USA > Indiana > Miami County > History of Miami County, Indiana : from the earliest time to the present, with biographical sketches, notes, etc., together with an extended history of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the state of Indiana > Part 38
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JOHN J. ENGLISH. The subject of this biography is a native of Miami County, born in Peru Township on the 6th day of April, 1848, and is the eldest son of Benjamin and Mary E. (Baker) English, of Licking County, Ohio. The father came to Miami County in 1846, settled in Peru Township, but subsequently lived in Pipe Creek and Erie Townships, and finally purchased a home in Richland Township, where he is at this time living. John J. English remained at home until his mother's death; which occurred when he was eighteen years of age, at which time he abandoned the farm and took up the carpenter's trade. He served a four years apprenticeship at the same under W. D. Allen, of Rich- land, after which he began working for himself, and subsequently, August 27, 1877, accepted a position as skilled mechanic in the coach department of the railroad shops (I., P. & C.) at Peru, which he still retains. He is one of the substantial employes of the
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company with which he is identified, and ranks among the best mechanics of Peru. His marriage with Miss Mary C. Bouslog, daughter of R. Bouslog, of this city, was solemnized on the 29th day of October, 1878, a union blessed with three children, viz .: Nellie D., Hazel B. and John W. English. Mr. English is a Democrat in politics, but in no sense of the word a partisan.
JOHN L. FARRAR, prominent member of the Miami County bar, was born in Jefferson County, New York, April 29, 1824, and is the eldest son of Lloyd and Rachel Farrar, natives respectively of Vermont and Rhode Island. The family .came to Miami County, Indiana, in 1847 and settled in Butler township, where for a number of years the father engaged in agricultural pur- suits. Lloyd Farrar was a man of local prominence, served as Justice of the Peace for Butler Township for a series of years and died in 1860. Mrs. Farrar survived her husband four years, departing this life in 1864. John L. Farrar spent the years of his youth and early manhood as a farmer, and received in the common schools the elements of an English education, supplemented by a course in a college at Kalamazoo, Michigan where he pursued his studies for a limited period. At the age of twenty he engaged in teaching, and during the time he continued at that profession, read law under the able instruction of Hon. Charles E. Stuart, of Kala- mazoo, who at one time represented the State of Michigan in the Senate of the United States. After acquiring a partial knowledge of the legal profession, Mr. Farrar was admitted to the bar in 1852 and at once entered upon the active practice in the courts of Miami County, where his real ability as a criminal lawyer soon won for him a conspicuous place. He has practiced his profession in Peru continuously since 1852, and in addition to his large and lucrative business in Miami County, is frequently employed in important cases in various parts of the State. He is, without doubt, the most suc- cessful criminal lawyer in northern Indiana, and few attorneys in the State have presented the result of more labor and research in behalf of their clients than he. As a public speaker Mr. Farrar is forcible and logical, bringing his cases before the court with much skill, and in his addresses to the jury analyzing the testimony and conducting it upon the point at issue. In early life he was not favored with any peculiar advantages and his professional success must be attributed to the indomnitable will and energy which he has displayed in all his undertakings. He takes an active interest in politics, voting in conformity with the Democratic party, but is not a partisan in the sense of seeking official position. Mr. Farrar was married on the 26th day of March 1848 to Miss Everisa Foster, of Vermont. The issue of this union was one child, Arnold, born May 29, 1857. Arnold Farrar was a young man of much more than ordinary intelligence. He received a good literary educa-
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tion, early began the study of law with his father and subse- quently graduated from the law department of the State Uni- versity at Bloomington. Before commencing the practice, how- ever, he met with a violent death, having been accidentally shot in the year 1877.
JOSIAH FARRAR, a leading lawyer of Peru, is a native of Jefferson County, New York, and second son of Lloyd and Rachel Farrar, He was born September 25, 1826, and grew to man- hood on a farm in his native county, receiving his early education and training in the common school from which he was subse- quently promoted to the academic grade. He took an academic course in which he acquired the knowledge of the higher branches of learning and while thus engaged decided upon the legal profession for a life work. In 1846 he came to Miami County, Indiana and selected in Butler Township a tract of land to which his father's family removed and settled the following year. For some time after coming here he was engaged in teaching school and in the meantime pursued his legal studies as opportunities would permit. Actuated by a laudable desire to in- crease his knowledge of the profession, Mr. Farrar, at the age of twenty-three went to Rochester, New York, where he read for some time under the able instruction of Lysander Farrar, one of the leading attorneys of the city, In this county he read in the office of H. J. Shirk in 1849 and the following year re- turned to Rochester, where he was similarly engaged until 1852. Having thus completed his preparatory reading, during which he made substantial progress in his profession, Mr. Farrar, in 1852, engaged in the practice at Peru, Indiana, in partnership with his brother John L. Farrar, and the firm thus constituted still con- tinues. In 1856, he was elected on the Democratic ticket, pros- ecutor for the counties of Miami and Cass, and in 1867, against his wishes, was elected mayor of the city of Peru. Since his admission to the bar Mr. Farrar has, by close application to business and commendable studiousness gradually surmounted the obstacles in the course of every professional man and won for himself a fine reputation as a successful practitioner. In 1862 he closed his office and tendered his services to his country recruiting in May of that year, Company D., 99th Indiana Infantry, of which he was chosen captain. He accompanied his command through all its varied experiences in the southwestern campaigns of the Mississippi department, and at the battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864. was in command of the brigade of skirmishers, a duty fraught with a great deal of danger. At the battle of July 28th, of the same year, he was second in command of the regiment, and while his Colonel was sick during the siege of Atlanta, he commanded the regiment one week when the duty was very difficult to perform.
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The confidence which the line officers reposed in his ability is attested by the fact that they frequently requested him to take com- mand on trying occasions, and it is also a conceded fact that in nearly every hotly contested battle in which the 99th was engaged he was at its head. He commanded the regiment during the recon- noisance toward Dalton and Rocky Face Gap, in February, 1864, and subsequently on the arrival at Savannah, being the ranking officer suceeeded to the command which he held until mustered out of the service. On May 20, 1865 he was mustered as Lieutenant Colonel, and on the mustering out of the regiment received a com- mission as Colonel. Among the battles in which he participated were the following: Vicksburg, capture of Jackson, Mississippi, Mission Ridge, the numerous engagements in the advance upon Atlanta, the battle of the 22d of July, when General McPherson was killed, battle of the 28th, same month west of Atlanta, flank movement which resulted in the capture of that city, and battles consequent, Sherman's march to the sea and up through the Carolinas, and to the battle of Bentonville, the last fight in which the Ninety-ninth was engaged. At the close of the war his regiment marched to Washington City, and after participating in the "Grand Review," he was honorably discharged. Col. Farrar was a brave and honor- able soldier, and his military record is bright with duty intelligently and faithfully performed. In him were combined those qualities of mind which display under the most trying circumstances the pos- session of great executive ability, added to a personal courage, that made him the trusted leader on many bloody battle fields. Return- ing, after an absence of three years, to the quiet of civil life, he resumed the practice of his profession, which he has since success- fully continued in Peru. He is an able lawyer, thoroughly acquainted with the methods and principles of legal jurisprudence, and stands high among his professional associates of the Miami County bar. He is and always has been a Democrat in politics. Though he ad- heres to his political faith with tenacity and expresses his senti- ments fearlessly, he is far removed from partisan intolerance, and on several occasions has followed his convictions rather than the dictates of party. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and takes an active interest in the G. A. R. post in the city. He married on the 13th day of November, 1856, Miss Emma Gould, daughter of Solomon and Eliza Gould, of Peru. Mr. and Mrs. Farrar have three children, viz: William C., Ada and Maude Farrar.
H. G. FETTER was born in Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, November 12, 1828. His father, Samuel Fetter, was a carpenter and contractor. His mother's maiden name was Mary Wise. The parents were both of German descent. While the subject was quite young his father removed to Sunbury, Pennsylvania, where he erected a number of the churches and
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principal buildings still standing in that city. H. G. Fetter, at the age of sixteen, went to Danville and learned the printer's trade, remaining in the office four years. His health then fail- ing, he learned the art of daguerreotyping, then in its infancy and conducted mostly by traveling artists in tents. For the next four years with a short interruption he pursued the art of picture- making in West Virginia, Ohio and Indiana, locating in Peru in 1853. For a number of years he operated two galleries. In 186I he was appointed postmaster of Peru two weeks after Lincoln's inauguration, and held that position four years and a half, being succeeded by his brother, J. H. Fetter. In 1867 he removed to Logansport, and conducted a gallery there about ten years, when he returned to Peru, where he has since resided.
JAMES H. FETTER, dealer in furniture, is a native of Sun- bury, Pennsylvania, and the eleventh of a family of twelve children born to Samuel and Mary ( Wise) Fetter, of the same State. He was born on the 28th day of February, 1842, and after receiving a liberal education engaged, at the age of six- teen, as a salesman in a dry goods house in his native town. He continued in that capacity until his nineteenth year, at which time, October 14, 1861, he came to Miami County, Indiana, and became deputy postmaster at Peru, under his brother, H. G. Fetter. Subsequently, August 6, 1865, he succeeded his brother as postmaster, and discharged the duties of the office continu- ously till April 1, 1879, when he effected a copartnership in the furniture and undertaking business with L. C. Gould. He is still engaged in that branch of the trade, carries a large stock of all kinds of furniture, and leads the business in Peru. Mr. Fetter's marriage with Miss Lucy Adkison, daughter of Hon. Lewis D. Adkison, of Peru, was solemnized March 9, 1873. They have two children-Robert A., born March 28, 1874, and Thomas C., born on the 26th day of August, 1883. Mr. Fet- ter is an active member of the I. O. O. F., belonging to the Encampment, and with his wife belongs to the Presbyterian Church. Politically he is a Republican.
JAMES B. FULWILER was born in Perry County, Penn- sylvania, on the 6th day of September, 1812. Was educated at Hopewell Academy and Gettysburg Gymnasium, now Pennsyl- vania College. His father, Abraham Fulwiler, was one of the early graduates of Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he was born and reared, and died in 1830, leaving a large estate. His paternal ancestry is traceable through centuries into Switzer- land, where the inevitable millions are said to be awaiting identi- fication of the descendants. His mother was a cousin of the late Jeremiah S. Black, a Cabinet officer of President Buchanan, and a daughter of the Rev. James Black, of Pennsylvania, a Scottish
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divine of extensive erudition. In the year 1834, the subject of this notice came to Peru, Indiana, with a stock of merchandise under the management of one Samuel Pike, his employer, who who subsequently became famous as a campaign editor of countless newspapers in many of the States, beginning with the Peru For- rester, the first newspaper printed and published in Miami County, Indiana .* In the year 1838 Mr. Fulwiler's name was announced by his friends as a candidate to represent the counties of Miami and · Fulton in the State Legislature, which he at first stoutly resisted for the reason that his views in regard to the simultaneous prosecu- tion of all the public works which had been. projected by former Legislatures of the State, was so unpopular that there could be no hope of his election, but finally yielded to the importunities of his friends, and he was defeated, as he expected to be. He was one of the few men of Indiana who at that time favored the classification of the public works, and the prosecution to completion of the most important work first. The people of the several counties had been led to believe that a road or canal would pass by their very doors and that "an additional hen and chickens would pay the additional tax." Hence a "classifier" was more odius to the people, if pos- sible, than an "abolitionist." As they became more enlightened on the subject, however, they changed their views, and in the brief period of two years there was not to be found within the borders of the State a public man who would acknowledge him- self in favor of an indiscriminate prosecution of the thirteen projected works known as the "cow bill," and classification became a popular word. In 1843 Mr. F. was called to the State of Pennsylvania to attend to the disposal of a large body of unpro- ductive land in Schuylkill County, being a part of his father's estate lying in a mountainous region and traversed by rich veins of anthracite coal, where, with the aid of miners from Potts- ville, in the spring of 1844, he located, opened up and leased thirteen veins of coal-among the number was the celebrated "mammoth vein," twenty-two feet in thickness-and at the same time laid off the town of Fremont upon the premises. This town, situated as it is, in the midst of an extensive coal region, is now a prosperous little city. In 1847, Mr. F. was elected clerk of the Miami Circuit Court, which office he held until the 6th day of June 1855, when he was succeeded by Alexander Blake. In the year 1860, he was selected as a delegate at large for the State of Indiana to the Democratic National Convention which nominated Stephen A. Douglass, at Baltimore, for Presi- dent of the United States, and was one of the committee of two
*On the 7th day of March, 1837, he was married to Pauline Avaline, daughter of Francis Avaline, of Fort Wayne, Ind., and sister of Francis S. Avaline, late pro- prietor of the Avaline House, of Fort Wayne, a beautiful and accomplished lady.
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from Indiana, who escorted Mr. Douglass, when on his presi- dential tour, from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Indianapolis, Indiana, and had Mr. Douglass been successful in the race, Mr. F. had rea- son to believe that a prominent position would have been reserved at Washington for his acceptance. In 1861 Mr. F. purchased of Messrs. Todd & Zerne, wholesale and retail grocers, their stock in trade; and in 1865 bought the undivided half of a furniture manufacturing establishment of Messrs. West & Jami- son, which burned to the ground within ten days after his pur- chase and before he had the same insured against fire. In 1868 he embarked, with considerable capital, in extensive purchases and sales of Kansas and Iowa lands, which, for a time, yielded him an immense profit, but which eventually proved disastrous. In his present court of judicature in the city of Peru, his duties are greatly facilitated by a course of legal studies pursued at an early period of his life. Mr. F. has six children living and one deceased. Julia, his eldest daughter, married to Harry F. Clark, late super- intendent of the western division of the W., St. L. & P. Rail- road, at present manager of a western road with headquarters at Keokuk, Iowa; his second child, William died at Portsmouth, Washington Territory, some years ago; Louis Berthelet, second son, is one of the editors and proprietors of the Miami County Sentinel; Clarence, late clerk in the W., St. L. & P. Railway offices at Toledo, is now a resident of Peru. Mary Frank is married to J. R. Hamlin, of the Merchants' Exchange, St. Louis; Ada Pauline, wife of William E. Clark, of Edwardsville, Illinois; Frank, the youngest child of Mr. F., is clerk in a railroad office of the W., St. L. & P. Railway Company at St. Louis. All of his children are naturally bright and have had the advantages of good educations.
LOUIS B. FULWILER, editor of the Miami County Sen- tinel, and son of James B. and Pauline (Avaline) Fulwiler, was born in Peru, Indiana, on the 13th day of July, 1842. He received a liberal education in the schools of his native city and began life for himself by accepting a position in the office of the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw Railway, at Peoria, Illinois, where he remained only for a limited period. In 1861 he entered the army, enlisting in Company A, 20th Indiana Infantry, for the three years service, and with that noted regiment took part in some of the bloodiest battles of the war. In the seven days fight before Richmond, June 25, 1862, he had the misfortune to lose a limb, and being incapacitated for further service he was honorably discharged and returned home in October of the same year. In 1862 he was appointed deputy clerk of the Miami Circuit Court, the duties of which position he discharged for a period of seven years. In 1870 he was elected Auditor of
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Miami County, re-elected in 1874, and held the office two terms or eight years. In 1869 he entered the field of journalism as editor of the Miami County Sentinel, with which paper he has since been identified and in which he now owns a one-half interest with Richard H. Cole. As the Sentinel is the exponent, so is Mr. Fulwiler's influence one of the prime fac- tors in moulding the character and action of, the Democratic party in Miami County. He has proved himself a superior poli- tician, bold and zealous, undertaking what others deem impos- sible and being judicious and untiring, nearly always succeeds. Mental culture and strong common sense have developed and supplemented his natural talents, till all combined have made him one of the ablest newspaper writers in Northern Indiana. In 1869 he was united in marriage with Miss Cora L. Scott, who was born in Logansport, Indiana, September 13, 1846. Mr. Fulwiler is prominently identified with the G. A. R. and K. of P. Orders.
WILLIAM A. GIBNEY, Recorder of Miami County, the subject of this biographical sketch, is a native of Holmes County, Ohio; the son of William S. and Nancy (Landis) Gibney, and dates his birth from the 30th day of September, 1837. His parents were born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, but early emigrated to Ohio, where they lived until their removal to Miami County, Indiana, in 1849. William S. Gibney was a farmer by occupation and died in Peru in 1873. His wife preceded him to the grave, departing this life in the year 1868. William A. Gibney passed the years of his youth amid the active scenes of the farm, and in the common schools of the country received a fair English education, which, supplementing a practical knowledge such as books fail to impart, has enabled him to successfully discharge the duties of an active business life. He followed agricultural pursuits until 1865, at which time he abandoned the farm and engaged in saw-milling and rail- roading, which he followed some years, working at intervals, in the meantime, as deputy in the Sheriff's office. In 1871 he accepted a position in the railroad shops in Peru, later run as fireman on the I. P. & C., and was afterwards promoted baggage master at the depot in this city, the duties of which position he discharged until 1879. In the meantime, 1878, he was elected Recorder of Miami County, and the following year severed his connection with the road in order to enter upon the discharge of his official duties. He was re-elected in 1882, and at this time is nearing the close of his second term. In politics Mr. Gibney is an unflinching Democrat, evincing at all times a lively interest in the success of his party upon the principles of political purity, rigidly averse to anything that savors of deception or trickery. His official record, together with his acknowledged integrity as a trustworthy and reliable Christian gentleman have
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won for him a prominent place in the estimation of his fellow citizens, irrespective of party affiliation. He was married Sep- tember, 1860, to Miss Mary E. Ninon of Fayette County, Penn- sylvania, which union has been blessed with the birth of eleven children, seven of whom are living, viz .: George M., Lillie M., Iona, Dora, Mattie, Pearl and Albert C. Mr. Gibney is an active member of the K. of H. and Odd Fellows fraternities, and with his wife, belongs to the Methodist church.
HON. JOHN A. GRAHAM was born in Baltimore, Maryland, January 8, 1817. His parents were natives of Ireland and emigra- ted to this country in 1815. They landed in Baltimore after under- going great hardships during a prolonged voyage in which they narrowly escaped being ship-wrecked. In 1826 the family removed to Pittsburgh, in 1827 to Wheeling, and in 1828 returned to Balti- more. In 1830 they went to Harper's Ferry, and finally in 1832 settled in Indiana. John A. Graham was employed at Harper's Ferry as clerk until 1835. In May of that year, being then eighteen he started for Indiana. At Wheeling he took passage on a steam boat and was landed at mid-night, a solitary passenger at the mouth of the Wabash. He there expected to find a town filled with enterprising people; but he saw only a dreary waste of turbid waters. No sound greeted his ear but the hoot of the owl and the crash and crunch of the running drift. After sitting upon his baggage at the waters edge until near daylight, he discerned from the top of the bank something like a building in the obscurity of the morning fog and detected a faint sound of human voices coming from a point farther up the river. About a half mile from where he landed he found a steamboat bound for the upper Wabash: and after various adventures and detentions, he succeeded in reaching Peru. There he made arrangements for taking charge of a store in Logansport for Alexander Wilson. He remained in the latter place until the business was closed up, in June, 1835, when he returned to Peru. He acted as clerk for Mr. Wilson until 1839 when he became a partner. The firm of Wilson & Co., packed pork in 1839. It was the first undertaking of the kind in the place and proved a financial failure, owing to the low water in the Maumee which prevented its quick transportation to New York. They built flatboats and in 1840 commenced sending pork to New Orleans. This also proved a failure on account of hard times and low prices. In 1841 and 1843 Mr. Graham was elected Sheriff of Miami county. In 1846 he was appointed clerk in the Wabash and Erie Canal Land Office. He held this place until 1847 when the office was moved to Logansport, under an act of the Legislature adjusting the State debt, known as the Butler Bill. He then bought the printing office at Peru and June 28, 1848 issued the first number of the Miami County Sentinel. This paper was successfully man-
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aged by him, as editor and proprietor until 1861, when he sold out and retired from the editorial chair. In 1850 Mr. Graham was a delegate to the State Convention to form a new State Constitution. In 1870 he was elected clerk of the Miami Circuit Court and at dif- ferent times served as a member of the town and city council. He was special agent of the United States to pay the Miamis in the years 1857 and 1859 and has held many other positions of trust. In 188I he was elected Mayor of the City of Peru, a position he holds at the present time. He has been a life long Democrat and in religion is a Roman Catholic. He was married to Caroline A. Avaline in Peru, June 28, 1842; a family of three sons and six daugh- ters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Graham. Mr. Graham is below the average height but is heavily and compactly built. He poss- esses a strong constitution and although having reached the allotted three score and ten years, many years of usefulness and honor may yet remain to him. His opportunities for an education were limited but he has been a constant reader and has a wonderful memory. He is recognized as the "Historian of Miami." As a writer he is fluent precise as to dates and figures, and full of humor. Few men pos- sess the confidence of the community in a more eminent degree.
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