USA > Indiana > Wabash County > History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 13
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Martin Stephan rented a farm in Dallas township from the time of his marriage until he purchased his present place in 1895, at which time he applied himself diligently to the business of remodeling the house and other buildings and getting it in shape for the family. He succeeded most admirably, so that his farm has long been considered one of the attractive ones of the township, well kept in every detail and altogether a productive and desirable place. General farming is carried on by Mr. Stephan and he is reckoned among the alert and progressive farming men of the township by reason of the nature of his activities and the results he has achieved in the agricultural field.
Mr. Stephan is a republican, and was at one time supervisor of Dallas township, while he is now superintendent of the Rock Spring pike, on which his farm is located. He is a man of much public spirit, and his citizenship has been a thing of value to the town and county since he reached years of manhood.
BENJAMIN WOLF. Among the men who began at the bottom of the ladder in Wabash county and built up a singularly praiseworthy ma- terial prosperity through their own skill and application to duty one who is rightly entitled to mention in this historical and biographical work is Benjamin Wolf, a resident of Wabash county for more than half a century.
Benjamin Wolf was born in Hochstattan, Rhinepfalz, Germany, on March 14, 1842, and he came to America in 1860. For a few months he was occupied variously in Cincinnati, Ohio, after which he came to Wabash, and here he spent his remaining days, gaining a prominence and position of which he was well worthy and which stamped him as one of the big men of the town. For three years after his arrival here Mr. Wolf clerked in the dry goods store of David Bach, and received for his services a stipend of eight dollars a month. He prac- ticed the most rigid economy from the first, and in the course of about three years' time he had saved something like two hundred and fifty dollars, with which, in 1863, he opened a butcher shop. He prospered in that enterprise, and in 1865 saw an opportunity to branch out into newer waters. He bought the dry goods and grocery store of M. & L. Hyman. Three years later he formed a partnership with David Beit- man, under the firm name of Wolf & Beitman. At one time Mr. Wolf retired from the firm for a few years, and the name then became Beit- man Brothers & Company. In the meantime a son of Mr. Wolf's, Henry Wolf, now deceased, became of sufficient age to enter the business and
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for one year employed as a farm hand. In 1867 he went to White county, this state, where he lived for seven years, teaching school dur- ing the winter months and clerking in general stores in summers, and in 1875 returned to Miami county. There he continued to teach school in the winter terms, while in the summer months he read law in the office of Judge James M. Brown, and in 1881 was admitted to the bar, commencing practice at Roann. He first came to Wabash in November, 1886, as deputy prosecuting attorney of Wabash county, and served as such until February, 1889, when his preceptor, Judge Brown, was ap- pointed to the bench for Miami county, and Mr. Plummer was appointed prosecutor for Wabash county. He was elected to this office in Novem- ber, 1890, and again in November, 1892, and served until November, 1894, following which he again engaged in private practice. Probably no lawyer who has practiced at the Wabash county bar comprehended the ethics of his profession better than he. His clients knew him to be a man of honor and integrity, and none feared at his hands any under- hand dealing or chicanery. This reputation had much to do with his election, in November, 1902, to his present high judicial office. He took his position on the bench in November, 1903, and was reelected six years later, now serving his second term. In the respect that is accorded to such men as Judge Plummer, who have fought their own way to success through unfavorable environments, we find an unconscious recognition of the intrinsic worth of a character which can not only endure so rough a test, but gain new strength through the discipline. Judge Plummer held distinctive precedence as an eminent lawyer and a valiant and patriotic soldier, and as a man of affairs has wielded a wide influence. A most determined individuality, an invincible courage and a strong mentality have so entered into his composition as to render him a natural leader of men and a director of opinion. His judicial record is one which confers honor and dignity upon the history of the bench of the state and his life has been consistent with itself and its possibilities in every particular. He has long been a valued member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and his fraternal connection is with the Knights of Pythias. Politically, the Judge is a stalwart republican.
On October 27, 1877, Judge Plummer was married to Miss Inez Murphy, daughter of Dr. Reuben Murphy, then a resident of Roann, Indiana, and four children have been born to this union: Margaret, a popular teacher in the Wabash public schools; Nellie, who married Flavius J. Harvey ; Franklin W., and Howard E.
NELSON ZEIGLER, was a man fifty-six years of age when he died at his home in Wabash, on September 12, 1897, and he had for many years been identified with the business activities of Wabash in a prominent and effective manner. He was born in Perrysville, near Toledo, Ohio, on December 15, 1841, and was a son of William and Almira (Van Luven) Zeigler.
During his early manhood Nelson Zeigler was identified with his father in the commission business at Brooklyn, New York, whither the
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family had removed, and after the retirement of the elder Zeigler, the son removed to Lyons, New York, and there conducted a dry goods establishment. Some time thereafter he went to Attica, Indiana, and still later came to Wabash, renewing at once his activities in the dry goods business, and continuing therein until his death.
Mr. Zeigler was a capable and wise business man, and he experi- enced a generous measure of success in his enterprise here. He was well thought of and recognized as a conscientious and reliable man.
He was a republican in politics, but never held office, nor did he ever seek office at the hands of the public. He attended the Methodist church for many years.
On October 18, 1867, Mr. Zeigler married Annie M. Hughes, who was born and raised in Attica, Indiana, a daughter of John E. and Annie M. (Dutro) Hughes, of Scotch and American nativity, respec- tively, Maryland having been the birthstate of the mother. The father was a farmer and both are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Zeigler had four children, two still living. Alma became the wife of Charles S. King, a further sketch of whom is found in this work. Charles S. King and wife and their two daughters Katharine and Josephine, were all killed in an automobile accident, being struck by a limited Pennsyl- vania train, near Columbia City, Indiana, and all dying instantly. Clin- ton W. Zeigler married Edna Oliver, and now resides in Southern Mis- souri. Edward Hughey Zeigler, single, is superintendent of the Peoria & Eastern Division of the New York Central Lines, and located at In- dianapolis. One child, the third born, Harry Hughes, died as an infant.
Mrs. Zeigler survives her husband and is one of the well known women of the city, where she has a host of genuine friends.
JOHN C. SUMMERLAND. A former county treasurer of Wabash county, and in other capacities identified with the public affairs of both township and county, John C. Summerland has been a resident of this locality nearly fifty years, and acquired a position of solid prosperity chiefly through his industry as a farmer.
John C. Summerland was born in Cumberland county, Pennsyl- vania, July 23, 1848. His father, John Summerland, was born in Eng- land, where he married Elizabeth Dadds. Soon afterwards he brought his family to America. In England he had been employed as a miner, in Shropshire, and also worked at the stone and brick mason's trade, and in the state of Pennsylvania, where he lived for many years, he followed those occupations and was also engaged in the digging of wells, a vocation in which he had peculiar success, and his services were in almost constant requisition. Both he and his wife are now deceased.
The boyhood of John C. Summerland was spent in Cumberland county, and he had only limited educational opportunities. He possessed the enterprise which would not content itself in the ordinary routine of his home neighborhood, and at an early age started out for himself, and began depending upon his own labors to advance his welfare in the world. At the age of sixteen, in March, 1865, he arrived in Wabash
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county, and began his career here as a farm hand in Noble township. The first farm on which he worked was located about a mile north of Wabash. He was known as an industrious, sober, and intelligent young man, and had all the work he could do while employed by others. On November 16, 1869, occurred his marriage with Miss Sarah Ellis, daugh- ter of Dr. Charles S. Ellis. After his marriage Mr. Summerland began farming on his own account and rented land and by hard work and close management gradually acquired some means of his own, which in 1878 he invested in eighty acres of land in Noble township, six miles northwest of Wabash. Two years later this was sold and he then moved to North Manchester, and began a career as a manufacturer. In part- nership with his brother Samuel Summerland he started a stave and heading factory under the name of Summerland Brothers. This was conducted with a fair degree of prosperity, until the supply of native timber was exhausted, and they then retired from business after about twelve years.
In 1890 Mr. Summerland was elected treasurer of Wabash county, and in September, 1891, entered upon his official duties at the county seat. By reelection to the office, he served four years, and gave a most creditable administration of his office. He had already taken a some- what active part in the public affairs of his home township of Chester, where he had served four years as trustee, and for three years was a member of the North Manchester school board. After the expiration of his second term as treasurer, Mr. Summerland bought his present farm in Noble township, comprising one hundred and forty acres, and located near the city of Wabash. While a resident of Wabash, Mr. Summer- land has given active attention to the management of his fine farm- stead. In October, 1913, he was apointed Inheritance Appraiser by Judge Plummer, and is now occupied with the duties of that position. Mr. Summerland is a republican in politics, and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Masonic Order.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Summerland have been born six children, whose records are as follows: Ruth Ellis, born September 6, 1870, died October 5, 1889. Parke Arthur, born January 1, 1874, now lives in the state of Idaho. Jolin Kenneth, born August 24, 1876, was a soldier in the Spanish-American war, and died August 8, 1905. At the time of his death he was a detective on the Wabash Railroad. Charles Burton, born January 16, 1879, is a resident of Dallas, Texas. Grace Ellis, born September 29, 1881, married Fred Fowler, June 16, 1904, and they have one child, Betty Lou, and live in Wabash. Hoyte A., married Marie Long, and they have one child, Sarah. He operates his father's farm.
C. S. ELLIS, M. D. Of the older members of the medical fraternity in Wabash county, those who perform their quiet, but effective service to humanity as "country doctors," one of the most conspicuous was the late Dr. C. S. Ellis, whose home was in this county for about fifty years. Besides his practice as a physician, he was a man of prominence before
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the public, served with ranks of captain, major, and lieutenant colonel in the Civil war, was at one time treasurer of the county, and also served one term as a member of the Indiana State Legislature. In his time he was one of the men of "light and leading" in Wabash county, and he leaves descendants who honor his name in this and other com- munities.
Dr. C. S. Ellis was born near Salem, Alabama, November 16, 1824, and died at his home on West Main Street in the city of Wabash, Novem- ber 22, 1894. Six days before his death he had passed his seventieth birthday, so that he was full of years and accomplishments when death called him. When he was about twenty years of age his family moved to Indiana, and at LaFontaine he took up the study of medicine under Dr. Matlock, one of the foremost of the pioneer physicians in that local- ity. On completing his studies, Dr. Ellis located for practice at Somer- set, and continued his work without interruption in that quiet commu- nity until the beginning of the war of the Rebellion. On August 20, 1861, he went out as first lieutenant in Company I of the Eighth In- diana Infantry. On September 25, 1862, he resigned his commission and returned home. Again in 1863, he entered the service, this time as captain of Company E in the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth In- diana Regiment. Soon afterwards he was promoted to the rank of major in the regiment, and continued until the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth was mustered out of service. In the spring of 1865, a few months before the close of the Rebellion, Dr. Ellis once more tendered his services to the cause, and this time went to the front as lieutenant colonel in the One Hundred and Fifty-third Indiana Infantry. While his commission was never higher than lieutenant colonel, he was appointed commander of the post at Rushville, Kentucky, and commanded the brigade to which his regiment was attached.
With the close of his service as a soldier, Dr. Ellis returned to his old home in Somerset, and quietly resumed his duties as a country prac- titioner. In 1866, he was again called into public service at his election as treasurer of Wabash county. He then moved his family to the city of Wabash, and served as treasurer two terms. On leaving the office of treasurer, Dr. Ellis went west, and participated in the mining activ- ities of the new territory of Montana for about five years. After his return from the west Dr. Ellis continued a resident of Wabash and in the practice of medicine until the close of his life. Dr. Ellis was one of the best known members of the Grand Army in Wabash county, and filled all the important offices in his post, being surgeon at the time of his death. He was an honorary member of St. Anastasia Mesnil Lodge, No. 46, I. O. O. F.
In 1847, a year or two after he had established himself in the prac- tice of medicine in Wabash county, Dr. Ellis married Miss Caroline C. Hale of LaFontaine. She was born near Lexington, Kentucky, October 22, 1831, and died at her home in Wabash, May 10, 1893, about a year and a half before the death of her husband. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Hale, who were early settlers of Wabash county, having Vol. II- 8
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moved to this section when she was about three years of age. Dr. and Mrs. Ellis became the parents of ten children, six of whom survived Dr. Ellis. The children are: Sarah, who is Mrs. J. C. Summerland; Viola C., Mrs. M. W. Coate; Arthur T., who lives in Peru; Milo Hale, who died in October, 1910; Josephine, who died aged four years; Grace A., now Mrs. A. M. Oswalt; India R., now Mrs. Wood Rhodes, of Wabash ; Charles L., who died aged sixteen years; Naomi, wife of J. W. Prince, of Parsons, Kansas; and Van M., who died aged four years.
Dr. Ellis was a member of the Presbyterian church; had been edu- cated for the ministry, but preferred to become a physician. His father, Sylvester Ellis, a native of Vermont, was a missionary preacher among the Indians at Salem, Alabama, at the time of his marriage and his wife, Sarah Hoyte, was a teacher among the Indians there.
CITIZENS STATE BANK OF LAGRO. The first banking institution ever opened at Lagro is the Citizens State Bank, which was incorporated March 9, 1912, under the laws of Indiana, with a capital stock of twenty- five thousand dollars. Its charter, its facilities for handling business, its officers and directors and principal stock holders, are all of a char- acter to give the people unqualified confidence in the institution as a financial stronghold, and its success has more than justified the anticipa- tions of its founders.
The bank opened its doors for business in 1912 in the old McNown Building, but plans were almost immediately made for the construction of a new building, specially designed for the bank. This bank building has since been completed, and is a handsome structure of brick and stone adjoining the new building of the Lagro Hardware Company. Most of the stock in the Citizens State Bank is held by residents in and about Lagro, and it is almost purely a local institution, farmers, mer- chants, retired citizens and others being the backers of the institution. The bank fills a long-felt want in this part of Wabash county, and its business has been increasing rapidly ever since its books were first opened.
The officers and directors at this writing (1914) are as follows: Charles F. Hegel, president; Alexander Fulton, vice president; Robert Fults, John A. Thomas, Hugh Jackson, S. D. Tyner, L. A. Schmalzried, . Daniel Ryan and John Hegel, directors; and D. W. Gillespie, cashier.
D. W. GILLESPIE, the cashier of the Citizens State Bank at Lagro, has for a number of years been one of the vigorous and effective workers in this community of Wabash county. Many remember him as a successful teacher, and for a number of years he combined the voca- tions of teaching with farming. Mr. Gillespie owns a well improved and valuable homestead in Lagro township, and is otherwise identified with the business and civic affairs of the locality.
His birth occurred in Liberty township, Wabash county, July 24, 1877. He was one of the children of John W. and Sarah (Brane) Gil- lespie, old residents of Wabash county, who were born in Ohio. The
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children were: William, deceased; John D .; Anna, wife of Charles Sin- clair; George M .; David A .; Charles L .; Theo W .; Minnie M., wife of William Devricks.
D. W. Gillespie grew up on the old home farm in Wabash county. When he was about three years old his mother died, and he was orphaned by the death of his father at the age of fifteen. In the meantime he had attended country and grade schools at Lincolnville, and finally qualified for work as a teacher. He began when little more than a boy to in- struct the youth of a country district school and taught for two terms in Lagro township. For three years he was a student in Valparaiso Univer- sity where he graduated in the scientific course in 1899. After that four years were spent as a teacher in the Burdick schools in Porter county, after which he returned to Lagro township, and spent seven years in the school room. He resigned his position as a teacher, in order to accept a place of cashier in the Citizens State Bank at Lagro, when that institution opened its doors in 1912. In the meantime he had been steadily prospering in a quiet way and his surplus earnings were in- vested in a farm of eighty acres in Lagro township. He moved from his farm and bought the George Todd residence at Lagro in 1913. He still owns the farm, has bought and built valuable business property at Lagro, and was one of the organizers and is a stock holder in the Lagro Hardware Company, a business concern which is sketched elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Gillespie was married July 24, 1903, to Miss Anna Miller, a daughter of Charles Miller, now deceased, who for many years lived near Valparaiso. Mr. and Mrs. Gillespie have three chil- dren : Estella Marie, who died October 5, 1912, at the age of eight years; Marguerite Irene, who is now four years old; and Helen Marine, six months old.
JOHN LYNN. The late John Lynn, long a resident of Wabash county, Indiana, and one who bore the part of a true pioneer in the develop- ment and upbuilding of the county, was a man whose many excellencies of heart and mind made him a valuable addition to the county all his days. His life was a hard one, as measured by present day standards of what constitute the reasonable ease of life and its opposite, but it is probable that he never regarded it as such, but rather as being the com- mon lot of man, for he never complained, and he went on with his work unfalteringly to the end. It is undeniable that the hardy spirit of those fine old men and their equally fine wives has had much to do with the results that are apparent everywhere today in communities that are now populous and thriving. Any lack of determination or hardihood on their part must have resulted inevitably in a failure in the progress that is the pride of the nation, and all honor is due to them. It is fitting indeed that specific mention be made of them and their part in the civilizing process that has meant so much to us all, in a historical and biographical work of the nature of this publication.
John Lynn was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, on November 5, 1821, and came early to Preble county, Ohio, where he continued until 1839, when he came to Wabash county, Indiana. His
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first trip to this county was made on foot from his Preble county home, and at Fort Wayne he entered land lying along the LaFontaine Pike, four miles southeast of Wabash. This was the Southwest quarter of Section 28, Township 27 North, Range 8 East, and the deed for this preemption was signed by President Zachary Taylor. In the same year he bought eighty acres of canal land, the same being described as fol- lows: The east half of the southwest quarter of Section 20, Township 27, North of Range 7. The deed for this purchase, as well as for the government entry, are now in the possession of Frank Lynn, of Wabash.
On his government entry of land John Lynn built a log cabin, hav- ing in the meantime occupied the cabin of William Huff. It should be here stated that after he had made his entry of government land, Mr. Lynn returned to Preble county, was there married and brought back his wife, who in her maiden days was Elizabeth Freel, and whom he married in Preble county, Ohio, on September 21, 1841, his removal to Wabash county following in October, 1841.
His second trip to Wabash county was accomplished with a team and wagon, a vast improvement over his first journey into the new coun- try. The cabin which Mr. Lynn built was, through an error, located on the land of another man, and it is a notable fact that when the mis- take was discovered and the cabin moved, it was again wrongly located, and a third move finally brought the cabin to its rightful resting place. In this cabin, three of his children were born,-one at each location.
It is, perhaps, unnecessary to say here that the country was in those early days in a most uncivilized state. The hand of the white man had scarce invaded the district, and Mr. Lynn found it necessary to make vigorous stand against the wild beasts that had so long held sway in the forests, their rights undisputed by mere man. Indians, too, played an important part in the life of the pioneer of that period, and Mr. Lynn found his ingenuity taxed to its utmost to maintain an existence in his new home without molestation from the marauding forces of uncivilized nature.
Magnificent forests of oak, beech, walnut, maple and other more or less rare and exceedingly valuable timber were subjected to the mer- ciless fury of the axeman, and the noble trees were cut into lengths suitable to handle, heaped in immense piles and burned where they were felled. True, some of them were put to use by being split into fence rails and utilized for fencing purposes, and many of them found their way into the solid construction of houses and barns. And an occasional block house may be found today in Wabash county to bear witness to the quality of building that was done by the early settlers of the district.
John Lynn was all his days a sufferer from asthma, and though he was always a hard working man, his malady was one that made it im- possible for him to perform the hard and incessant manual labor that his neighbors found to be the incidents of a day. He always hired a good deal of help on his place, and when his sons reached years of sturdy youth they took their places in forest and field and worked valiantly
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to subdue the forces of nature and establish more securely in the wilder- ness the supremacy of man.
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