USA > Indiana > Wabash County > History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 17
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(The editor and publishers of this work are indebted to Gene Strat- ton-Porter for the above memorial sketch of her father, Mark Stratton.)
GENE STRATTON-PORTER. It will always be a matter of pride in this community that on one of Wabash county's farms was born an author whose works have justified her position as one of the most popular American writers of the present generation.
A daughter of Mark Stratton, whose career Mrs. Porter has made a subject for one of the most interesting biographies in this publication, Gene Stratton was born on her father's homestead in this county, and received her education under private instruction. At Wabash on April 22, 1886, she married Charles Darwin Porter, who was educated in Savannah College, and was a son of Dr. John Pomeroy and Elizabeth (Darwin) Porter, his father having been a surgeon in the United States: army. Mr. and Mrs. Porter have one child, Jeannette Porter, who was. educated at Knickerbocker Hall in Indianapolis and Washington Col- lege, D. C.
Mrs. Porter has for many years divided her time between her chosen work as author and illustrator. For two years she was editor of the Camera department of "Recreation," for two years was on the natural history staff of "Outing," and for four years was specialist in natural history photography on "Photographic Times Annual Almanac." She
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is a charter member of the National Geographic Society, is vice-presi- dent of the Women's branch of the Chicago Press Club, member of the Society of Western Authors, of the Audubon Society and of other organizations.
It was her work as a writer and illustrator of nature books that first brought Mrs. Porter into prominence. She wrote and illustrated five books of this character: The Song of the Cardinal, 1902; What I Have Done With Birds, 1907; Birds of the Bible, 1909; Music of the Wild, 1910; and Moths of the Limberlost. Of these, the Song of the Cardinal has undoubtedly proved the best selling nature book in the United States.
To a much wider range of readers Mrs. Porter is known through her five novels: Freckles, 1904; A Girl of the Limberlost, 1909; At the Foot of the Rainbow, 1908; the Harvester, 1911; and Laddie. Of all these, The Song of the Cardinal, Freckles, A Girl of the Limberlost, the Harvester, At the Foot of the Rainbow and Laddie are published in London and sold in every English-speaking nation. The Song of the Cardinal is published in French; The Harvester has been translated and published in German and Swedish, and several of the nature novels are being translated into Arabic for use in an effort to introduce Ameri- can methods of nature study into colleges of the Orient. A Girl of the Limberlost is to be used in the Woman's College at Jerusalem and in similar institutions in Egypt.
That few names among modern American authors is so well known and widely appreciated as that of Gene Stratton-Porter is best indicated by the fact that more than two million copies of her various books have been sold during the past five years. Her latest novel, Laddie, had a sale of more than three hundred thousand copies in six months, and no other novel ever published had so large a distribution in the same length of time. While most of her books have an intimate local color, Mrs. Porter has evidently drawn more deeply from her personal experience and environment in the writing of Laddie than in any previous work. This book is thought to be a history of Mrs. Porter's childhood and the home conditions under which she was reared. Much of it is of course fiction, and most of the characters are neighborhood types to be found in any Indiana locality of that period. But the portraits of her father and mother are known to be drawn from life, while the description of "little sister," corresponds with Mrs. Porter's childhood and no doubt the early training she received in this home accounts for her later development.
O. J. CRIPE. In searching for men of vigorous and forcible character who have taken an important and prominent part in the affairs of life, the biographer is not expected to deal only with martial heroes, with statesmen and with figures in the national lime-light, for in the world of science and arts, in the professions, in the activities of commerce and trade and in the field of finance of the present day are found men of action, capable and earnest, whose talents, enterprise and energy com- mand the respect of their fellow men and whose lives are worthy examples
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and objects of emulation. That the life of such a person should have its public record is peculiarly proper, because a knowledge of men whose substantial fame rests upon their attainments, character and success, must of a necessity exert a wholesome influence on the rising generation of the American people. In this connection it is appropriate to review in this volume the salient points in the career of O. J. Cripe, owner and cashier of the Urbana Bank and a man who has impressed his abilities upon the business life of his adopted place.
Mr. Cripe was born October 1, 1868, at Sacramento, California, and is a son of Tobias and Anna (Hullinger) Cripe. The paternal grand- father, R. Cripe, was one of the early Dunkards to come from Preble county, Ohio, as a pioneer to St. Joseph county, Indiana, subsequently built the first log house at South Bend, and farmed and operated a saw- mill up to the time of his death. Tobias Cripe grew up in St. Joseph county, and in 1849, when twelve years of age, accompanied his father and the other members of the family on a trip by ox-teams overland to Oregon. There they resided in a log cabin until it was destroyed by fire, when they lost in the flames the old German family Bible, which had contained all of the early family records. Later all returned to St. Joseph county, Indiana, and here he remained and married Anna Hullinger. In 1863, Mr. Cripe and his wife, together with his brothers and their families, formed a wagon train and again went to the far West. For seven years Mr. Cripe was located at Sacramento and Stockton, California, and there was engaged in driving a twelve-horse team over the mountains, in the carrying of freight prior to the advent of the railroads. In this manner he secured a capital of $1,800 within three months' time, and then, re- turning to the East over the old "Crockett" Union Pacific Railroad, again located with his family in St. Joseph county. There Mr. Cripe was engaged in farming until March 6, 1884. In 1887 he again heard the call of the West and went to Los Angeles, California, but after a short stay returned to Carroll county, Indiana, and there retired from activities some twenty years ago at the time of his first wife's death. He still sur- vives and is one of the honored old residents of Flora, Carroll county, Indiana. His second wife was a widow, Mrs. Hannah McDonald, and after her death he married another widow, Mrs. Catherine Brower, who is also deceased. There were no children to his second and third unions, but by his first marriage he was the father of five children : David S., a general merchant of Mount Morris, Illinois; Oliver J., of this review ; Edward, engaged in the farm implement business at Camden, Indiana ; Brent, who makes his home on the old farm in Carroll county; and Francis, who married George Southerd, and is a resident of the Do- minion of Canada.
Oliver J. Cripe was a child of two years of age when the family returned from the West, and he spent the next fourteen years of his life in St. Joseph county, where he was educated in the grammar and high schools and also took a course in Hall's Business College, at Logansport. Succeeding this, he purchased a property in Carroll county, which he farmed for some ten years with a fair measure of success, and Vol. II-10
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then, selling his land, went to Flora, Indiana, and during the next five years was practically retired from active life. However, it was while there that he received his introduction to financial affairs at the First National Bank, and in 1908 he brought his family to Urbana, Wabash county, and opened the Bank of Urbana, the first institution of its kind to do business here. The venture succeeded from the start, and in 1910 the present structure was erected. Mr. Cripe has continued to act in the capacity of cashier, while Miss Ethel Cripe is assistant cashier. In the advancement of the commercial and industrial interests of Urbana, Mr. Cripe has been very active. He is interested in the hardware busi- ness now conducted here by Fox & Bectol, and was the founder of Urbana's first lumber yard, the Urbana Lumber Company, dealers in all kinds of building material, coal and cement, Grant Forest being manager of this business. In 1913, Mr. Cripe erected the Grain Elevator at Speiker, of which John Coburn is manager.
Mr. Cripe was married in 1892, to Miss Ellen Harter, daughter of John and Sarah Eikenberry Harter, of Carroll county, Indiana. Three daughters have been born to this union : Ethel, a graduate of the Urbana High school and now a student at Manchester College, who acts in the capacity of assistant cashier in her father's bank; Iona, who is a graduate of the high school and also a student in Manchester College; and Eva, who is still attending high school. Mr. Cripe's career has been one of consistent and well-merited advancement, and his success has been self-gained. He occupies a position of prominence in his adopted com- munity, the interests of which he has brought to the forefront by his activities.
L. M. PROPS. One of the flourishing industries of the village of Lagro, Indiana, which adds materially to its importance as a center of business and manufacturing activity, is the Lagro Milling Company, the proprietor of which, L. M. Props, is known as one of the substantial men connected with commercial lines here. He has been a resident of Lagro for only six years, yet during this period of time has impressed himself favorably upon the people of this locality, and his energy, his good business judgment and his straightforward methods of doing busi- ness have won him the support and confidence of those with whom he has been brought in contact.
Mr. Props was born in Grant county, Indiana, in September, 1863. and is a son of James M. and Elizabeth (Harter) Props, both born and reared in that county. The grandparents both died when James M. Props was a lad, and he was taken into the home of his uncle, Joseph Gravens, who reared him to manhood and gave him a good public school education. At the outbreak of the Civil war, he enlisted for service in an Indiana regiment of volunteers and continued in the Union army until the close of the struggle, his wife having in the meantime lived with his uncle. Upon his return to the pursuits of peace, he again took up farming, locating on a property northwest of Sweetser. He was suc- cessful in his operations because of his hard and industrious toil and
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MR. AND MRS. JAMES E. JACK AND FAMILY
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his indomitable perseverance, and in 1908, feeling that he had accumu- lated enough of this world's goods, retired from active pursuits, and since that time he and his wife have lived quietly at Sweetser, where they have a comfortable home. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Props, namely : Lemuel M., of this review; Ella, who married Garrison Smith; Cecelia, unmarried; Joseph M .; Laura, who became the wife of John Veach; and Harley, all of these residents of Grant county with the exception of Lemuel M.
Lemuel M. Props received his early education in the public schools of Pleasant township, Grant county, in the meantime assisting his father during the summer months in the development of the homestead. He remained under the parental roof until reaching the age of twenty- two years, when he engaged in farming on his own account and was engaged therein for two years. At the end of that period he started a sawmill, business, and in connection therewith operated a threshing ma- chine, and carried on these lines of activity until coming to Lagro in 1908. Here he purchased the mill from Isaac Furgeson, which is now known as the Lagro Milling Company, and in which is manufactured the famous "O. K." brand of flour, known all over this section for its purity and excellence. The capacity of the mill is 50 barrels daily, and the product meets with a constant demand. In addition to this busi- ness, Mr. Props sells engines and farming machinery, and in partner- ship with his son is operating a threshing machine outfit. Each of his ventures has proved successful, and his standing in the commercial world is accordingly high.
In 1886, Mr. Props was married to Miss Dora L. Bechtel, a daughter of the late Samuel Bechtel, and to this union there have been born five children : Earl, who married Maude Baumgardner; Carl, who married Gladys Duffey, and has one child, Mary E .; Mevel; Colene; and Anna. Mr. Props is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his political connection is with the democratic party.
JAMES E. JACK. It will soon be fourscore years since the Jack family was established in Wabash county. Andrew Jackson was then president of the United States. The old Wabash and Erie canal had not yet been built down the valley. The few pioneers who had come had been able to make little impression on the wilderness, and only here and there above the dense woods rose the smoke of a settler's cabin. Here three generations of the family have done their work and done it well, and those of the living dwell in the shadow of contentment, pros- perity and honor-qualities that are invariably associated with the name. With appropriate reference to the older generations, this sketch concerns the career of James E. Jack, one of the best known citizens of Paw Paw township. He is the owner and proprietor of two hundred and twenty-five acres in that township in two adjoining farms, located on the east side of the Minich Pike, about five and a half miles northwest of Wabash.
James Jack, grandfather of James E., was the founder of the Jack
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family in Wabash county. He was born in Westmoreland county, Penn- sylvania, in 1794, and when three years of age was taken by his parents from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, and not long afterwards to Ohio, where his father settled in Adams county along the Ohio river, sixty miles above Cincinnati. James Jack was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was sta- tioned at Sandusky, Detroit, and other points around the Great Lakes. After his marriage he moved to Greensburg in Decatur county, Indiana, in 1826, and in 1836 moved to Wabash county. There his long and worthy career came to a close in 1879 when eighty-four years of age. On June 11, 1818, James Jack married Elizabeth Donaldson. Their children were Thomas, Eliza Jane, John, Mary, Nancy, Andrew, James, William, Sarah. James Jack on coming to Wabash county bought land from an original settler, comprising two hundred eighty-five acres, and also entered direct from the government a quarter section of one hundred and sixty acres. His entire career was devoted to the tilling of the soil, and a great deal of original work in clearing up the land was performed by this splendid pioneer. Though he had merely a common school edu- cation of his time, his good sense and strong desire for knowledge made him more than usually well informed and somewhat of a leader in the community. In politics he was first a whig and later a republican, and in religion was a firm Presbyterian, as was his wife, while one of his sons, Andrew Jack, became a minister of that denomination. This minister subsequently went as a missionary to Africa and was stationed at Gaboon on the West Coast. One of the familiar landmarks of this family in Wabash county is the Jack cemetery, situated on the original Jack homestead, and just southwest of the cemetery grandfather Jack built the first brick house in Wabash county, along the south bank of Paw Paw creek, in Section 7, Township 28, Range 6. The first body interred in that cemetery was William Jack, a son of James, buried July 5, 1843. It is hardly needful to state that the entire upper Wabash valley was a wilderness when James Jack settled here, the woods abounded with game which furnished provisions for the family larder, and when it became necessary to get flour he carried his grain many miles to mill. He possessed a great fund of reminiscence concerning the early days, and told many interesting stories to his descendants and friends.
Thomas Jack, a son of grandfather James Jack, and father of James E., was born in Adams county, Ohio, April 19, 1819, the first child of his parents, and was married after coming to Wabash county to Sarah T. Wright. She was born in Virginia December 17, 1827. Thomas Jack was a boy when the family moved to Decatur county, Indiana, and was seventeen on his arrival in Wabash county. His wife had come to Wabash county at the age of thirteen from Virginia, with her parents George and Susan Wright. After their marriage Thomas Jack and wife located on a farm west of where James E. now lives, a place known as the A. F. Watson farm. When Thomas Jack bought it it was in the midst of the woods, and during his many years of residence he employed his labor and his means to clear off many acres and perfected a fine
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farm. Thomas Jack finally left Wabash county and went out to Minne- sota during the early days of that state for the sake of his health, and died there when his son James E. was three years old. His body was returned to Wabash county and now rests in the old Jack cemetery above mentioned. Mrs. Thomas Jack, a venerable woman of eighty- seven, is still living on a part of the old homestead. Their three children were: Elizabeth, who died as Mrs. John Moore in 1869; James Edward; and Margaret J., wife of A. F. Watson.
James F. Jack, a son of Thomas and Sarah (Wright) Jack, was born on his father's farm half a mile west of where he now lives, on the Chippewa Road, April 1, 1854. His birthplace was a log cabin, and perhaps the majority of the citizens born fifty years ago in Wabash county had a log house as the shelter of their infancy. Excepting a few months spent in Minnesota during his father's last illness, his life has been passed within the borders of Wabash county. His schooling was acquired by attendance at a district school in the neighborhood, and at the age of sixteen he left his mother's home to live with his grand- father for three years, but at the age of nineteen returned and became the active manager of the home farm and the support of his widowed mother. In that way his early years were spent, and on July 8, 1877, he married Eunice M. Richards, daughter of Josiah and Eunice Rich- ards. A full sketch of the Richards family will be found under the name of William A. Richards, a brother of Mrs. Jack.
Following his marriage Mr. and Mrs. Jack moved to the old farm of his grandfather, who died about that time. Six years later he bought his present homestead. His first purchase comprised eighty acres from the Stone heirs. Just twenty acres of that had been cleared, and in per- fecting its improvements he had a large amount of pioneer work to per- form. Mr. Jack rebuilt all the buildings, and added from time to time other lands until he now has one of the best properties in Paw Paw town- ship. His profits have come from general crops and the raising and feed- ing of stock, and among his fellow citizens his judgment is regarded as unusually reliable in all lines of agriculture. He is a republican in politics, but has never allowed his name to be presented as a candidate for any public office.
Mr. and Mrs. Jack are the parents of the following children : Bertha, wife of Harvey Hiner, and they have one child, Verne; Otto, who mar- ried Carrie Hiner, and has two children, Miriam and Cecil; Cortha E., wife of O. G. Walker, and mother of Paul and Dean; Ziria; Glenn E., who married Elizabeth Cox and has a daughter, Marveleen; Zella M .; Joseph ; Beth ; and June.
DAVID EDWARD PURVIANCE. Considered either as a merchant or as an earnest and unselfish worker for community good, the career of David E. Purviance has been distinctly successful. His service as trustee of Lagro township has been of a quality that should fix his name in the history of local progress. He is senior member of the general mercan- tile firm of Purviance and Bartholomew at Lagro, where his active busi-
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ness career extends over a period of fourteen years, and he was for some years a newspaper man of Huntington county.
David E. Purviance, who is best known in the business community as Ed Purviance, was born in Huntington county, Indiana, on his father's farm three miles north of Warren, October 28, 1868. His par- ents were James S. and Annie E. (Miller) Purviance, old residents of Huntington county. From his farm James Purviance moved to the county seat at Huntington, and was engaged in merchandising and the grain trade with his father, Joseph W. Purviance, who came from Ohio and was one of the pioneers of Huntington county. James Purviance also served four years during the war in Company F of the Forty-seventh Regiment of Indiana Infantry. His death occurred at the age of seventy years. After that his widow moved to Auburn, Indiana, where she still resides. Her parents also came to Indiana at an early date from Ohio. James S. and Annie E. Purviance were the parents of the following children : David E .; Fred A., who died at the age of twenty-two; Irene; Dessie, wife of Roy Haley; and Joseph W.
When D. E. Purviance was a child the family moved to Huntington, and his education was supplied by the grammar and high schools of that city. On leaving high school he moved to Andrews, and for several years was employed as a clerk in a general store. It was in Andrews that he acquired his initial experience with newspaper work, having assisted in the establishment of the Signal, a weekly paper, of which he occupied the post of editor for seven years. In the summer of 1900, Mr. Purviance moved to Lagro in Wabash county and bought the in- terest of John Leedy in the Leedy Brothers department store. Sub- sequently he acquired the interest of S. J. Leedy, and was sole pro- prietor for a time, and then took in Mr. Bartholomew, making the firm as above given. Mr. Bartholomew was at one time a clerk for his pres- ent partner, and has practically grown up in the present business. Pur- viance and Bartholomew have prospered in business, and carry a com- plete line of general merchandise. Their store is a popular center of trade, and is located near the electric railway, the rear of the store being directly opposite the station. Thus they occupy a very eligible location, and it is an incident of practically every hour in the business day for people to go through the Purviance store on their way to the station, and the cordial greeting which they receive has no doubt been a con- siderable factor in the prosperity of the concern.
On July 30, 1891, Mr. Purviance married Miss Jennie Leedy, a daughter of Samuel J. Leedy, for many years a merchant of Andrews, and whose death occurred in March, 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Purviance have one son, Samuel J. He graduated from the local high school, and is now a student in the State University at Bloomington, preparing for the medical profession. Under the name Purviance and Son, he is also in the real estate and insurance business with his father, and they handle many of the transactions in city and farm property in Lagro township.
As a newspaper man in Huntington county, Mr. Purviance naturally became interested in politics and public affairs, and since moving to
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Lagro has continued to identify himself with local politics. A few years ago county auditor Scott Davis, appointed him to fill the unexpired term of L. S. Connor, township trustee in Lagro, and at the end of nineteen months he was elected to the office on the republican ticket. He went into the office with a majority of two votes. When it is considered that the township is normally democratic by one hundred, his political strength is evidently more than ordinary. As trustee, Mr. Purviance has a somewhat remarkable record. The people expect of a trustee that in the first place he give his attention to the schools of the township, and since Mr. Purviance took office improvements and additions have been effected which place Lagro township in the front ranks of Wabash county localities so far as school facilities are concerned. He erected the large eight-room modern school building at Lagro, which is easily the finest structure of its kind in the township and one of the best in the county. Also the joint township grade school building at Urbana has been built. Besides these two, Lagro township has erected a modern one-room district school, a building which stands as a remarkable con- trast to the little log schools to which many of the parents of its scholars went for their daily instruction twenty-five or thirty years ago. In every way Mr. Purviance has looked carefully after the interests of his township, and his record as trustee is exceptionally creditable. Mr. Purviance was one of the organizers of the Citizens State Bank of Lagro, an institution which is described elsewhere in this publication. He is one of the stockholders and a member of the finance committee. Fra- ternally he is affiliated with the Masonic order in the Lodge at Lagro, with the Chapter and Council at Andrews, and the Knights Templar Commandery at Wabash. He is also a Scottish rite mason and a mem- ber of the Mystic Shrine at Ft. Wayne. Other fraternal associations are with the Elks Lodge at Wabash and the Lodge of Odd Fellows at Lagro.
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