USA > Indiana > Wabash County > History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 5
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On October 18, 1899, Mr. LaSelle married Miss Daisy Williams, and they have two daughters, Martha and Mary. Mr. LaSelle and wife are both members of the Presbyterian church.
HON. JOSEPH CALWELL GOCHENOUR. Soldier, legislator and commer- cial genius, a man of diversified talents and many parts, the late Hon. Joseph C. Gochenour left an indelible impress upon the business, finan- cial and political interests of Wabash county. An ideal citizen, broad, intelligent and patriotic, he was a noble example of upright, conscien- tious manhood, and in his death, which occurred very suddenly Febru- ary 9, 1910, there passed away one whom the country could ill afford to lose.
Mr. Gochenour was born May 8, 1848, the son of Abram and Rebecca Calwell Gochenour, of the city of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and when four years of age was taken by his parents to Davenport, Iowa. Soon thereafter the family made removal to Madison county, Indiana, where Abram Gochenour, the father, purchased and operated a farm. Five years later, in 1857, they came to Wabash county, settling in Noble town- ship, two and one-half miles south of Wabash, and here young Gochen- our's boyhood days were passed, his early educational training being secured in the district school.
On May 2, 1864, when a lad of but sixteen years of age, he answered his country's call for troops during the Civil war, and enlisted in Com-
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pany F, One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Regiment of Indiana Infantry, with which he served four months and was honorably discharged Septem- ber 22, 1864, his time of enlistment being completed. At the end of that period he returned to his Indiana home, but again enlisted January 21, 1865, as a member of Company A, One Hundred and Fifty-third Regi- ment of Indiana Infantry, and continued with that organization as a corporal until September 4, 1865, when he was given his honorable dis- charge after an enviable record for bravery and faithfulness to duty. On his return to Wabash county he found employment as a farm hand, and was so engaged for a time. He later purchased an interest in a saw mill and became associated with his father and brother in that business.
Being desirous of further education, he spent two winter terms in study under competent teachers, and thus qualified as an instructor, was for about ten years a teacher in the schools of Wabash county and became widely and favorably known as an educator. The romance of his life began in one of the schools of which he had charge, and one of his pupils subsequently became his wife. In 1878, Mr. Gochenour sold a small farm which he had previously purchased from his earnings in the schoolroom and with the proceeds embarked upon his career in the commercial world as the proprietor of a general mercantile store in the village of Somerset. By January, 1885, he had outgrown that locality, and accordingly moved to Roann, being identified with the commercial interests of that city from April, 1885, until August, 1899, meeting with exceptional success. In the fall of 1901, with others, Mr. Gochenour organized the Indiana State Bank of North Manchester, of which he was chosen cashier and gen- eral manager, and successfully directed the affairs of that institution for about two years. Then resigning, he and his wife returned to Roann, and shortly afterward, on account of his health, they went to California. On returning from the west Mr. Gochenour sold his interests in the bank and bought two hundred and forty acres of farm land in Paw Paw town- ship. They spent the summer of 1906 on the farm returning to Roann in the fall and in the spring of 1907 moved to Wabash, where Mrs. Gochenour still resides. On March 23, 1871, Mr. Gochenour was united in marriage to Miss Emma J. Wohlgamuth, who was born September 4, 1851, a daughter of John and Nancy (Howell) Wohlgamuth, of Waltz township, Wabash county. Mr. and Mrs. Gochenour started life with nothing, and it was by hard work and an unusually efficient co-operation between the two that they eventually came to enjoy all the reasonable standards of material prosperity. Although they had no children of their own, they took into their home a niece, the orphaned daughter of his oldest brother, John Gochenour, who was also a soldier and who died in Missouri after the war. This niece, Hattie Gochenour, was reared by Mr. and Mrs. Gochenour as their own daughter, and she is now the wife of M. G. Mitten, of Wabash. They have two children, Josephine Emma Mitten, a member of the class of 1914 in the Wabash high school, and Joseph Robert Mitten, a student in the public schools. Mr. Gochenour's home life was most exemplary. For more than twenty years of her mar- ried life Mrs. Gochenour's health was very precarious, and her husband
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gave her his undivided care and attention, waiting upon her as he would a child. She was always first in his mind, and when she grew stronger his health began to fail, and on December 1, 1909, they started south to spend the winter for the recuperation of his health. They made arrange- ments with the railroad whereby they traveled only in day time, this enabling them to visit and see historical points-the National Cemeteries and places where he stood guard on the picket line when as a young soldier of the Republic he was ready to give up his life that the Republic might live. They visited the sight of Andersonville Prison and quenched their thirst at "Providence Spring," which during the war suddenly gushed forth from the ground inside the dead line, and was named by the dying soldier prisoners, "Providence Spring." But his health be- came worse, and they returned home, but not until they had gone to St. Augustine, Florida. From his home he was soon to be taken to his final resting place in Fall's cemetery in the city of Wabash. His widow at the time of this writing, 1914, lives in her comfortable home in the cherished memories of her departed husband and his sweet and gentle home life.
Mr. Gochenour was a member of the Christian church, with which denomination his widow is also identified. While a resident of Roann he was a deacon in the church, and in less than a year after moving to Wabash was honored with a similar office in the Wabash Christian church, and also served as trustee with both churches.
He held membership in Post No. 257, Grand Army of the Republic, and was at one time affiliated with Lodge No. 471 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Mr. Gochenour from the time he attained his majority had been in- terested in political matters and had been a stalwart supporter of the republican party. In 1876 he was elected justice of the peace for Waltz township, an office in which he served for four years, and in 1882 was elected township trustee, continuing to hold that position until he moved away from that locality. Upon taking up his residence at Roann he entered actively into the political affairs of that place, and in 1896 became the nominee of his party for the office of state sen- ator. At the ensuing election he was elected by a handsome majority, and subsequently made an excellent record as a legislator. During his first term he represented the counties of Wabash and Kosciusko, and in 1900 he was returned to the Senate to represent the district composed of Wabash and Fulton counties. During his incumbency of that office Mr. Gochenour served on some of the most important committees within the gift of the Senate, among them being: Prisons, of which he was chairman; Joint Committee on State Library; Military Affairs; County and Township Business; Claims and Expenditures; Soldiers' Monuments and others, in all of which his services were greatly appreciated and his duties efficiently discharged. He was known as one of the working and influential members of that distinguished body, and was able to secure many benefits for his constituents.
Mr. Gochenour was one of the community's most public spirited and
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progressive citizens, and no movement for the real advancement of the city was launched that did not receive his active and hearty co-opera- tion. He was pre-eminently an organizer and an executive, a man of great business talent, and, withal, a courteous, kindly gentleman.
SANFORD HONEYWELL, a millwright by trade, came to Wabash county in 1843 and became prominent in its growth and development in the years of his residence here. He was born on March 30, 1818, at Burgettstown, Washington county, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Israel and Judith Honeywell. In 1828 the father, Israel Honeywell, died, and his widow and children moved to Sangamon county, Illinois, in the year 1834, and from there one year later they moved to Fayette county, Indiana.
Sanford Honeywell grew to manhood in Fayette county amidst pioneer scenes and incidents, and he worked at his trade of millwright after coming first to Wabash county, to him being accorded the credit for having erected the first flouring mill in Wabash, in the interests of Robert Cissna. He also erected and opened the first tile mill ever established here, and for many years he operated a cider mill of his own designing and building. In the year 1859, Mr. Honeywell aban- doned his trade and thereafter extensively manufactured cider vinegar, in which he enjoyed a pleasing success.
Mr. Honeywell was a man of more than average discernment and he was very highly esteemed for his many sterling qualities. He mar- ried in Fayette county, this state, Miss America F. Myers, on February 14, 1843. She died on March 3, 1873. Mrs. M. J. Launder, of Wabash, became his second wife on March 25, 1874, and this marriage was blessed with one son, Mark C. Honeywell, who is mentioned in a sketch imme- diately following this.
Mr. Honeywell during the winters from 1880 until the year of his death, resided in De Land, Florida, there devoting himself to the some- what extensive growing of oranges. While there he died on December 31, 1893. His widow still survives him and makes her home in Wabash.
Mr. Honeywell was a man of high ideals and he held himself rigidly to his ideas of what he regarded as the right and proper course. A deep thinker and reasoner, he was of an inventive turn of mind, and in his day devised many improvements bearing directly upon those enterprises with which he was connected. He was a religious man, in the best sense of the term. He was a man who acquired some wealth, but he never aspired to wealth for its own sake, his desire being rather to provide liberally for those near and dear to him, and beyond that in an unostentatious way to contribute to worthy enterprises and chari- table objects. He was a man ever thoughtful and considerate of the rights of others, at the same time abrogating to himself the unquestion- able privilege of deciding for himself those matters of life which were to him of paramount importance. He never used profane language, was strictly temperate in all his habits, and was stanchly and utterly opposed to the liquor traffic.
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MARK C. HONEYWELL, the son of Sanford and Mary J. (Mariner) (Launder) Honeywell, was born in Wabash, Indiana, on Decem- ber 29, 1874. He was educated in the public schools of Wabash and De Land, Florida, and in the John T. Stetson University at the latter place, where the family spent their winters for many years prior to the death of the father.
The first business venture of Mr. Honeywell was in the fruit broker- age field at De Land, and he was also for a season or two in Florida and California. In 1898, Mr. Honeywell returned to Wabash, after having traveled throughout the south and the west in the interests of an eastern manufacturing concern for some months, and here he engaged in the heating business. He has continued in this enterprise ever since, grad- ually emerging from the contracting end of the business to the manu- facturing phase, and he is now one of the prominent manufacturers of heating specialties in the state.
The history of Mr. Honeywell's success in the manufacture of heat- ing appliances is briefly set forth in an article from which are culled the following extracts, calculated to give a comprehensive and concise idea of the work to which he has devoted himself so satisfactorily in recent years.
"In 1905, after much experimenting, the Honeywell System of hot water heating was finally perfected by Mr. M. C. Honeywell, who was then in the contracting business. The following year a company bear- ing his name was formed to manufacture the equipment designed by him for the Honeywell System of Hot Water Heating.
"The ideas advanced by Mr. Honeywell and the devices he had invented to accomplish the results sought, were soon brought to the attention of the engineers and manufacturers connected with the heat- ing trade. Most of the experts were quick to appreciate the advantage of the most important discovery ever made in connection with hot water heating, though there were a few who could scarce believe such simple changes would practically revolutionize the methods then in vogue.
"The reports from the heating contractors who installed the system were so flattering and conclusive that there could be no room for doubt or argument as to the merits of the Honeywell System of controlled hot water heating. It was a proven success. It obtained more heat from a given quantity of coal and delivered it to the radiators more quickly and effectively than was possible under the old style system.
"Since its introduction, each year has shown a constantly increasing number of buildings equipped with his system. They are doing satis- factory service in all parts of the United States, Canada, England, and other foreign countries-in fact all over the civilized world."
The ingenuity that marked the career of Mr. Honeywell's father, Sanford Honeywell, along mechanical lines, has been amplified and enlarged in the makeup of his son, for to him is given the credit for having perfected a thermostat that is the most serviceable and complete on the market. The new Honeywell Model Eight Automatic Thermostat, as it is called, is a decided innovation in automatic temperature controll-
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ing devices, and is meeting with a decided favor in heating circles, and reflects much credit upon the mechanical genius of its inventor.
Mr. Honeywell is now the president of the Honeywell Heating Spe- cialty Company, and is the leading spirit in the activities of the concern.
On October 18, 1901, Mr. Honeywell married Miss Olive Lutz, a daughter of Reuben Lutz. Mrs. Honeywell is a member of the Pres- byterian church.
THOMAS MOTE, who for a period of over sixty years has been a resident of Wabash county, is, by reason of his long acquaintance with the district as well as his accomplishments in business, entitled to specific mention in a work of the nature and purpose of this historical and bio- graphical publication. All his experience here has been most worthy, and of a nature as to render him a citizen invaluable to his community. He is not a native born American, and his citizenship is none the less praise- worthy because of that fact. His birth occurred in England, on Decem- ber 14, 1832, and he is a son of Robert and Alice (Baker) Mote, both natives of England.
The year 1836 marked the immigration of the Mote family to Amer- ican shores, and for a time after they came over they lived at Oswego, New York. Some little time thereafter they moved to Ohio, settling in Licking county, and a few years later moved to Paulding county, Ohio, There the father met an untimely death as the result of being kicked by an ox.
Thomas Mote spent his early boyhood days attending the district schools during the winter months, and in assisting his parents on the farm at other times. He was only ten years old when he assumed the re- sponsibility for his own goings and comings, in a measure, hiring out to farmers in the neighborhood at whatever wage he could command, usually at 10 cents a day ; and when he was fifteen he went to Cleveland. There he was variously occupied for two years, when he went to Wis- consin, there interesting himself in farming activities in Dane county. In 1852, when he was just twenty years old, he settled in Wabash county. He came from Paulding county, Ohio, on the canal, and being hired as a canal boat driver, from that humble position he rose to prominence as a captain, and he remained on the canal from 1852 to 1857. In 1857 he entered a grocery store in Wabash, a little later turning again to the farm, and operating a rented place in Noble township. In 1860, after a fair success in Noble township, he took up his residence on a farm in the vicinity of Roann, but in 1862 he left the place and moved close to Wabash. In 1870 he purchased a place of 110 acres in Lagro township, but three years later disposed of it and moved into town. For some years following his settling in Wabash he devoted his time to the business of selling and buying farm lands, and he also handled insurance, loans and real estate as the business associate of E. S. Ross of this city, they being partners for twenty-five years. In 1891 Mr. Mote retired from active business save that department of his affairs devoted to money loaning, and he has since continued so. His home has been in this city for the past
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the few years he devoted to teaching found him finishing his pedagogic career as superintendent of the old South Wabash Seminary, which had been turned into a Quaker institution of learning.
It was early borne in upon the young student that his fort was not in teaching, and though his success in that field was a creditable one, he felt that he would go farther and fare better in the law. He accord- ingly took up the study of law, his work largely being carried on under the direction of Judge J. D. Conner, Sr., and he was admitted to the bar in about 1876. He established himself in his profession in a partner- ship with Warren G. Sayre, under the firm name of Sayre & Hutchens. They were associated in practice for a number of years when the part- nership was dissolved, and thereafter Mr. Hutchens practiced alone for some time, and then formed an association with Charles Flynn under the firm name of Hutchens & Flynn. He continued thus until his death on July 11, 1890, when he was but thirty-nine years of age. His death was a decided loss to the city and county, and was universally regarded as a misfortune which the community could ill afford to bear.
Mr. Hutchens' career, though all too brief, was an exceedingly busy one, and he served in numerous important public capacities in the years of his practice here. He was at one time City Attorney, and again served as County Attorney, and brief though his legal service was in years, he was recognized by all as one of the foremost lawyers of his day. He became equally prominent in public affairs, and it was through his instrumentality that the city park was deeded to the city by the old Agricultural Society. He, likewise, was the first to suggest the advis- ability and possibility of a Board of Trade for Wabash, and his influence and activities resulted eventually in the organizing of such an organ- ization, the same being organized in his office. This undoubtedly accom- plished more of genuine good in the way of advancement of the city than any other one enterprise that might be considered. For it brought to Wabash the paper mills, that have proved so great an impetus to the industrial life of the city, and resulted in the retaining of the Big Four Shops, as well as drawing to the city numerous other industries that have all helped to make of Wabash the city it is today. Of his work along these lines, too much could not be said of Mr. Hutchens.
For many years Mr. Hutchens was prominent in republican politics, and he stumped Wabash county from border to border in the various campaigns that were conducted in the years of his political and pro- fessional activity. In later life he saw fit to give his moral and other support to the cause of prohibition, and when he died he was Chairman of the State Central Committee of that party.
Socially, Mr. Hutchens was prominent and was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was a Birthright Quaker and was a man of particularly fine character. His habits were ever of the more commendable order, and he stood for all that was best in the com- munity to the end of his days, commanding as a result the undying respect and esteem of his fellow townsmen, and having their confidence at all times.
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Mr. Hutchens married Miss Abbie Small, also of Quaker parents, and to them were born five children. Harry B., the eldest, is mentioned specifically in a later paragraph. Lulu died in infancy, and the others are Orth D., Essie and Jesse Platt Hutchens. Mrs. Hutchens is still living, and is now the wife of W. S. Moffatt, and resides in Kennard, Indiana.
Harry B. Hutchens was born in South Wabash on November 2, 1874, and has always lived in Wabash county. He was graduated from the Wabash High School with the class of 1901, and has since that time been independently engaged in business. For two years after he left school he was identified with the hardwood lumber business as a dealer and for the past nineteen years has been engaged in the laundry busi- ness. He purchased the Huff & Grover Laundry in 1894, and is now the sole owner of the Hutchens Laundry, the largest in Wabash.
Mr. Hutchens was married on January 25, 1904, to Miss Lulu Cop- pock, a daughter of Edward and Esther Coppock, and to them have been born two children: Harry J. and Howard Tillman Hutchens.
. HORATIO S. LOGAN, of Wabash, is a native of this county, born in Liberty township, near LaFontaine, on December 6, 1862. He is a son of Oliver P. Logan, who came from Rush county to Wabash county, this state, in pioneer times, and settled on a new farm in Liberty town- ship. He had married in Rush county Susan Winship, and with the aid of his wife, who was sturdy and ambitious, settled down to the task of clearing and improving the place.
Oliver P. and Susan Logan became the parents of seven children, of which number five are now living. The parents were long con- sistent members of the Baptist church, but aside from the fact that they were hard working, honest and upright people, there was but little out of the ordinary in their lives that calls for specific mention. Mr. Logan was a companionable and congenial man, and few in the county had more or warmer friends than were his all his days. He died there secure in the respect and confidence of all who knew him, and his widow still survives him, having her home in LaFontaine.
Horatio S. Logan was reared on the farm of his parents, and dur- ing the period of his boyhood he attended the LaFontaine public schools. His father having built a grist mill in LaFontaine, young Logan was given a share in the property when he reached his twentieth birthday, and he continued in the business there for a number of years.
Following his milling experience, Mr. Logan was engaged in the wholesale and retail grocery business at Decatur, Illinois, for three years, after which he returned to Wabash county and resumed farm- ing in Liberty township. Three years he spent thus, and then he became engaged in the handle and head manufacture business at Pierceton, Indiana, where he continued for two years, after which he moved the factory to Bunker Hill, in Miami county, continuing to operate it there until fire destroyed the plant in 1900. Then Mr. Logan came to Wabash and for four years thereafter he was associated with L. A. Dawes in
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the livery and transfer business, after which he gave his attention to the wholesale commission business for a year.
At this time he assisted in the organization of the Wabash Artificial Ice Company, which later became the Wabash Artificial Ice & Fuel Company, and he has ever since been identified with this enterprise, controlling the retail end of the business, known as the Wabash Ice Delivery Company.
In December, 1911, Mr. Logan leased the Eagles theater, and launched a moving picture show, with legitimate road shows, and the enterprise was an unqualified success. Mr. Logan was the first to realize any suc- cess in the moving picture business in Wabash and when after two years of occupancy of that building his lease expired, he secured his present quarters at 63 W. Market street, and fitted them up in first class shape for the moving picture business. He has succeeded here as he did in the Eagle block, thus proving again his capacity for handling an enter- prise of that character in a profitable and creditable manner.
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