USA > Indiana > Miami County > History of Miami County, Indiana : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 35
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resent his district in Congress. After serving three terms in Congress he was appointed second assistant postmaster-general by President Grant, in which position he had full charge of all mail contracts of the United States. Upon the retirement of Mr. Jewell, Mr. Tyner became postmaster-general, serving in that position from July, 1876, to March, 1877, when Grant's administration came to a close. Under President Hayes' administration he held the position of first-assistant postmaster- general, where he had full control of the appointments in the postal service in the northern and border states. After retiring from the postoffice department he located at Washington, D. C., where he died on December 5, 1904.
John Mitchell, the last judge of the common pleas court in Miami county, was a native of Bristol, England, where he was born Septem- ber 24, 1829. He came with his parents to the United States in 1833 and ten years later the family settled in Peru. After attending the public schools, he went to an academy at Cambridge City and there finished his schooling. He then learned the tailor's trade and while working at that occupation studied law with Alphonso A. Cole. In 1861 he was elected justice of the peace and in December, 1863, was admitted to the bar. Soon after that he formed a partnership with Harvey J. Shirk and engaged in active practice. In the fall of 1872 he was elected judge of the court of common pleas, but that tribunal was abolished by the legislature which met in the succeeding January. Judge Mitchell then resumed the practice of his profession. Although not a brilliant man, Judge Mitchell was a logical and convincing speaker and had the reputation of being a safe counselor.
Harvey J. Shirk, mentioned above as the partner of Judge Mitchell, was born in Franklin county, Indiana, January 20, 1826. It is a coin- cidence that two men destined to occupy prominent positions in the Miami county bar should have been born in the same county, within three days of each other, as Mr. Shirk's birth occurred three days after that of James N. Tyner, and in the same locality. In 1846 Mr. Shirk graduated at Oxford College, Ohio, and soon afterward took up the study of law in the office of John D. Howland, of Brookville. In the fall of 1849 he was admitted to the bar and the next year located at Peru, where he soon established a lucrative practice. In 1865 the firm of Shirk & Mitchell was formed and, with the exception of the short time Mr. Mitchell served as judge of the court of common pleas, this association lasted for many years, or until a short time before Mr. Shirk's death in September, 1889.
Other early attorneys who practiced in Miami county were William J. Holman, J. D. Connor, John F. Dodds and Joseph B. Underwood,
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admitted in 1845; Isaac Hartman, 1849; E. P. Dickey and Meredith H. Kidd, 1851; R. P. Effinger, John M. Connell and Daniel M. Cox, 1853; John R. Coffroth, James M. Talbott and John M. Washburn, 1859; J. M. Robinson, Calvin Cowgill and S. W. Robertson, 1860; W. W. Sullivan and A. B. Charpie, 1867; Henry T. Underwood and Alex- ander Hess, 1869.
Two members of the Miami county bar-one dead and the other living-are deserving of more than passing mention. R. P. Effinger, who died some ten or twelve years ago, is remembered as one of the most finished orators of the Wabash valley. His persuasive eloquence has thrilled many a court-room audience and influenced the jury. Wil- liam E. Mowbray, who has practiced law in Peru for more than a quarter of a century, is the oldest living member of the bar and is no doubt entitled to the honorary designation of "dean of the Miami county bar."
BAR ASSOCIATION
The Miami County Bar Association was organized in 1904, with Walter C. Bailey as president and Edgar P. Kling as secretary. These officers have held their respective positions ever since the organization of the association. Some attempts have been made before 1904 to form a bar association, but they accomplished nothing of a permanent char- acter. The association as at present organized has no regular time of meeting and is rarely called together, except upon the occasion of the death of one of the members. Soon after the organization was effected a minimum fee bill was adopted, fixing certain charges for specified services, and for several years the association gave annual picnics, when the members would join in a fishing excursion to Lake Manitou at Rochester, but in recent years these picnics have been abandoned. Every lawyer who practices in the Miami circuit court and is a resident of the county is considered a member of the association. A list of these attorneys, taken from recent court calendars, is as follows :
Claude Y. Andrews, T. W. Annabal, Nott N. Antrim, John T. Armitage, Leroy Arnold, William H. Augur, Henry S. Bailey, Walter C. Bailey, Charles P. Baldwin (Amboy), Aaron S. Berger, Arthur L. Bodurtha, Frank D. Butler, Charles B. Cannon, Albert H. Cole, Charles A. Cole, Jabez T. Cox, H. H. Crites, John W. Eward (Con- verse), William C. Farrar, Joseph A. Faust, Burton Green, Charles Griswold, Charles Haag, Charles R. Hughes, Hurd J. Hurst, Vites E. Kagy, Edgar P. Kling, Milton Kraus, John F. Lawrence, H. P. Love- land, Robert J. Loveland, W. B. McClintic, William E. Mowbray, Hal
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C. Phelps, David E. Rhodes, Oliver H. Rhodes, Ralph V. Sollitt, James F. Stutesman, W. W. Sullivan, Joseph N. Tillett, Albert Ward, Louis White, G. R. York.
PROMINENT CASES
During the entire eighty years of Miami county's existence as a separate political organization, very few trials have occurred in the county that attracted wide-spread attention. Soon after the county was organized a man named Martin Wilhelm settled in Butler town- ship. His daughter began to receive the attentions of a young man named Ullery, a proceeding to which her father objected, and he for- bade the young man to enter the house. Shortly after this preemptory order was issued the father discovered his daughter and young Ullery talking together one evening near the house. Enraged to think that his daughter would disobey his commands, he stepped out into the yard and fired a shot which killed Ullery almost instantly. A son, Wil- liam Wilhelm, hearing the shot, also ran out of the house and fired his pistol, but, as he afterward claimed, at random. The father and son then carried the body to the Mississinewa river and sank it in the stream, securely fastening it, as they supposed, to the bottom. Some weeks later a traveler, while crossing the river on horseback at a ford some distance below, was surprised to see the body of a man drift against his horse's legs while the animal was drinking. The corpse was identified as that of Ullery and Wilhelm and his son were arrested upon the charge of murder. Their trial was the first murder case to come before the Miami circuit court. It was held in the Presbyterian church, where the sessions of the court were held for several years after the burning of the court-house, and the room was crowded during the entire hearing of the case. Both father and son were found guilty and were sentenced to the penitentiary, the latter receiving much the longer term. The old man served his term and returned to his farm in Butler township. Just before his death, some time after his release from prison, he confessed that he was guilty of the death of Ullery and his son was permitted to go free. Jonathan Johnson bought the Wilhelm farm and when tearing down the old cabin found moulds for making counterfeit coins, indicating that the old man Wilhelm had been engaged in other violations of law.
The first penitentiary sentence, of which there is any record, was imposed by the court at the September term, 1843, when James M. Thompson was sent to state's prison for two years for grand larceny.
Caleb Faunce was found guilty of murder in the second degree in
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1850 and sentenced to the penitentiary for two years, the jury finding him guilty of having voluntarily killed a man named Godfroy. An effort was made to secure a pardon for him, but it failed and he served out his term. There have been other murders in the county, but a majority of the cases were taken to other counties on change of venue, and there has probably never been a murder trial in the county that attracted so much attention as that of Martin Wilhelm and his son. It is greatly to the credit of Miami county that there has never been a case of capital punishment or legal execution within her borders.
CHAPTER XVI
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION
EARLY CONDITIONS IN THE WABASH VALLEY-WORK AND FEES OF THE FRONTIER DOCTOR-MALARIA-CHARACTER OF THE PIONEER PHYSICIAN -HIS REMEDIES-HIS SOCIAL STANDING-BALZAC'S TRIBUTE TO THE COUNTRY DOCTOR-BRIEF. SKETCHES OF EARLY PRACTITIONERS-LIST OF OLD TIME DOCTORS-MIAMI COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY-MEDICAL REGISTRATION LAW-LICENSED PHYSICIANS IN MIAMI COUNTY.
One of the most useful individuals in a new settlement is the physi- cian, yet the life of the doctor on the frontier of civilization was not all sunshine and roses. About the only incentive to a young physician to locate in a new country was the hope of "getting in on the ground floor," so that he might reap his reward by being a participant in the good things that came to the pioneers as the country developed. When the first physicians came to Miami county the region was sparsely settled, no roads were opened, calls had to be made on horseback through the woods, and the doctor frequently rode long distances to visit his patients, who were scattered over a wide expanse of territory. Money was rare in the frontier settlements and the doctor was often compelled to take his fee in coonskins, fresh pork or other products of the farm. Sometimes he received no fee at all, but this did not deter him from doing his duty and ministering to the afflicted.
In the Wabash valley especially the physician was a welcome addi- tion to the population. For some time after the first settlers came the ague-generally spoken of in that day as the chills and fever-was . a prevalent disease. Mosquitoes multiplied by millions in the stagnant pools and ponds and carried the malaria germ to the homes of the pio- neer settlers with the utmost impartiality. Rich and poor, the innocent babe and the old and infirm suffered alike from this common malady.
Viewed in the light of modern medical progress, the old time doctor might be considered a "back number." There were no drug stores to fill prescriptions, so he carried his stock of medicines about with him in a pair of pill-bags-a contrivance consisting of two leathern boxes, each containing a number of compartments for vials of different sizes, and
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these boxes were fastened together by a broad strap that was thrown over the rear of the saddle. Many times the doctor was not a graduate of a medical college, having acquired his professional training by "reading" with some other physician.
Duncan, in his Reminiscences, says that the early physicians "pro- vided themselves with a goodly supply of the largest lancets and unmeas- ured quantities of English calomel." In addition to the calomel his principal stock of drugs was made up of Peruvian bark (quinine had not yet come into general use), jalap, tartar emetic, Dover's powders, salts and castor oil. Nearly every physician knew the formula for mak- ing "Cook's pills," which were generally prescribed in cases where the patient was suffering from a torpid liver. Besides the lancet, which was freely used in letting blood in cases of fever, his principal surgical instrument was the old fashioned "turnkey," for extracting teeth, for the doctor was a dentist as well as physician. No X-ray machine, or other costly or elaborate apparatus, graced his office and his library was limited to a few of the standard text-books of that period.
The pioneer physician had a wholesome contempt for germs and microbes and frequently went about his business without pausing to con- sider whether his clothing was in an antiseptic condition or not. But there was one redeeming feature about the early physician. He did not assume to know it all, and as his practice increased he usually made efforts to keep pace with the times by attending a medical college some- where, the better to qualify himself for- his chosen calling. His patrons looked upon him as a friend, as well as a professional adviser, and on the occasion of his visits to their homes the best piece of fried chicken or the largest piece of pie often found its way to his plate.
In his travels about the settlement he heard all the latest gossip, knew what was passing in the minds of the citizens, and that knowledge fre- quently gave him an opportunity to serve his neighbors in some public capacity. A list of the county officials shows that the doctor was often called upon to discharge some local position of trust and responsibility, to represent his constituents in the state legislature, or even in the halls of Congress. It is quite probable that as many male children in the United States have been named for the family physician as for the country's great warriors, philosophers or statesmen.
The celebrated French novelist, Honore de Balzac, pays a tribute to the country doctor in his story of that name when he says: "It is not without reason that people speak collectively of the priest, the lawyer and the doctor as 'men of the black robe'-so the saying goes. The first heals the wounds of the soul, the second those of the purse, and the
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third those of the body. They represent the three principal elements necessary to the existence of society-conscience, property and health."
Clearing, cultivation and drainage have changed the character of the Wabash valley. Fever and ague have disappeared and in their train has come a whole array of new diseases that has changed the methods of healing. Drastic remedies, the lancet and the turnkey have disap- peared and in their stead have come new remedies and appliances. In this march of medical progress the physicians of Miami county have kept step and occupy an honorable place in the profession. The early physicians did the best they knew, according to the ethics and customs of their profession in that day, but were some of them to return they would no doubt be at a loss to understand the treatment administered by the modern physician. Yet these old timers made possible the present era in the practice of medicine. Each contributed in his humble way to the advance of medical science as it advanced step by step to its pres- ent status. It is proper, then, to condone the mistakes of the early doctor, as viewed from the standpoint of the present, and give him credit for sincerity of purpose and honest effort in the treatment of his patients at a time when the educated physician was the exception rather than the rule.
The first physician in Miami county, of whom anything definite can be learned, was Dr. James T. Liston, who is credited with having built the first house in Peru. Dr. Liston was born in New Castle county, Delaware, September 16, 1804, and received a good education in the schools of his native state and Pennsylvania. In 1823 his parents removed to Indiana and settled at Richmond. Three years later the young man received his degree of M. D. and began practice at Muncie. Subsequently he practiced in Winchester, the county seat of Randolph county, for about five years and then came to Peru about the time Miami county was organized. His daughter, Phebe A. Liston, is said to have been the first female white child born in Peru, and was also the first to die in the town. After many years of active practice in Peru and the surrounding country, Dr. Liston retired and passed the closing years of his life with his son, John W. Liston, near Bunker Hill, in the south- ern part of the county. Dr. Liston was a Mason, an Odd Fellow, a mem- ber of the Christian church, and one of his proudest recollections was that he voted for Andrew Jackson for president of the United States.
Dr. Benjamin Henton was one of the conspicuous physicians of Peru for many years, where he practiced his profession from 1837 to 1863. His residence was on the south side of East Second street, about half a block from Broadway. Dr. Henton was not only a successful physician, but was also a man of kindly, benevolent disposition and was beloved
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by the entire community. He was the father of Coleman Henton, who served two terms as sheriff of Miami county and was also township trustee ; James T. Henton, Mrs. Alphonso A. Cole, Mrs. Alvin Thayer and Mrs. David Oliver Adkison.
Dr. A. Keiser was another of the early physicians of the county seat. In his latter years he published a little pamphlet on the early history of Peru. He lived to a ripe old age and was still in the harness as late as 1875, or perhaps even later.
Dr. Henry V. Passage was born in Dayton, Ohio, and came to Indiana with his parents when he was about one year old. His ancestors came over with LaFayette and took part in the Revolution and his father was with Commodore Perry in the battle of Lake Erie in 1813. Dr. Passage was a politician as well as a physician and served Miami county three terms in the legislature. He was noted as a doctor who responded to the calls of those in adversity, paying little attention, it is said, to his collection of fees from those unable to pay. The many friends gained in this way gave him power in conventions and at the polls, though it is but just to state that it was a generous disposition rather than political ambition that won for him this large circle of friends.
Dr. Jared Spooner was a physician who also won eminence as a surgeon. He had great regard for his chosen profession and tried to keep abreast of the times in everything pertaining to medicine and surgery. On at least two occasions he took post-graduate courses after he had raised a family, on the theory that "a man is never too old to learn." He was distinctly noted for his strictly temperate habits. He used neither tobacco nor intoxicating liquors, yet he died while still in the prime of life, notwithstanding his apparent care of the body along the lines prescribed for health and longevity.
Dr. C. E. Rutherford, a homeopathic physician who died in Peru in the winter of 1913 at the age of more than four score years, was a veteran of three wars. His first military service was in the war with Mexico, after which he was in the first war with the Sioux Indians and served in the Union army in the War of the Rebellion. He was of quite an investigating turn of mind and more than twenty-five years before his death he gave a definition of electricity which was favorably alluded to by some eminent scientist in 1913. He was a bachelor.
Dr. J. W. Ellis was a successful physician of Peru along in the '70s and '80s and Dr. Henry Alford practiced in Peru in the latter '80s and early '90s, but as old age began to creep on he removed back to Cass county, where he died a few years ago.
For many years Dr. T. F. Ijams was a familiar and unusual char- acter at North Grove, and in fact all over the southern part of the
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county. He had a large country practice but he did not depend entirely upon pills and powders for his living, as he was also the village inn- keeper and money lender. He always carried large sums of money upon his person and it is said that when he died some $15,000 was found in his clothing. He was of unusually large stature and this, with other peculiarities, made him a conspicuous figure and one long to be remembered.
In the latter '80s Dr. E. B. North was for a while the local surgeon in charge of the Wabash Railway hospital. He was a fine physician, skillful surgeon and popular as a citizen. One morning, while on his way to the hospital, he discovered a man named Christiansen, who was under the influence of liquor, engaged in annoying some peaceable peo- ple. Dr. North went to the scene as a peacemaker, his object being to persuade. Christiansen to leave the premises, but the drunken man hap- pened to be armed with a revolver and taking offense at the doctor's interference, fired upon him, inflicting a mortal wound. Dr. North died the following night and some infuriated citizens took Christiansen from the jail and hanged him to the bridge over the Wabash river at the foot of Broadway. This is the only case of mob law recorded in the history of Miami county. The man Christiansen was not a vicious character when he was sober and had he been in his normal state the crime would not have been committed. As it was Peru lost an eminent physician and had her fair name sullied by a lynching.
Dr. E. H. Sutton located at Gilead about 1840 and practiced there for nearly fifteen years. At that time the country around Gilead was infested by a lawless element and Dr. Sutton was one of the principal figures in the organization of a vigilance committee to rid the country of the outlaws. A full account of this event is found in another chapter. After several years in Gilead, Dr. Sutton removed to Akron, Fulton county, and later to Macy, where he passed the latter years of his life. Those who knew him well describe him as "a kindly soul, gentle and lovable as a woman." One of his old neighbors recently told the writer that nothing too good could be said of this estimable, old-time country physician. He had the reputation of being of quite an inventive turn of mind and some amusing stories are told of his adventures and experi- ences when he occasionally forsook his profession for the side issue of mechanics, in which he displayed considerable ingenuity, notwithstand- ing his failure to find fame and fortune as an inventor.
Dr. John H. Emswiler came to Miami county at an early date and practiced his profession in the city of Peru for many years, being re- garded as one of the leading physicians in his day. For some time he served as a member of the city school board and was for years engaged
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in the mercantile business on Broadway as the senior member of the firm of Emswiler and son. He died in September, 1884.
Dr. John C. Helm, who came to Miami county in 1844, was one of the best known of the pioneer physicians. He was born on November 7, 1800, at Charleston, West Virginia, and two years later his parents removed to Tennessee. When only eleven years of age he entered Wash- ington College and while a student in that institution walked to and from the school every day, a distance of three and a half miles. He then studied medicine and in 1835 removed to Preble county, Ohio, where he practiced until he came to Miami county, Indiana. After coming to this county he became interested in other enterprises. He built a large flour mill at Peru and another at Peoria, where he estab- lished his home, but later returned to Peru and practised his profession until his death, which occurred on September 7, 1874. While living in Tennessee he married Miss Amy Hampton, by whom he had eight children.
Dr. John H. Helm, a son of the above, was born at Elizabethtown, Tennessee, April 23, 1826. His early medical training was under the direction of his father, after which he read with other preceptors and in 1847 was graduated at the Ohio Medical College, in Cincinnati. About a year before he received his degree he entered the army and with General Wool's command served one year in the war with Mexico. After graduating he practiced at Eaton, Ohio, until 1860, when he re- moved to Peru, Indiana. He was the first president of the Miami County Medical Society and in 1876 was elected president of the Indiana State Medical Society. He was also a member of the American Medical Association and was the organizer of the Peru board of health, of which he was the first president. His son, Dr. Charles J. Helm, is now a prac- ticing physician of Peru, so that for three successive generations this family has been ably represented upon the roster of Miami county doctors.
Another early physician was Doctor John Barnes, who located at Santa Fe in 1847. He was born in Harrison county, Virginia, August 29, 1815, studied under Dr. J. C. Howard, of Mansfield, Ohio, and began practice at Leesville in that state. In 1845 he came to Indiana and first located at Somerset, Wabash county. Two years later he removed to Santa Fe and practiced there until 1865. He then removed to Gilead and in November, 1879, to Macy, where he continued in practice until a short time before his death. Dr. Barnes was a representative country doctor and during the half century he practiced in Miami county was one of its highly respected citizens. He was a member of the Methodist church and took a keen interest in public affairs as a Republican, of which party he was one of the founders.
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