USA > Indiana > Miami County > History of Miami County, Indiana : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 42
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JOHN KNOX. One of the leading industries of the city of Converse is that connected with the handling of grain, as this is the center of a prosperous agricultural country, and in this connection one who is carrying on a successful elevator business is John Knox, of the milling and elevator firm of Knox & Potter. Mr. Knox is essentially a self- made man, and from small beginnings has developed a business that attracts trade from all over the surrounding country, wise and able management and a reputation for strict integrity having made his name and his business widely known. Mr. Knox has interested himself in all that has affected his township, of which he is now a member of the county board of trustees, and has earned the right to be included among his section's representative men.
John Knox was born September 27, 1865, in Johnson county, Indiana, and is a son of Jesse W. and Margaret (Henderson) Knox, and a grand- son of John L. Knox and John Henderson. His father, who was a cattle drover during the greater part of his life, emigrated to Miami county from Johnson county in 1882, settling in Miami, and there continued to reside until his death in 1898. He became well known in that town, was interested in Democratic politics, and served as a member of the board of county commissioners from 1888 to 1894. Mrs. Knox still sur- vives her husband and makes her home at Converse.
John Knox received his education in the district schools of Johnson county, and was a youth of seventeen years when he accompanied his parents to the town of Miami. With his father he received his intro- duction into business life, learning the business of a drover, in which he was engaged for upwards of twenty-three years. In 1905 he came to Converse and became interested in the elevator and milling business, at first renting his present mill and elevator and subsequently buying it. With his partner, Mr. Potter, he has continued to conduct this enterprise, which has enjoyed a steady and healthy growth, and which has become known as one of the substantial and reliable concerns of Miami county. Mr. Knox is thoroughly conversant with every detail of the business,
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and it is due in large measure to his constant attention thereto that the venture has prospered. Hc has been careful of his customers' interests, and has at all times held their full confidence. In fraternal circles lie is known as a valued member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. During the last four years he has acted as a member of the Jackson township board of trustees, where he is giving the same conscientious service that has made his personal affairs so successful. He has at all times manifested a commendable willingness to support measures calculated to bring about progress and good citizenship, and his associates look to him for advice and leadership in matters of general importance.
In 1888, Mr. Knox was united in marriage with Miss Ada Herrell, who is a daughter of Absalom Herrell, and six children have been born to them: Forrest, Gerald, Silver, Mabel and Margaret, who are living, and Ernest, who died in the city of Peru when thirteen years of age. With the members of his family, Mr. Knox is a consistent member and liberal supporter of the Friends Church at Converse.
VERNE E. BALDWIN. It happens not infrequently that the male mem- bers of a family will manifest an inclination to follow the same pro- fession or line of business, and particularly is this found to be true in the medical profession, in which the father, after long years of success- ful practice often turns his duties over to the hands of the son, who continues the labors where the older man left off. In the annals of the medical profession of Miami county no name is better known than that of Baldwin, as represented by Drs. John A. and Verne E. Baldwin, father and son, who for years have been engaged in active practice in the town of Amboy.
Dr. John A. Baldwin was born at Phlox, near Greentown, Howard county, Indiana, a son of Prof. Charles P. Baldwin. He first came to Amboy when this flourishing town was merely a trading post, wild game abounding and Indians being in great numbers. The railroads had not yet penetrated the heavy timber with which the surrounding country was covered, and pioneer conditions existed everywhere, yet here he took up his abode, engaging in the occupation of school teaching. While thus engaged he studied medicine and gradually built up an excellent practice, continuing to follow his profession for upwards of forty years, and at this time being the oldest physician in either Howard or Miami counties, although he is now living retired from active prac- tice. In 1863 he enlisted in Company A, One Hundred Thirty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for service in the Union army during the Civil war, and later was transferred with other troops to the Twenty-fifth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, it being the object of the commanding general to bolster up the inexperienced Massa- chusetts recruits with several regiments of veterans from the hard- fighting troops of the West. Probably to no other man is the town of Amboy indebted in so great a degree for its present prosperous condi- tion as to Dr. Baldwin. From earliest times he has been identified with the building interests of the community, erecting the oil barrel stave factory, where barrel staves were dressed in the early days, the slack barrel heading factory, for the manufacture of barrel heads and a saw- mill and bending factory, for the bending of school benches, which turned out a patented article that met a steady demand all over the United States. In addition he erected twelve brick buildings, and although the greater number of these have been destroyed by fire during the past three years, he has replaced them all. At the present time Dr. Baldwin is the owner of the greater part of the main business street
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in Amboy, and also has numerous private properties. It would be dif- ficult to name any large enterprise which has been promoted here that he has not in some way been identified with. A faithful member of the Society of Friends, he was the principal organizer of the Modern Friends Church at Amboy, and his interest in the cause of education has been made manifest by a membership on the school board that covered a period of eight years. For twelve years he was a member of the town board of trustees, and during this time took a leading part in promoting various innovations which made for progress and reform. He is justly considered one of Amboy's most representative citizens, and although now retired from active life is influential in all movements of impor- tance which have their inception here. Dr. Baldwin was married to Mary A. Outland in 1875, a daughter of William Outland, of Miami county.
Verne E. Baldwin, son of John A. and Mary A. Baldwin, was born May 30, 1876, in Amboy, and was here given excellent educational advan- tages, attending the public schools and Indiana University. He engaged in teaching school in Miami county, and during 1894, 1895 and 1896 acted in the capacity of principal of Amboy Academy. He finished Indiana University in 1899, was superintendent of schools at New Lon- don, 1900-1901. At the end of that period he took up the study of medicine under the preceptorship of his father, and in 1904 received his degree from the Hering Medical College, Chicago. He at once entered upon the practice of his profession, at Greentown, but in 1911 came to Amboy, which has since been the scene of his activities. Like his father, Dr. Baldwin is a skilled physician and careful student, and is conscientious in his care of his large practice. Like him, also, he has interested himself in affairs pertaining to his community's welfare, thus winning the respect and esteem that has always been accorded the elder man.
In 1899 Dr. Baldwin was married to Miss Bertha Jeffrey, daughter of Robert and Abigail (Hadley) Jeffrey, and three children have been born to this union: Bessie, born 1901; Thelma, born March 6, 1905; and Rosalind, born October 10, 1910.
ALVA DOAN. Nearly forty years have passed since Alva Doan first came to Miami county, and during this time he has been a witness to and an active participant in the wonderful changes which have made this one of the most prosperous sections of the great Hoosier State. Mr. Doan has at all times manifested a commendable interest in the welfare of his community, and belongs to that representative class of citizens who while furthering their own success also look after the success of their township's affairs. He is now the owner of a handsomely- cultivated farm of 120 acres, located in Jackson township, and is known as a skilled farmer and successful breeder of cattle. Mr. Doan was born in Clinton county, Ohio, September 4, 1860, and is a son of Abner and Susanna (Read) Doan, and a grandson of Elisha Doan and Robert Read. His father passed away in 1911, while his mother still lives and makes her home with him.
Alva Doan received his education in the public schools of his native State, and was still a youth when the family moved to Missouri. From that State, in 1875, they came to Miami county, Indiana, first settling on a part of the Milton Douglass farm, on which had been erected several log buildings. The country was still in an almost primitive condition, large forests and marshland being seen on every hand, while the, only roads were those of mud and it was not until 1886 that the first turnpike road, the Ballard, was built. Mr. Doan made several moves after engaging
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in business on his own account, and for a number of years lived on rented land, but eventually settled on his present property, which he purchased. Here had been built several buildings, but they were old and dilapidated and required that they be nearly rebuilt. These old structures have totally disappeared and in their place are found substantial buildings of modern design and solid character that give the property a pros- perous appearance and enhance its value. The past twenty years have seen wonderful changes take place in the county, but none has been" greater than that which has occurred on the Doan property. Mr. Doan now has his 120 acres in a high state of cultivation, and both his farming and stock raising operations have proved satisfactory. He uses modern machinery in his work and, although an eminently practical man, is ready to try new methods of treating the soil. Mr. Doan takes an interest in fraternal work, being connected with the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.
On September 3, 1884, Mr. Doan was united in marriage with Miss Antoinette Stewart, daughter of Jackson L. and Eliza J. (McKay) Stewart, the former of whom passed away in 1911, while the latter sur- vives and is a resident of Amboy, Indiana. The Stewarts came to Miami county from Decatur county, during the early fifties. Mr. and Mrs. Doan have one son : Albert O., born July 26, 1889, a farmer and school teacher of Jackson township, who married Susanna Lamb, the daughter of Ezra Lamb. They have one little son, born September 9, 1913, and named Allen W. Doan. The pretty homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Doan is known as "The Maples."
MICHAEL B. WININGER. For a period of more than six decades the Wininger family has been identified with Miami county. The chief center of their activities and their influence as wholesome and vigorous citizens has been Deer Creek township, where Michael Wininger has spent practically all the years of his life. The interests of the country, the quiet, but stimulating activities of a rural community, the hard work and the kindly neighborliness of such a community have been the chief features in the life of Michael Wininger, who has contrived to prosper and has provided well for his family of children, most of whom have already taken independent places in the world of affairs.
Michael B. Wininger was born on the farm he now occupies in Deer Creek township, December 18, 1856, a son of George and Cindrella (Badger) Wininger. His father came to Indiana in the late forties from Wyandotte county, Ohio, and took up his residence on a tract of land three hundred and twenty acres in extent in Deer Creek township of Miami county. There he made his first improvement by erecting a small frame house, and for a number of years his cnergies were directed toward the clearing and cultivating of his land. On that land his declin- ing lifetime was spent and there his death occurred in 1876, passing away in the fullness of years, and with the esteem of all the community. His widow survived him until 1911, continuing to reside on the farm and . reaching a ripe old age. After the father's death, the son built a more modern residence. the one now occupied by him and his son's family.
Michael B. Wininger grew up in Deer Creek township, attended the local schools, and had the old-time vocational training of the average country bey, most of his time being applied to the duties of the home farm, while at such intervals as his services could be spared, he was a pupil in the district schools. Thus he assumed the serious responsibilities of life when still a youth, and has always known the value of hard labor as a means to prosperity. Mr. Wininger married Miss Ida Cepner, a daughter of Samuel and Catherine (Long) Cepner, who came out from
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RESIDENCE OF MR. AND MRS. MICHAEL B. WININGER
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port, and his signal services have contributed in no small measure to the development of his community.
On February 16, 1893, Mr. Blackburn was married to Miss Anna Whitezel, daughter of John Whitezel, who was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil War. Nine children have been born to this union : Edith N., Pearl N., Mary F., John R., Nelson M., Martha R., Lois Marie, Alva D. and Marguerite, all living at home, and all attend- ing school except one, three being in the high school. Edith is a grad- uate and now one of the teachers in Amboy Academy.
JOHN A. BALDWIN, M. D. The prosperity and advancement of a community depend upon the personal character and the individual enterprise of its members, and in every prosperous town or country will be found citizens who take the lead in affairs of business and public welfare, and give their energies not alone to their own well being, but to the things that mean better and fuller life for all. As such a citizen in Miami county, and particularly in the flourishing little town of Amboy. was Mr. John A. Baldwin, recognized for many years. Mr. Baldwin was one of the oldest members of the medical profession in Miami county. He also represented one of the oldest families in this section of Indiana, belonging to that sterling Quaker stock, which was not only prominent in the development of material affairs, but gave the strength of character and thrifty and high-minded purposes to a large section of this state.
John A. Baldwin was a native of Grant county, Indiana, where he was born January 4, 1844. His paternal grandfather was Abel Baldwin and his father's name was Charles P. Baldwin. The maiden name of his mother was Rachel Lancaster, and she was the daughter of Jesse Lancaster. Dr. Baldwin's father was twice married, and the children of the first marriage, besides the doctor, were: Hattie, who married Dr. Holton and is now living in California, her husband being a pro- fessor in Los Angeles; Rhoda, who first married David Puterbaugh, and then George W. Seagraves, and is now a resident of Greentown, Indiana. The second marriage of Dr. Baldwin's father was with Mrs. Elizabeth W. (Whittaker) Winmer, and the three children of that marriage were: Zadie, the wife of Marcus C. Pierson, a Presbyterian minister in Illinois; Jennie, the wife of Dr. Hawkins of Swazey; and Melle, who married James Chapman, a resident of Hartford City, Indiana.
Dr. John A. Baldwin came to Miami county on the tenth day of September, 1868, his previous residence having been in Jerome, Howard county, and at that date he located in Amboy, and was for forty-five years continuously a resident of this town. All of his children were born at Amboy, and besides providing for a large family of his own, it was a matter of great satisfaction to him that he has been able to pro- mote and put forward the substantial advancement and welfare of this entire community.
He began his career a poor boy, and has won his advancement through his own efforts. He had completed such schooling as was afforded him during his youth, and was nineteen years of age when, in 1863, he enlisted in the army. He first served four months in Company A of the One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Indiana Infantry, after which he enlisted in Company H of the Twenty-third Indiana. He thereafter served until the end of the war. From the Twenty-third Indiana he was transferred by executive order to the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts Regiment. The Twenty-fifth Massachusetts had been composed of col- lege students from Boston. These young men were of rich parentage,
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without any experience in hardships and when they first went into action on the battlefield they were panic stricken and worse than useless on the field. They were ordered discharged for cowardice, but Lincoln hearing of the order countermanded it and devised a scheme to boost up the courage of the Massachusetts men. He ordered two western veterans transferred to each company of the Massachusetts regiment, and Dr. Baldwin chanced to be one of the two assigned to one of the companies in the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts. After this rcorganization, the regi- inent was given its first test by being stationed on the skirmish line between the two contending armies. The enemy had brought on a sur- prise and conflict was inevitable. The result was disastrous to the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts and to the plans of President Lincoln. At the end of the battle the only men left from the regiment were the westerners who had been assigned to the regiment, the college men hav- ing been victims of a complete panic and all captured, killed or missing. It is said that that was the most complete obliteration of a regiment in the entire history of the Union army.
After the war Mr. Baldwin completed his studies in the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, and first located for practice in Howard county, where he remained two years before coming to Miami county. His career as a physician and a soldier was accompanied by many business activities, so that in the popular mind his name is as clearly identified with local industry and commerce as with the practice of medicine. At the beginning of his activities in this direction, he estab- lished a sash, door and stave and general planing mill at Amboy. He and his associates built a factory and soon afterwards the doctor's brother-in-law, David Puterbaugh, previously mentioned, was caught in the machinery and killed; Mr. Puterbaugh was foreman of the factory. The enterprise was then continued under the active supervision of Dr. Baldwin. From twenty to fifty hands were employed, and the plant was continued prosperously for twelve years. An oil barrel stave fac- tory, for dressing staves for the manufacture of oil barrels was another important local enterprise behind which were the doctor and his resources. Another concern in which he was deeply interested was a slack barrel heading factory, for the making of headings for barrels. A binding factory to manufacture binding for school benches was another enter- prise. This factory had the contract for manufacturing the bindings of a patent desk, and this desk was used all over the United States. Dr. Baldwin next organized a company for the manufacture of a brick and drain tile. Dr. Baldwin had the distinction of having erected the first brick building in Amboy, and in the course of his career he built twelve brick business blocks and in the last three years eight of these have burned, but all were restored by him.
Dr. Baldwin was always at the fore front in matters of public spirit, and he served on the school and town boards. He was a strong advocate of prohibition and for this reason was seldom in the way of popular waves of sentiment which would otherwise give him large official dis- tinctions. He was one of the organizers and is one of the board of managers of the local Friends church. When Dr. Baldwin located in this section of Indiana there were as yet no railroads completed, and he consequently witnessed almost the entire development of modern civil- ization in this region. The town of Amboy had just been platted when he came here and there, were only a few houses standing on the site. Soon after he came the citizens organized the Friends Academy, a school under Quaker influence and supported by Quaker people largely. That was the first school institution in this part of the county that had any high school features, and pupils came there from miles around. The
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Academy is still in existence and is one of the historic features of Amboy. There has never been a licensed saloon in Amboy, and it is said that this town has turned out more preachers, doctors and teachers than all the rest of the counties put together. It is remarkable what power of leaven such a community has in the larger areas such as a county or even an entire state. The Baldwin family have always been identified with the things of culture and refinement. The father of the doctor was a school teacher, and his mother also taught school, while his paternal grand- father was likewise one of the teachers of his day. Dr. Baldwin's father had the distinction of being the first postmaster in Howard county, and was also the first merchant and it was his custom to haul his goods from Richmond by ox teams.
Dr. Baldwin was married February 14, 1868, to Miss Sarah J. Hunt, a daughter of Phanuel and Eleanor (Ellis) Hunt. The first wife of Dr. Baldwin died in 1873 and in 1875 he married Miss Mary Annis Outland, a daughter of William T. and Mary Annis (Binford) Outland. The children of Dr. Baldwin are named as follows: Charles P., an attor- ney at Amboy, whose career is briefly sketched in the following para- graph; Arthur, who is a Peru physician and who married Emma Kalbfleisch; Verne E., who is married to Miss Bertha Jeffrey; Lena Blanche, who married Edward Warne, a miller in Kokomo; Belva Mil- dred, who married Glenn D. Pence, who is a farmer at Dunkirk ; Russell, who is unmarried and a teacher in Amboy high school; Omega, who died at the age of four years; Frederick, who died at the age of ten months, and was the first loss in the family; Josiah, who died at the age of two years. Mrs. Baldwin is a native of Northampton county, North Caro- lina, born August 17, 1848, and she is the second in a family of six children, five sons and one daughter, born to her parents, four of whom are living. The father was a native of North Carolina, and came to Indiana settling in Hancock county. By vocation he was an agriculturist. Both he and wife were Friends in their religious belief. Mr. Outland was interred in Rush county, Indiana, and Mrs. Outland in Miami county. Mrs. Baldwin is a lady with more than ordinary education. After completing the public schools she had one year's work in high school. She was a successful teacher, two years in the Amboy public schools and one year in Hancock county. She is a member of the Friends church.
Dr. Baldwin passed away June 14, 1913, and in an article which appeared in the Amboy Independent, commemorating his life and deeds, is here given in part as follows :
"John Able Baldwin, only son of Charles P. and Rachel Baldwin, was born in Grant county, Indiana, on the 4th day of January, 1844, and died at his home at Amboy, Ind., as a result of a stroke of appoplexy, on the 14th day of June, 1913, aged 69 years, 5 months and 10 days.
"Dr. Baldwin was an early settler in the village of Amboy and has watched with keen interest the development of every enterprise in the town's history.
"With Tilson Harlan as a partner he launched and operated the Amboy Stave factory for a number of years and did a large and profit- able business in the years immediately prior to the panic of 1873. During this panic the general business of the country began to crumble and the Amboy Stave factory was no exception to the rule. Though financially embarrassed, his fearless determination to do something worth while caused him to again enter the manufacturing field and he, with others organized and operated the Miami Brick and Tile Co., which did a thriv- ing business for several years. Later on he, associated with other mem- bers of his family, incorporated The Amboy Improvement Company
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which company, through his efforts and management has been instru- mental in improving unsightly and unimproved properties; during all of these recent years he has also been a close observer and student of geology. He made a specialty of the gas and oil strata of the earth's formation and could tell in a moment the various depths at which trenton stone was found for miles about, and the gas wells in which he invested almost universally were wells of unusual quality and endurance. "Not only was Dr. Baldwin interested in the mercenary side of life, but he ever held to the highest ideals of social purity. He was zealous in all matters for the general uplift of education and morality; he devoted his best efforts to that which he thought to be his best religious duty; he catered not to the popular applause, but chose rather to suffer affliction in the discharge of his conscientious duty.
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