USA > Indiana > Steuben County > History of Steuben County, Indiana, together withbiographies of representative citizens > Part 39
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where he is gaining the confidence of the people and is building up a good practice. He is a young man of good address, unquestion- able habits, courteons and genial manners, and his close attention to his profession and alertness to comprehend any new departure combine to make him a successful practitioner. Dr. Miller was married in Napoleon, Jackson Co., Mich., to Ida C. Russell, daugh- ter of Levi and Harriet (Kilmer) Russell. They have two chil- dren-Arthur R. and Franklin.
John H. Moore, M. D., is a native of Ohio, born June 9, 1820. He was reared in Ohio, and there began the study of his profession, graduating from the Ohio Eclectic Medical College, Cincinnati. He began his practice in Mahoning County, Ohio, and in 1853 came to Steuben County, and lived in Angola four years, then moved to Scott Township, where he has since lived and built up an extensive and successful practice. His residence is on section 17, and is one of the pleasantest in Scott Township. Dr. Moore was married in Mahoning County, to Abigail Lee, who died in 1857, leaving five children-Mrs. Sarah James, of Angola; Mrs. Mary Allen, of Fremont; Mrs. Eliza Lamareux, of Allegan County, Mich .; Duane, of Otsego Township, and Mrs. Harriet Hulwick, of Otsego Township. In 1858 he married Kate Gushart, who died after six years of married life, leaving two children -- Mrs. Alpharetta Hutchins and Mrs. Cora Kilburn. Jan. 1, 1867, he married Har_ riet Holdredge, who was born Feb. 7, 1837, daughter of Dudley and Abigail Holdredge, who came from Portage County, Ohio, to Steuben County in 1840. To them have been born two children- Dudley H. and Minneola. The Doctor's sentiments are, universal mental liberty; the world is his country ; to do good, his religion.
A. G. Parsell, M. D., was born in Essex County, N. J., Jan. 21, 1826, a son of Moses S. and Hannah B. (Crilley) Parsell, natives of New Jersey. Moses S. Parsell was born in 1797, and was reared in his native county, where he learned the trade of a shoemaker. He married Mary Campbell, who died a few years later, leaving two children-John, who died in boyhood, and Mary C., who lives on Long Island, N. Y. Mr. Parsell afterward married Hannah B. Crilley, and to them were born five children, three of whom are living-A. G., Sarah W. and Elizabeth S., wife of Avery Emerson. Abijah died in 1882, aged fifty-five years. Thomas B. died at the age of forty-one years. In 1838 the family came to Indiana with the intention of locating in Lagrange County, but changed their location to Steuben County, and bought a tract of unimproved land
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of Judge Emerson on section 35, Jackson Township. He built a frame house and began the improvement of his land. After paying for his land and buying a cow he had no money. He died in November, 1839, leaving a wife and six children, the eldest but fifteen years old. The mother kept the children to- gether till they were old enough to take care of themselves, the boys taking charge of the farm. She died in 1846. A. G. Par- sell remained on the homestead till manhood. In the fall and winter of 1845-'46 he had a severe sickness and another in the spring of 1847, which so weakened his constitution that he was nn- able to perform the duties of a farmer's life, and he turned his at- tention to the study of medicine. He entered the office of Dr. William Bevier, of Salem Center, and remained with him two years. He then attended a course of lectures at the Eclectic Medi- cal Institute, Cincinnati, and afterward studied with Dr. Bevier another year. He began the practice of his profession in 1852, locating at Salem Center. Two years later he moved to Fairfield Center, De Kalb County, and in 1858 returned to Salem Township, and located on a farm, although he continued his practice. In 1881 he sold his farm and moved to Hudson, and engaged in the mer- cantile business with his son George. He was married in 1846 to Emily Emerson, daughter of Judge Avery Emerson. They have had ten children, seven of whom are living-Albert A., in Texas; George A .; Ida A., wife of R. R. Redfield, of Humboldt, Kas .; James R., in Colorado; Henrietta S., wife of Elmer Ransburg, of Edgerton, Ohio; Nellie and Thomas A. Three daughters died in infancy. Dr. Parsell is well known for his sterling integrity and his strong advocacy of all principles he believes to be right. He is in all respects a worthy representative of the pioneer element of Steuben County. In politics he is a Republican. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church.
Elisha S. Robison, M. D., was born in Morrow County, Ohio, Feb. 12, 1838, a son of Isaac and Nancy (Kilborn) Robison, who were slaves. His father was liberated by an act of the State in 1817. He purchased his wife's liberty a year later, for $500. To them were born three children-two daughters, deceased, and Elisha S. The mother died in 1848, and his father afterward married Alby Lennox, and to them was born one son-Isaac, a clerk in a bank in California. The father died in 1862, and his wife in 1871. She was a daughter of her master, her mother be- ing a house servant. Our subject was reared in a Quaker family,
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and was educated in their schools, not being allowed, on account of color prejudice, to attend the common schools, which his father's money helped to build. When twenty years of age he went to Iberia, Ohio, and the latter part of 1859 to Massilon, Ohio, where he was in the office of Dr. J. B. Bowen a short time, and then went to Kent County, Mich., and engaged in farming. Oet. 20, 1863, he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Second Michigan In- fantry, and served two years. After his return home he again studied medicine and subsequently attended two courses of lectures at the Montreal Medical College. April 9, 1876, he moved to Branch County, Mich., and Feb. 16, 1882, to Fremont, Ind. He has built up a good practice. He is a hard student and has ac- quired a thorough knowledge of medicine and its effects on the human system, and is a successful practitioner. Dr. Robison was married in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1862, to Julia A. Sloat, a daughter of Commodore Sloat, a prominent slaveholder of North Carolina, and one of his house servants, by whom he had two chil- dren. He became involved and was obliged to sell some of the slaves, and among them was Mrs. Robison and her mother. They were sent to the Red River country, at that time a dreaded point. While on the boat a colored man, named Moses Cleveland, asked the mother if she would like her liberty. Being answered in the affirmative, he assisted her to escape. She was put into a hack at the wharf and taken to another part of the city. There she donned male attire and thus made her way to the North. Mrs. Robison died in 1865. He afterward, April 19, married Maggie M. Barker, a native of Fulton County, Ky. They have had two children- Pearl and Floyd, the latter deceased.
M. F. Shaw, M. D., is a native of Indiana, born in Noble County, Aug. 26, 1858, a son of Thomas and Susannah (Stump) Shaw, natives of Ohio. In 1857 his parents moved to Noble County, Ind., where his mother died in 1862. His father after- ward married Rachel Grisamere and still resides in Noble County. Our subject remained on his father's farm till twenty years of age. After spending three years in Ft. Wayne Medical College and teaching public school, he went into the office of Dr. E. W. Knip- per, of Ligonier, Ind., and studied with him three years. In the winter of 1882-'83 he attended a course of lectures at Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York City, and the next winter at- tended a second course, graduating in the spring of 1884. He than located in Angola, Ind., where he is building up a good
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practice. He is a hard student, is determined to succeed in his profession, and by his energy and incessant application to his pro- fession is winning the confidence of the people and the esteem of the medical fraternity. His pleasing address, genial manners and good habits have won for him a place in the best society of Angola.
Frederick Sherman, M. D., is a native of Branch County, Mich., born in 1859, a son of Arthur H. Sherman. He was reared and educated in his native county, and after leaving school began the study of medicine with Dr. L. Sanders, now Professor of eye and ear surgery in Beach Medical Institute, Indianapolis. He matriculated at Bennett Medical College, Chicago, Ill., where he attended two courses of lectures, in 1879-'80 and 1880-'S1, graduating in the spring of 1881. He began his practice in Branch County, remaining there three years, and in September, 1884, located in Fiint, Ind. He is a young man of pleasing ad- dress, courteous manners, and by his sympathy and tact inspires confidence in his patients and their friends, and is rapidly build- ing up a wide and lucrative practice. Dr. Sherman was married in 1880 to Zada Miller, a native of Branch County, Mich. They have one daughter-Maud.
E. B. Simmons, M. D., is a native of Crawford County, Ohio, born June 26, 1855, a son of Benjamin F. and Elizabeth (Souder) Simmons, natives of Pennsylvania. His parents were married in Crawford County in 1845, and to them were born three children- Isaac N., Ira H. (deceased) and E. B. His mother died July 16, 1862, and in 1864 his father married Henrietta Chapman. But one of their two children is living-Lawrence. E. B. Simmons was reared on a farm, receiving his early education in the com- mon schools. He afterward entered Otterbein College at Wester- ville, Ohio, and remained there two years. He then taught four terms in the district school and one year in the graded schools of Osceola, Ohio. In 1875 he attended the University at Columbus, Ohio, and in 1877 began the study of medicine with T. F. Wood, of Metz, Ind., remaining with him three years. In the winter of 1878-'79 he attended lectures at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and the following winter at Fort Wayne Medical College, grad- uating in the spring of 1880. He then commenced his practice with H. D. Wood, of Angola, and in 1881 went to Bucyrus, Ohio, where he remained a year. In the fall of 1882, he located in Fremont where he has built up a good practice. He is a young
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man of more than ordinary ability and his studious habits and love for his profession have combined to make him successful in his practice and to rank at the head of young physicians in the county. He is a member of the Steuben County, Northeastern Indiana, and State medical associations. Dr. Simmons was mar- ried March 23, 1881, to Edith Quamtance, daughter of Joseph Quamtance, of Bucyrus.
Robert Smith, M. D., one of the early physicians of Steuben County, was born in Hancock, Hillsboro Co., N. H., April 25, 1797, and when six years of age was taken by his parents, James and Elizabeth (Wiley) Smith, to the State of Ohio where they died. While yet a young man he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and there studied medicine under the tutorship of Dr. McIntosh. He commenced his practice in the province of Ontario, Canada, and there married, Feb. 6, 1828, Eliza Pomeroy, who was born in County Cork, Ireland, Feb. 10, 1810. In 1837 he moved to Seneca County, Ohio, two years later to Williams County, and in 1842 to Steuben County, Ind., and bought eighty-nine acres of land on section 2, Otsego Township and commenced making a home in the wilderness. Here he lived a life of great usefulness being for some time the only physician in this part of the county. He continued his practice till 1860 when failing health induced him to abandon all except his practice among personal friends. He was a man of dignified bearing but genial and courteous man- ners, and endeared himself to his patients and their friends. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, Angola Lodge, No. 236. In politics he was a Republican from the time of the party's or- ganization. He died April 5, 1878, and his wife Oct. 1, 1879. Their family consisted of nine children, four of whom are living -Catherine, wife of L. P. Sisson; Robert, of Branch County, Mich .; Louisa, wife of John Foster, and Lewis Cass. Byron died at the age of twenty years and the rest in infancy.
Edward A. Taylor, M. D., York Center, Ind., was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, Jan. 8, 1849, a son of Dr. James B. and Sarah P. Taylor. In 1853 his parents moved to Steuben County, Ind., and located in Angola where, for a short time, his father was engaged in the mercantile business, and then moved to Hamilton, where he engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1863 they moved to Newville, De Kalb County, and from there to Edgerton, Ohio, where they still live. Edward A. Taylor pursued his literary studies in the schools of Newville, and afterward
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attended Fort Wayne College. He began the study of medicine with his father when nineteen years of age, and in March, 1876, graduated from the Iowa Medical College, Keokuk. He practiced with his father for a time and then located in York Center, Steu- ben County. He is a close student, and keeps himself well in- formed in the science of his profession. He is a worthy member of the medical fraternity of Steuben County. By his careful atten- tion to his patients and readiness to answer all calls he has gained a good practice which is constantly increasing. Dr. Taylor was married Sept. 22, 1878, to Allie Hathaway, a native of Steuben County, Ind., born March 26, 1855, daughter of Park and Parthe- nia Hathaway, who moved to Steuben County in 1860.
William Henry Waller, M. D., is one of the most popular and successful physicians of Steuben County. Few have risen so rapidly as he to the prominence he has attained. His natural taste for the profession added to a liberal education fitted him for the commencement of his practice, and constant study and experience have perfected his knowledge. His kind, sympathetic disposition and calm, dignified bearing make his presence in the sick room welcome to the patient and reassuring to the friends. Straight- forward and honorable in all his dealings, he is esteemed alike by his brother practitioners and those with whom he has any trans- action. Plain and unassuming in his manner, modest and retir- ing in habits, he is nevertheless possessed of a strong determina- tion, which is the precursor of success. He is polite and courteous to rich and poor alike, and his services are never denied to those from whom he expects no remuneration. Dr. Waller was born in Richland Township, Steuben Co., Ind., Nov. 3, 1849, a son of Garrett and Jane (Sinkey) Waller, natives of Ohio, who moved to Steuben County in 1846. He is the eldest of eight children, three sons and five daughters. His summers in early life were spent on the farm, attending school in the winter. He began teaching when nineteen years of age, and taught four consecutive winters. In the meantime he had resolved to become a physician and in May, 1871, he began reading medicine. In 1872 he entered Detroit Medical College, one of the best institutions of the kind in the country, and attended two courses of lectures, 1872-'73 and 1873-'74, graduating as a physician and surgeon March 4, 1874. He immediately located in Angola where he has since resided. He is a member of the Steuben County Medical and Surgical Society, the Northeastern Indiana Medical Society, the Southern Michigan
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Medical Society and the American Medical Association. In the fall of 1878 he took a special course of lectures on the treatment of the diseases of women at the Detroit Medical College, and in 1880 attended lectures on the same subject at the Chicago Medical Col- lege. Dr. Waller was married at Metz, Ind., April 15, 1875, to Amanda Ferrier, daughter of William and Olive M. Ferrier, and a native of Steuben County, born March 8, 1853. They have two children-Zora, born March 1, 1876, and William F., born May 1, 1881.
Thomas B. Williams, M. D., located in Angola in April, 1864, and is the oldest regular practitioner now a resident of the county seat. His father, John R. Williams, was born in Wales, in May, 1808, and received a fine education in his native country. In 1830 he came to the United States and settled in Baltimore, but being the possessor of ample means he engaged in no active pursuit. He was married in Pittsburg, Penn., in 1834, to Ann June Bur- gess, a native of England, and to them were born ten children. Becoming permanently identified with the Washington temperance movement he moved, in 1841, to Pittsburg, where he labored zealously for the cause, and became well known throughout the United States as one of the most earnest temperance advocates of the day. He was well informed, a pleasant speaker, and well calculated to rescue and exalt fallen humanity. He continued his noble work till his death in Cleveland, Ohio. The subject of this sketch is the second of his family, and was born in Baltimore, Md., Sept. 6, 1838. He removed with his family to Pittsburg in 1841, and in 1847 to Columbiana County, Ohio, where he grew to man- hood, and received a liberal literary and scientific education. In 1860 he entered the office of Dr. B. W. Speer, of Salem, Ohio, remaining a year, when he went to Cleveland, and continued his studies with Dr. M. F. Brooks, Chief Surgeon of the United States Marine Hospital, remaining there as student and physician until April, 1864, when he located in Angola, Ind. While studying at the Marine Hospital he attended lectures at the Cleveland Medi- cal College and graduated in the winter of 1863. His training in the hospital fitted him for the many arduous duties that fall to the lot of an experienced practitioner, and his courage and skill in dangerous cases have won him the confidence of his patients and the esteem of his brother practitioners. He has a large practice which yields him a good revenne. Of a kind, sympathetic nature his presence in the sick room is comforting, as well as reassuring.
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A man of keen perceptions, quick to read human character, he is especially adapted to the sphere of a physician. Dignified in his bearing, yet pleasant and affable, he has many social friends who prize his friendship and admire his upright and straightforward course. Benevolent and liberal, he is the friend of the poor and needy, never refusing medical aid to any. Dr. Williams is a member of the Steuben County Medical and Surgical Society, and of the Michigan Sonthern Medical Society, and is one of the Censors of the Wayne Medical College. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He was married in Angola, Aug. 9, 1866, to Mary Carkhoff, daughter of William Carkhoff, one of the leading early citizens of Angola. They have one child-William.
Hugh D. Wood, M. D .- The majority of men who have attained eminence in our country have struggled up from poverty and ob- scurity to positions of fortune, or fame. Here nature's true noble- men come to the front by industry and energy and the people recognize their worth and give them the honor due as a reward for the exercise of their learning, genius or moral worth. They make our laws, shape our institutions and lay the foundation for the devel- opment of the minds of the masses. In the gentleman whose name heads this brief sketch the citizens of Steuben County have a leader in all that goes to make their county, as it is, one of the best in the State. Of untiring energy and restless activity, he is ever pressing toward the mark that insures the victor with the highest praise given the American citizen and attained only by close appli- cation and devotion to the pursuit chosen as his lifework. Hugh D. Wood was born in Bainbridge, Chenango Co., N. Y., June 28, 1836, and was the son of Joseph Wheeler Wood, who was born in New York in 1801, of English origin, and Sarah Wood, nee Farn- ham, who was born in Connecticut, Aug. 5, 1804, of Welsh descent. His parents were married in New York, and about 1843 moved to Williams County, Ohio, removing in 1846 to De Kalb County, Ind., where the father died in 1851, and the mother in 1859. Hugh D. was the sixth of a family of nine children. He attended the district schools in Williams County, Ohio, and De Kalb County, Ind., the most of which he paid for by doing chores before and after school hours. In 1856 he attended the Northeastern Insti- tute at Orland, Ind., one year and subsequently Hillsdale College, Mich., till 1859, which completed his literary and scientific educa- tion. During his college life he taught school several terms and thus was enabled to work his way through college, independent
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and unaided. His vacations and leisure hours were spent in read- ing medicine under his brother, W. A. Wood, at that time a resi- dent of Metz. In 1860-'61 he attended a course of lectures at the medical department of the University of Buffalo, N. Y., and in February, 1861, began to practice in Metz in connection with his brother, and the following year practiced alone. In the winter of 1863-'64 he attended lectures at Bellevue Hospital Medical Col- lege, New York, and the medical schools of Philadelphia, and in 1866-'67 again attended Bellevue Hospital College, graduating in 1867. May 6, 1869, he moved to Angola to fill the vacancy caused by the death of his brother, W. A. Wood, and in 1873-'74 attended a general course of lectures at three of the medical schools of New York. Thus he has obtained a thorough education in every branch of his profession, and by constant study and practice keeps apace with the leading physicians of the age. He was one of the organizers of the Fort Wayne Medical College and is Treasurer of the Board of Trustees and Dean of the faculty. His specialty is surgery and he has performed many difficult operations. He is Professor of gynecology and clinical surgery in the Fort Wayne Medical Col- lege and delivers a lecture there twice each week. In 1879 he received the degree of A. M. from his Alma Mater, Hillsdale Col- lege, Mich. He is a member of the Steuben Medical Society, and was its President from 1866 till 1869, and Secretary several years of the Northeastern Indiana Medical Society, of which he was Pres- ident in 1872, and Secretary since July 1, 1874; of the Indiana, Ohio and Michigan Tri-State Medical Society of which he was one of the Vice-Presidents in 1876; of the Allen County Medical Soci- ety; of the Southern Michigan Medical Association, of which he was President in 1883; of the American Medical Association and the International Medical Congress. He has been Secretary of the Steuben County Board of Health since its organization in 1881. As a physician he stands in the front rank in Northeastern Indiana, and the Northwest, and his practice is extensive and lucrative. He re- gards his profession from an elevated standpoint and the " quack" is in his eyes most despicable. The young physician struggling into a living practice finds in Dr. Wood a true friend and adviser. He inspires them to better and more extensive study and encourages with his sympathy and friendly interest. Believing that the world has a place for each of its children, he has no need to discourage the weakest of his young brethren, but assists them to find the place best calculated to advance their material inter-
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ests. A courteous, affable gentleman, and a public-spirited, pro- gressive citizen, he is a useful member of society, and his opinions, fearlessly expressed, are regarded with favor by his friends, and with respect by those differing from him. He was the first mover in establishing the Tri-State Normal College Association, located at Angola; raised nearly all the money for the grounds and build- ings, and was its first and present President. Dr. Wood was married Dec. 3, 1863, to Joanna Powers, daugliter of Hon. Clark and Hannah (Ketchum) Powers, natives of New York. Mrs. Wood was born in Steuben County, Dec. 15, 1845. But one of their three children is living, a son-Weir.
Theodore F. Wood, M. D .- Few professional men have the good fortune to win the honest regard and confidence that Dr. Wood has gained among the people for miles surrounding the town of Metz. His Grandfather Wood was a native of Canada, of English parents, who moved to New York State, where he married and raised his fam- ily. The Doctor's father, Joseph Wheeler Wood, was born in New York in 1801, where he grew up and was married, his wife dying shortly after the birth of a daughter named Martha. He was again married to Miss Sarah Farnham, who was born in Connecticut, Ang- ust, 1804, of Welsh origin, who bore him eight children, as follows: Warren Alphonso, Elizabeth, Sarah, Phedima, Hugh D., Melvina, Theodore F. and Frederick B. Wood. The Doctor was born in Bainbridge, Chenango Co., N. Y., June, 1840, and in 1843 his pa- rents removed to Williams County, Ohio, and in 1846 to De Kalb County, Ind., where his father died in February, 1851, his mother dying in the same county in 1859. After his father's death he went to live with his brother-in-law, D. S. S. Stough, who was a practicing physician of De Kalb County, with whom he remained about seven years, during which time he attended the district school in the winter terms, " doing chores" before and after school for his board and tuition. He then " hired out" as a farm hand for one year, and with the money thus obtained he started to Hills- dale College, where he remained off and on four years putting in his vacations at farming and teaching, devoting the proceeds in paying his way through college, which completed his literary and scientific education. In the meantime he put in every spare mo- ment in the study of medicine, having resolved to become a physi- cian while a boy around the office of Dr. Stough. After leaving college he devoted his entire time to the study of his chosen pro- fession, under his brother, W. Alphonso Wood, of Metz, with the
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