USA > Indiana > Wabash County > History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 37
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FRANK HAWLEY. One of the substantial business men of Wabash county, who is now engaged in a general mercantile business at Red Bridge, is Frank Hawley, who for a number of years was also identified with agricultural pursuits. He is a native son of Wabash county, hav- ing been born on a farm in Noble township February 10, 1867, his parents being Aubrey and Marguerite (Hutchins) Hawley, natives of
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Ohio, the latter being from Montgomery county. Aubrey Hawley came to Wabash county at a very early period, and for many years was the owner of a boat on the old canal. From all records at hand he is the only survivor of the canal-boat men of Wabash county. On disposing of his interests in that line he became the proprietor of a sawmill, but later turned his attention to farming in Waltz township, where he be- came the owner of a valuable property and is now living in quiet retire- ment, enjoying the fruits of his years of earnest toil. For a long period Mr. Hawley was connected with the Progressive Dunkard church, but of late years, while still a believer in the Gospel and a true Christian, has not been connected with any particular religious denomination. In politics he has always been a democrat, although not an office seeker. Aubrey and Marguerite (Hutchins) Hawley have been the parents of four children, namely : Melvin, who died aged eighteen months, and an infant who died in infancy; Frank, and Lula, who died at the age of twenty-one years.
Frank Hawley received his education in the district schools of Noble and Waltz townships, and while thus securing his literary training assisted his father in the cultivation of the home farm. On attaining his majority he embarked in agricultural pursuits on his own account, but in 1895 turned his attention to mercantile lines and became the pro- prietor of a store at Amboy. This he conducted with some success until 1900, when he received a good offer for his business and disposed of his interests, at that time returning to farming, in which he was engaged until 1906. He then again became a merchant, purchasing the store formerly owned by Nick Bowman at Red Bridge, and here, through energetic methods and honorable dealings, he has built up an extensive trade. He is possessed of good business ability, is familiar with the wants and needs of his customers, and carries a full line of the most up-to-date goods. His courtesy and pleasant personality have done much to increase his business and have also gained him numerous friends in his community. For a number of years Mr. Hawley was a member of the Church of the Brethren, but of late years he has not been a regular member, although he is ever ready to assist in good movements. In political matters he is a socialist, and he takes a keen and intelligent interest in public affairs as they affect his locality or its people. Mr. Hawley enjoys the privileges of membership in Somerset Lodge of the Masonic fraternity and the Odd Fellows Lodge of Amboy, in both of which he is very popular.
Mr. Hawley was married to Miss Tina Bowman, daughter of Eli W. and Melvina (Tait) Bowman and one of a family of twelve children. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ilawley: Ethel, who married Roy Shaw and has two children; Darrel and Harold; Claude and Clyde, twins, the latter of whom is deceased; Ely, deceased; Walter and Victor, residing at home with their parents; Marguerite, deceased, and one child who died in infancy.
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Z. M. BEAMAN, M. D. Engaged in the general practice of medicine and surgery at North Manchester, Dr. Beaman has applied himself closely to his profession since the beginning of his practice, about eight years ago, and besides looking after a large private clientage also per- forms the public duties of city physician. A native of Ohio, born at Charloe, Paulding county, January 13, 1880, Z. M. Beaman is a son of W. Scott and Cora (Jackson) Beaman; who were among the early set- tlers of Paulding county and both now deceased.
The first twelve years of Dr. Beaman's life were spent on the farm, of which the last two comprised mainly driving oxen in the timber for his father. Then with his father he took up the mercantile business at Junction, Ohio, continuing until he was twenty-one. Dr. Beaman's education was the result of attendance at the district schools and the business school at Leipsic, Ohio. Having reached his majority, he deter- mined to make the study and practice of medicine his life work.
With that purpose in view he entered the Fort Wayne College of Medicine, subsequently continuing his studies in Purdue University, and was graduated in 1906 a Doctor of Medicine from the medical depart- ment of that institution. His first seventeen months as a graduate phy- sician were passed in the community of Urbana, in Wabash county, and since then he has practiced successfully at North Manchester. By hard and conscientious work his business has been built up to a lucrative point, and his standing is among the best among Wabash county's phy- sicians. In the line of his profession he is identified with the County and State Medical Society, the American Medical Association and also with the Eleventh Council District Association. His social and fraternal relations are with the Masonic Order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America.
In November, 1908, Dr. Beaman was appointed to the office of city physician at North Manchester to fill out the unexpired term of Dr. Lila Andrews. In January, 1914, came a re-appointment to the office, and for the past six years he has performed his duties in safeguarding the public health of the community in a most efficient and creditable manner. In all his relations, whether professional or civic, Dr. Beaman has exhibited a fine sense of citizenship, and has proved himself one of the men of useful work and influences in the community. On September 21, 1907, Dr. Beaman married Miss Pauline Speicher, a daughter of the late David Speicher of Urbana, and a member of a prominent old family of Wabash county.
HENRY E. JACKSON. For more than a half century Henry E. Jackson has been a resident of his present farm in Waltz township, and during the greater part of this time he has been numbered among his com- munity's substantial men. A steady-going, reliable and thoroughly pro- gressive citizen, he has found time aside from his own interests to take part in movements which have benefited Wabash county and Waltz township, and has at all times shown himself a loyal friend to educa-
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tion, religion and morality. He was born in Henry county, Indiana, December 21, 1854, and is a son of John Harrison and Sarah (Barn- hard) Jackson.
John Harrison Jackson came to Wabash county as one of the early settlers, and here took up his residence in Waltz township in the present home of his son. He was in modest financial circumstances and was able only to secure a heavily timbered property, which had been entered several years before from the Government by James Shackleford. His first residence was a small log structure, and for a long period his life continued to be a struggle against obstacles and disappointments, but as the years passed he steadily prospered through persistent labor and energetic application, and at the time of his death he was the owner of a large body of well-cultivated land. Both he and his wife were laid to rest in Waltz township.
H. E. Jackson was not yet four years of age when he accompanied his parents to Waltz township, and his boyhood was passed in assisting his father to clear the home farm from the heavy virgin timber. In the meantime he passed several months of each winter in attending the dis- trict school, thus gaining an education which has since been supple- mented by much reading, broad experience and keen observation of men and affairs, and today he is a well-informed man on a number of gen- eral subjects. He early adopted agricultural pursuits for his life's work, and thoroughly trained himself in all things that combine to make the successful tiller of the soil. As was the case with his father, his earnest efforts have been rewarded by a full measure of success, and his sixty-acre tract is now as valuable as many which are much larger, for he has combined new ideas with old-time practicability, and has not been slow to adopt measures which recent investigation and discovery have shown to be helpful. All of the present improvements have been placed upon the property by Mr. Jackson, and he has a good home, a substan- tial barn and numerous well-built outbuildings. Mr. Jackson is a mem- ber of the Christian church, with which he has been connected for eleven years. Like his father, he is a republican in politics. Public life has not attracted him, but he has at all times been ready to cooperate with other energetic men of his township in forwarding movements for the general welfare of his community and its people.
Mr. Jackson was married in Waltz township to Miss Marguerite Jane Roser, and they had six children, all born in this township: O. W., who married Anna Wright; J. A., who married Tillie Ganway; A. N., who married Miss Bessie Dalstrom; Lula Velma, who married W. A. Shinn; Nellie N., who is single and a school teacher in Arizona, and Edith Winona, who married Homer Putnam and resides in Alberta, Canada. Mrs. Jackson died in 1889 and is buried in Waltz township.
FRANK SUMMERS. In the life of Frank Summers, now a successful farmer of Waltz township, there is to be found an example worthy of emulation by the youths of our land who are starting out in the world handicapped by a lack of money and influential friends. Left an orphan
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FOUR GENERATIONS: JOHN M. LOGAN, THOMAS W. LOGAN, MRS. B. IRENE ARBAUGH AND OLIN ARBAUGII
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when still a small boy, his education was neglected, and he was early forced to take upon his young shoulders the burden of supporting him- self. As the years have passed he has steadfastly worked his own way upward, and his well-applied efforts have been rewarded by the accumu- lation of a good property and the esteem of a wide circle of friends. Mr. Summers was born in Iowa October 28, 1861. His father died when he was an infant, and in 1865 the mother located at La Fontaine, but later moved to Grant county, and then to Miami county, where the son took up his residence in the home of an old farmer, Samuel Hays, in Jackson township. As a lad he worked for fifty or seventy-five cents a day, and secured such scraps of education as he could gain, although his oppor- tunities were few. He remained with Mr. Hays until twenty-three years of age, when he moved to another farm, but subsequently returned to the Hays farm, a tract of seventy-one acres, which after much hard work he succeeded in putting under cultivation, and also erected a good, sub- stantial residence. In 1902 he came to Waltz township and settled on his present property, where he has accumulated 200 acres, all of this property now being in a high state of cultivation and furnished with fine buildings. He has done about 600 rods of ditching, has his land well fenced, uses modern machinery and methods, and raises good stock, and is known among the people of his community as a progressive and enterprising agriculturist.
Mr. Summers was married (first) in 1890 to Miss Ruth Reynolds, who was a daughter of Greer and Amanda Reynolds, and they had two children : Asbury, born July 25, 1892, and Jessie, born March 3, 1898. Mrs. Summers died in November, 1904, and Mr. Summers was married (second) to Savannah Morrison, daughter of John W. and Emma V. (Davidson) Morrison, and two children were born to this union: Oscar, born October 19, 1913, and one who died in infancy. They also have a child whom they are raising, Charline Marie Jacobs, daughter of Charles and Mina Dawes Jacobs, whose mother died at birth, and whom they are rearing as one of their own children. Mrs. Summers has the fol- lowing brothers and sisters: Amanda, who married George Bidelstetter; Vergie C., who married Oliver Speelman; Pearl, who married Adolph Modricker; Amelia, who married William C. Hovermale; Pressley, who married Minnie Shade, and Noah C., single.
Mr. Summers has been somewhat interested in work of a fraternal nature, and belongs to Somerset Lodge of Masons. In political matters he is a republican, but has never sought nor cared for public office. During his residence in Waltz township he has formed a wide acquaint- ance, and his actions have ever been such as to gain him the respect and esteem of those with whom he has come into contact.
THOMAS W. LOGAN. In every community in Indiana are found men who have risen above their fellows in business or political life, not because they have been granted greater advantages, but because their natural abilities have created opportunities of which they have been quick to take advantage. In a section life Wabash county, where good and
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reliable men are easily found, he who is given preferment beyond his fellows has indeed attained honor, for he has proven his reliability and usefulness. One of the men who has attained prestige in the field of agriculture in Wabash county is the Proprietor of the Purlieu Farm, T. W. Logan, of Liberty township, a skilled farmer and stock raiser, and a citizen who has the welfare of his community at heart. Mr. Logan is a native of the Hoosier state, having been born in Rush county, May 4, 1851, a son of John M. and Mary E. (Poston) Logan.
John M. Logan was born in the same county and state, and was a son of James and Elizabeth (Mann) Logan, who were early settlers of that locality, while Mrs. Logan was a daughter of Judge Elias Poston, one of the early county jurists of Rush county. The parents of Mr. Logan grew up in Rush county and were there married, and in 1856 left their native locality and came to Wabash county, locating near La Fon- taine, where they passed the remainder of their lives in the pursuits of agriculture, and here passed away. They were the parents of seven children, of whom three survive: Anna E., who is the wife of T. J. Wat- son, of La Fontaine; Martha A., who is the wife of H. C. Badger, a resident of Indianapolis; and T. W., of this review.
T. W. Logan was a lad of five years when brought to Wabash county by his parents, and here secured a good practical public school education which qualified him for teaching so that he adopted the vocation of educator and for six years had charges in the county. Mr. Logan was married to Miss Alma E. Price, of Huntington county, Indiana, and at that time settled on a farm in Wayne township, which he cleared from the wilderness. After five years he disposed of this property at a hand- some figure and returned to Wabash county, but in 1889 moved to Monroe county, and after five years again returned to Wabash county. Here he located on his present place, the Purlieu Farm, which he has developed to a high state of cultivation, a tract of 200 acres of land on which are located the finest of improvements, including a hand- some residence, commodious barn and substantial outbuildings. In his gen- eral farming operations Mr. Logan uses the latest and most highly ap- proved methods, and the admirable results which he obtains from his labors give ample evidence of his skill as an agriculturist. On coming to this property Mr. Logan began to give a great deal of attention to the breeding of Poland-China hogs, but since 1901 has been breeding pure blooded Duroc hogs, with which he has had excellent success. His repu- tation is that of a man of integrity and honorable dealing, and in his community he is held in the highest esteem and confidence.
Of the seven children born to Mr. Logan's first marriage, five are living at this time: B. Irene, a graduate of the high school and now the wife of Charles Arbaugh of Indianapolis; Mary E., a graduate of the same school and now the wife of Fred Prillaman, of Yorktown, Indiana; Lulu, a graduate of the same school, and now the wife of Elmer Prillaman, of Yorktown; Lora, wife of John Bellis, of Naylor, Missouri; Elizabeth, who is the wife of C. Halbert, of Yorktown; one child died in infancy ; and Emma E., who died at the age of nineteen
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years. The mother of these children died July 21, 1912, and Mr. Logan was married (second) January 14, 1914, to Miss Nettie Bruce, who was born and reared in Indiana, and educated in the public schools of Rochester and Logansport, Indiana, a daughter of Benjamin and Mary Bruce, Mr. Bruce being ex-county treasurer of Fulton county, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Logan are consistent members of the Baptist church. He is a democrat in politics, but has taken only a good citizen's interest in public matters.
WILLIAM H. ORR. For a period of over forty-six years the subject of this sketch has been one of the leading farmers of Lagro township. His farm is one of the largest and best under a high state of cultiva- tion, while the improvements upon it are among the finest and latest in design. Not only is the owner a leader in agricultural pursuits, but he has been likewise foremost in advancing the general welfare of his com- munity, and, although now eighty years of age, is still alert and active in mind and body, and manages his affairs with the ability of a man twenty years younger. Mr. Orr was born on a farm nine miles southeast of Newark, in Licking county, Ohio, March 20, 1834, and is a son of Benjamin and Eliza (Dustheimer) Orr.
The Orr family was founded in the United States by two brothers, John and Robert Orr, of Scotch-Irish stock, who emigrated to this coun- try from Ireland at an early day, John Orr, the grandfather of William H. Orr, settling in Pennsylvania and later moving to Ohio, where he spent the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits, and died in Licking county. Benjamin Orr, his son, was born in Pennsylvania, and was a youth when he accompanied the family to Licking county, where the rest of his life was passed. He was a farmer all of his life, as were his six sons, and was an honest, hard-working and industrious man, well deserving of the respect in which he was held by his friends and asso- ciates. He married Eliza Dustheimer, a native of Virginia, also de- ceased, and they became the parents of eleven children, as follows: Elizabeth, Jerry, Eliza, William H., Anthony, Silas, George, James, Sarah, Margaret and Phoebe. Of these William H., Anthony, Silas, George and Phoebe survive, and William H. and Phoebe are the only ones who came to Indiana.
William H. Orr grew to manhood on his father's farm in Licking county, Ohio, and there received his education in the public schools. He carefully saved his earnings, and in February, 1860, left Newark with four boy neighbors, their destination being the gold fields of California. After reaching New York City they boarded a vessel, and for twenty- six days were on the water, then traveled over the Isthmus of Panama by rail, and after a long and wearisome journey reached the Golden state. There Mr. Orr soon secured work for others in the gold fields, but sub- sequently secured a claim of his own, then engaged in working that claim and in buying and selling others, and also worked on a sawmill. He was very successful in his operations, at times making as high as $100 per day, but his partner finally became too homesick to remain away any Vol. II-21
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longer, and in 1866 they sold their holdings and returned to Licking county, Ohio. Not long thereafter Mr. Orr moved to Wabash county, Indiana, and, locating in Lagro township, purchased the old Peabody farm in partnership with his brother-in-law, William Emery. There he resided for several years, when he sold out to Mr. Emery and returned to Licking county to marry Martha Hazelton. Soon after they returned to Lagro township and settled on the farm of 130 acres, which he had previously purchased, the old Levi Inyard farm which Mr. Orr bought from David Sibert. Here he erected all new buildings and made numer- ous improvements, and since then has added to his acreage on two occa- sions, 105 acres of his land being the old Hillegloss farm and thirteen acres being purchased from George Herrick. He has continued to de- vote his entire time and attention to his farm, and through industry, application and good management, combined with the use of practical, modern methods, he has achieved a competency and is now accounted one of the substantial men of his community. He bears the reputation of being a man of the highest integrity, whose word is as good as his bond and whose name is an honored one on commercial paper. In every- thing that pertains to the welfare and advancement of the community of his adoption he takes a keen and intelligent interest, and at all times is ready to give his support to good and progressive measures. In politics he is a democrat, while his fraternal connection is with Jackson Lodge of Masons of Newark, Ohio.
. Mr. and Mrs. Orr have been the parents of the following children : Edward, who is deceased; Myrtle, who is the wife of Loyal Smith and has two children, Dorothy and Bruce; Guy, who resides at home and assists his father in the work of the farm; Bertha, who married Orval Brouthers and has two children, Pauline and Evelyn; Benjamin, who married Hazel Hyatt and has one son, Thomas William; and Hazel, who is deceased.
M. J. RAGAN, one of the few bachelor farmers of Lagro township, and also one of the prosperous men of the township, comes of stanch Irish ancestry on both the paternal and maternal sides. He is a son of Timothy and Catherine (Finan) Ragan and a grandson of Morris and Ellen Ragan, the latter couple having come from Ireland when their son Timothy was a boy of five years. They settled first in the east, later in Kentucky, and still later moved to Indiana, and in the '40s estab- lished themselves in Lagro township on a farm, where they spent the rest of their lives. Timothy Ragan was a young man when the family settled in this vicinity, and in a short time he married Catherine Finan, who was born in Detroit, Michigan, of Irish parentage. Bernard Finan, her father, bought a farm in Lagro township, and came here when his daughter was a child of two years, and, though he was long a land owner in the township, he spent a good many years in mercantile activities at Lagro instead of in farming. He carried on business at a decided dis- advantage in those early days, making his purchases in Lafayette and bringing them to Wabash by boat, but he was enterprising, and success
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FIVE GENERATIONS: MRS. ELIZABETH TYNER; HIER DAUGH- TER, MRS. FLORA ANN LINES; HER SON, ALVAH LINES; HIS DAUGHTER, MRS. PAULINE CLARK, AND HER SON, GARNET CLARK
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followed him all his days. The canal was built after he established him- self at Lagro, and, though he died young, when only forty-five years of age, he had achieved a generous measure of success and stood high in the esteem of his fellow men in and about the township. He had two chil- dren: Catherine, who became the mother of the subject, and Bernard, who met his death while engaged in building activities in Kansas while yet a young man.
Mr. Finan's farm in the course of time fell to Mrs. Ragan, prior to her marriage, and when she married Mr. Ragan in 1850 they moved to that place and there lived until 1872, when they took up their residence on the place that is now owned and occupied by their son. The father died in September, 1911, and the mother followed him in January of the next year. He was eighty-seven at the time of his passing, and the mother was seventy-seven.
Mr. and Mrs. Ragan were the parents of nine children, here named in the order of their birth: Michael; Margaret, the wife of Dennis Hol- land; Maurice J., the subject of this brief family review; Edward, Con- rad, Barney, Daniel, Mary, now a student in Columbia University and a teacher of some years' experience, and James, who died in 1907. All were born in Lagro but the two last named, who were born on this farm.
Maurice J. Ragan was born at Lagro on November 23, 1860. He at- tended the public schools there, and when he reached an independent age devoted himself to carpentry and followed the work for ten years. For five years he was a carpenter on the Wabash Railroad, and with a crew of eleven men was engaged in building bridges and stations along the line in the vicinity of Toledo. He came to the home farm about 1890 in order that he might look after his parents, who were then in the decline of life and required the ministrations of their children. He remained on the place after the passing of the old folks and has made a creditable record as a farmer. The home is occupied by the family of Adam Judey and Mr. Ragan occupies private apartments in the house.
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