county, four and one-half miles from the Fulton county line. It is not a new town, though its greatest development has occurred during the last eight years. In 1880 the census gave a population of 622, while the recent census records 1,105 - an increase of 80 per cent. (The popular estimate was 1,500, but the average reader knows how such things are.) With an increase of 80 per cent. in population the Argosonian challenges any and all towns in the county for comparison of figures. He is even willing to give odds of from 30 to 50 per cent. The business of the town has grown to a much greater degree, as will perhaps be indicated further on. As a stopping place, if not as a trading point, it is contemporaneous in age with the Michigan road -that primitive thoroughfare from the Ohio river to Lake Michigan. The treaty of the Tippecanoe river was held in 1832, at which the lands, of which Marshall county forms a part, were procured from the Pottawatomies. Very soon after Sidney Williams located here and contracted to cut out the Michigan road from Rochester to South Bend. He first lived in the primi- tive log cabin, but very soon erected a double hewed-log which was to serve as a "tavern" - the name by which the first hotels were known. He also had a small store, stocked with such goods as his employes would want for themselves and family. (Whisky was an essential commodity in those pioneer days, and, indeed, for many years after.) As soon as the road was passable a stage line was established, and the tavern of Sidney Williams was a stage station, and the stopping place of travelers, home seekers and speculators. An old timer tells us that "around the huge fire-place there often sat, and smoked and joked the most social, honest and unselfish men the world has ever produced; that
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everything then was real and substantial, while now society is a sham, and the greatest good is self."
We think we understand the feelings and prejudices of the small remnant of that little army of venturesome pioneers, yet we often wonder if they do not express more truth than fiction. A postoffice with a weekly mail was established and named Sid- ney, in honor of mine host; and afterward the village of but a few houses was known by the same name. The lands north, east, and south of Sidney were principally taken up by actual settlers, while some of the land on the west was bought by spec- ulators, and was therefore in the rear in the march of improve- ment. This township-originally a part of Green and Tippecanoe -- when organized was named Walnut, because of the quantity and magnificent growth of that timber. The land being heavily timbered required much labor in clearing, therefore its develop- ment under the then existing circumstances was slow. A liveli- hood was all there was to work for; markets for the products of farm and forest were yet to be created. The primitive mer- chants in the towns remote from canals and other water-ways did a barter business almost exclusively. The farmers of this lo- cality, they were all small in that day, brought their eggs, butter, maple sugar, wool, fur, hides and ginseng, and bartered them for " store goods" (not for a kind extravagant in quality) while the merchant, with no home market, was compelled to wagon these products to Lake Michigan or to the canal at Logansport, from which points they also wagoned their goods. When the farmer had a surplus of wheat or pork he hauled it to Logansport or Michigan City, and as prices were extremely low he was com- pelled to board himself and team and lodged on the margin of the highway- not on the margin of his profits. That class of wagoners is not now known, and the feed-box attached to the rear end of the wagon box is now seldom seen in this part of the country. The younger portion of our people-those on the proximal side of the middle age line - have but a crude idea of the life and labors of the early settlers of this country; and as the early experiences cannot be repeated, the youth of to-day, and those who succeed them, will draw very imperfect mental pictures of pioneer life from the pages of history, to but briefly describe and discuss the conditions of early times; the scarcity of money and the uncertainty of the monetary system; the ne- cessity of making the home a manufactory; the wool-cards, spin- ning-wheel and loom, being possessions absolutely demanded; the wife and mother carding the wool, then spinning it, then weaving it into cloth, and finally cutting and making the wear- ing apparel of the family; taking the flax from the field, rotting it, breaking it, skutching it, hackling it, spinning it on a small wheel run by foot power, weaving it, and then manufacturing the
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finished product into sheets, pillow slips, towels, shirts, etc. (With the mercury at ninety-eight degrees in the shade. We actually shiver when we recall to memory the sensation we experienced when a boy on plunging into bed between two of these linen sheets on a cold winter's night! Ugh!) The raising and manufac- turing of almost everything necessary in the home, and the diffi- culty of procuring such things as the farm and home could not produce; the genius and economy, the labors and sacrifices, would fill a volume. But it is not our province to discuss these questions. We have made this brief allusion because it applies, in full force, to the early settlers of Argos and vicinity. The young lady who reads these few paragraphs may ask herself how she would enjoy the labors and responsibilities which devolved upon the wife and mother of that period. The young men did not spend their money for lemonade and ice cream.
For twenty years there seemed to be but little of Sidney, ex- cept the tavern, though the dense and heavy forests surround- ing were being converted into farms. Sidney Williams, soon after completing his work of cutting out the Michigan road, sold his farm and tavern stand to Clark Bliven. We are informed that Williams, who was a man of extraordinary strength and energy, traveled about a great deal and engaged in many differ- ent enterprises. In a trip across the American plains he was at- tacked with inflammation of the eyes, and as competent physicians then were " few and far between," the disease finally resulted in the destruction of vision. He then settled down in Illinois, where he resided until the time of his death, a few years ago. He was an old man. About twelve years ago he visited Argos, and re- mained several days. The writer enjoyed a long conversation with him, but a feeling of sadness took possession of us when we looked into his sightless eyes and realized that he could not know and understand the great changes that had been wrought during his absence of forty years. His old Argos home was pur- chased by Marquis L. Smith, in 1845. For many years he con- tinued the hotel business, but advancing years and comparative independence caused him to close the doors as a public inn. He still lives upon the old site, however, but the hewed-log tavern was long since replaced by a handsome and commodious resi- dence, and it is safe to say that the venerable owner and his esti- mable wife will end their days at this place, where they can dream of a pleasant and prosperous past. Mr. Smith is now one of our oldest citizens, and no one is held in higher esteem by the general public, or has a greater number of special friends. The town of Fremont, adjoining Sidney on the east, was laid out by Joseph Rhodes, in perhaps, 1856. Sometime before this the Sidney postoffice, through political manipulation, known in that day as well as this, was moved four miles south. An effort was
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at once made for the establishment of an office at Sidney, which was successful, and as there was already a Sidney postoffice, Schuyler Colfax, the member of congress from this district, was requested to give the new office a name. He gave it the name of Argos, his mind doubtless reverting to ancient Greek history. Thereafter the village was known by the same name, and a few years later the town of Fremont, virtually an addition, was legally absorbed by Argos. The only objection to the name is that many strangers spell it as they would the fabled animal of an hundred eyes. A little thought, we think, would indicate the correct orthography, but an occasional mistake does not detract from the importance of the town. In the Industrial Review in searching after the mercantile history of the town, we find that about 1857, John A. Rhoads, an early settler, called to his eternal home about three years ago, opened up a small grocery in Fre- mont, and we also learn that the first beer sold in the village was by him. His capital was small and his business soon perished.
Hague & Bros. established a general store, by which we mean a store where anything can be purchased from a coffee mill for the house to a curry comb for the stable, about 1859. They were here about two years, and if living, their whereabouts are un- known. They were succeeded by Martin Bucker & Son, who continued the business a short time. Martin Bucker passed away August, 1889, at almost eighty years of age, and although he had been financially unsuccessful in the battle of life, he was blessed by a host of true friends; and his funeral, conducted by Argos lodge, F. & A. M., of which he had been the tyler for nearly twenty years, was a very large one. The son now resides in Mentone, Ind. The Buckers were succeeded by Rice & Bro. The out-break of the rebellion aroused the patriotism of the younger of the brothers, Welcome, and he raised a company for the forty-eighth regiment (infantry), by which he of course became captain. He was a brave and efficient officer, doing good service, and surviving comrades, of whom there are several in and about Argos, swear by him in all matters of grave and serious import. The business was conducted by the senior brother, Martin A., who is now and has been for many years, the editor of the Masonic Advocate, published at Indianapolis. Capt. Welcome Rice, on his return from the army, was employed as conductor on one of the oldest lines of railroad in this part of the state, a short line ex- tending from Plymouth to La Porte. In 1868, the line was ex- tended southward to Peru, there connecting with the old Indian- apolis & Peru road, the oldest road, we think, in the state. The two roads combined (in a business sense at least), but Capt. Rice was retained in the service. In a short time the two lines be- came one and the road was extended northward from La Porte to Michigan City. It is regarded as the best north and south
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line in the state, and in all the mutations of management, Capt. Rice has been continuously in service, seldom getting a vacation, and by reason of his carefulness and caution, he is known all along the line as " Old Reliable." We cannot follow their suc- cessors, as the enlargement of business was an actual solution of lineal continuity, nor do we think it necessary so to do.
Among the other early business men was James M. Wick- izer, who opened a general store in 1860, and continued in busi- ness off and on, principally on, for about twenty years. A man named Dennison opened up a small drug store in 1865; Jonathan Pickerl and Wesley Spencer started a boot and shoe store in 1866, and a grocery in 1867. A steam flouring mill was built and put in operation by Robert Railsback, in 1863. In 1866, a small hardware store was started by Nathaniel Chapman and son, Henry, to which groceries were afterward added. The demand for liquid refreshments was not ignored, and two saloons were running during the '60's, one by George Emmons and the other by George Brockus. Blacksmiths and wagon repair shops were of course the first mechanical establishments, and G. F. Waag, a German, established a business of no mean proportions, a fine carriage shop-good enough for a town of 10,000 inhabitants- was established in 1866, by three brothers named Van Nest, sons of the once celebrated carriage manufac- turers, of Tiffin, Ohio. One was a wood workman, one an iron- smith, and the third a painter -all first-class workmen. They did well for a time, and would have continued to prosper had they agreed; but their disagreements were so serious as to finally end in bankruptcy. Of the above James M. Wickizer is living on a beautiful farm adjoining the village on the east. He has had his full share of sorrows, having buried two wives, and has been sorely afflicted physically, being compelled to walk on crutches. He takes life quite philosophically, however, and has a snug competence, as a result of his toil and rigid economy. Dennison is living somewhere in the northern part of the state, but we can learn nothing of his business or condition. Jonathan Pickerl is still in business, being the proprietor of a dry goods and grocery store. Though in poor health a great portion of the time the years have dealt gently with him, so far as looks are concerned, and he makes a "full hand" in the store. He has been successful. Wesley Spencer passed away several years ago from the effects of disease contracted in the Union service. Robert Railsback has been in business here almost continuously from the first, and is now the proprietor of a clothing and boot and shoe house. Time has dealt gently with him also, and he seems as active as ever. He has been quite successful during the past few years. Nathaniel Chapman has passed the three score and ten line, but is as active and strong as a man of thirty.
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He is a typical New Yorker, therefore loves to talk and to enter- tain his friends. His hospitality (to those he likes) is absolutely boundless. He lives in a beautiful home on a small farm adjoin- ing the corporation. His son, Henry, has for many years resided at Newark, N. J. George Emmons moved to Wisconsin. George Brockus died many years ago, having reached a good age. G. F. Waag removed to Chicago a few years since, where he continues the same business, and, we are told, has been prosperous. Two of the Van Nest brothers died at or near Tiffin, Ohio, and the other, we presume, is continuing his father's business at Tiffin, the father having died several years since.
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