USA > Indiana > Wabash County > History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 7
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then consisting of a wife and one child, by venturing at once upon prac- tice. Besides, he had necessarily contracted some debts while pursuing his studies. After careful deliberation, he determined that duty to his family and his creditors required that he should make no mistake as to the steps then to be taken. Knowing the certainty of the husbandman's regard, he entered a farm and betook himself to the plow. He continued farming in Randolph county till 1846. During this time he met with all the success he had anticipated, and the prospect for entering upon the successful practice of his profession not then being very flattering, he removed to Wabash county, settling on Eel river, in Pleasant town- ship, taking a lease on a thousand acre tract of land belonging to Dr. Mendenhall, of Richmond, Indiana. During the succeeding five years, on the Mendenhall land, he cleared two hundred and fifty acres, besides making large improvements in the way of ditching, fencing and building.
Having in this time procured a competency sufficient "to keep the wolf from the door" while he made an effort to establish himself in the profession, an inclination for which had clung to him throughout all these years, in the fall of 1851 he determined to go to the bar. Imme- diately after his election to the legislature, in August of the above noted year, he purchased property in Wabash, to which, while a member of the legislature, he had his family removed in the March following. He opened a law office in 1852, and at once engaged in a lucrative practice. Although the bar at Wabash was then made up of such lawyers as Pettit, Gordon, Wheeler, Cox, Connor and many others, younger mem- bers, he at once took rank among them, contending for and receiving his share of business. From this time forward, while he continued in active practice, he was engaged on one side of nearly all litigated cases of im- portance tried in the courts of Wabash county, and in much of the litigated business of surrounding counties. It is not probable that any client ever complained of Mr. Cowgill's want of attention to his business, and rarely, if ever, was one found to complain of the results attained. He made it a habit thoroughly to acquaint himself with the facts and circumstances connected with the case in hand before going into court; this being done, with his knowledge of the law applicable to the case, he was always prepared for any emergency that might arise and, as a rule, had the satisfaction of seeing his efforts crowned with success, and of knowing that his client's interests had been fully pro- tected. To the care with which he always examined his client's case before it came into court, he ever attributed much of his success as a practitioner. He made it a rule throughout his whole professional life, to discourage his clients from engaging in what seemed to him must end in unsuccessful litigation. In 1854, he formed a law partnership with Hon. John U. Pettit, lasting till the fall of 1863. In 1865, he formed a partnership, which lasted two years, with the Hon. H. S. Kelly, late of Andrew county, Missouri, now deceased. In 1867, he joined his son, the Hon. Carey E. Cowgill, in practice with him. In 1873, Maj. M. H. Kidd was admitted to the firm, and it then was known as Cowgill, Kidd & Cowgill. In 1875, Major Kidd withdrew, and Harvey B. Shively, who
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had married the daughter, Catherine, was admitted to the firm, which from that time was known as Cowgill, Shively & Cowgill.
Calvin Cowgill filled many positions of honor and public trust. Be- ing an ardent Whig, from the exciting days of 1840, when his first vote for president was cast for Harrison, and onward, it was but a natural adaptation of principles that found him in 1854, at the birth of the republican party, in its ranks. Repeatedly his party thrust office upon him, and he never betrayed his trust. He was a member of the first legislature after the adoption of the present constitution of the state; a legislature remarkable for the length of its session, continuing from the first Monday in December, 1851, to June 20, 1852; for the amount of work accomplished, and the practical talents of its members. Among the important labors accomplished by that legislature, were the various changes in the legislation of the state, to conform the laws to the require- ments of the constitution, it taking effect November 1, 1851, superseding the constitution of 1816. The changes made in the organic law were im- portant and radical, utterly prohibiting special legislation, where general laws were practicable, providing for the change in the mode and pro- cedure in the civil practice in courts of justice, by substituting the code for the common law practice that had hitherto prevailed; and defining what should constitute the common school fund, and making provisions by which it should be greatly augmented. These were subjects of legis- lation in which Mr. Cowgill took an active interest, especially in the enactment of a law providing for a general system of common schools for the state. In 1854, he was elected treasurer of Wabash county, and held that office from September, 1855, to September, 1859. In 1865, he was again chosen to the state legislature, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Thomas C. Whiteside. Legislature was convened in special session by Governor Morton, November 13, 1865, more espe- cially, as stated by the Governor in his message to the assembly when convened, to effect the necessary legislation for the payment of a state debt, the bonds or certificates of indebtedness maturing on the 19th day of the succeeding January, and more than a year prior to the time fixed by law for the next regular meeting of the legislature. It was during this special session that provision was made by law for the final extinguishment of a state debt, as well as wiping from the statute book the odious law by which colored persons were prohibited from testifying in courts of justice, in cases where white persons were interested. Mr. Cowgill took an active interest in both these measures, and gave them substantial support, being a prominent member of the judiciary commit- tee of the house during that session. Thus Mr. Cowgill's work forms part of the history of two important legislatures.
In 1872 he was candidate for presidential elector, and after his elec- tion cast his vote for General U. S. Grant. In 1878, he was elected member of congress, and in fourteen days after his predecessor's time had expired, the Forty-sixth congress was called in special session, March 18, 1879, because of the failure of the preceding congress to pass the appropriations necessary to carry the government. There were the three
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sessions of this congress, all of which found Mr. Cowgill in his seat, alert to perform his duty to his country and his constituents. Mr. Cowgill was a member of the "Select Committee to Inquire into the Causes of the Present Depression of Labor." .This committee went to our western coasts in the course of its enquiries, as upon some points of the "labor question" the minds of the people there were greatly agitated. It soon became apparent to him that the chairman of that committee was more anxious to make presidential capital for himself than to arrive at the real merits of the questions in hand; he quietly withdrew, leaving his col- leagues to their junketings, while he proceeded to look over California, Oregon and Washington territory. The conclusions at which he arrived in regard to those states and the territory would be very interesting to the reader, but, even if the space permitted, it is not within the province of this work to record them.
After the expiration of his term as member of congress, Mr. Cowgill was not an aspirant for political honors. He was an ardent republican, and was not among those who thought the mission of the party was ful- filled or its destiny accomplished. He was ever a zealous support to the political organization with which he was identified, acting from a convic- tion of the truth of the principles of his party, and believing if they were carried in practice, they would best subserve the interests of the country. As in every other sphere where he operated, his support, while always honorable and fair, and governed by the rules of strictest integrity, was never divided, and was limited only by his lack of ability to do more. He allowed no campaign to pass, whether candidate himself or not, with- out rendering more or less service on the stump.
During the troublous times, whose memories are yet with us, he was tested and tried and found true. In 1863, he was appointed provost marshal of the Eleventh District of Indiana-this at the urgent request of Governor Morton, who was pre-eminent for his ability to read men upon whom he might impose a trust. This was then regarded one of the most difficult districts in the state to keep in control. Many thought it impossible. But Mr. Cowgill, with a quiet persistence and the nerve characteristic of the man through life, comprehended the situation, and, supported by the calm strength of our war governor, held his position and conducted the affairs of the district to a successful issue and to the close of the war. At the time of the organization of the Seventy-fifth, Eighty-ninth, and One Hundred and First Regiments of Indiana volun- teers, great difficulty was experienced in securing them supplies, owing to the fact that the contracts made by the government for their subsist- ence had not taken effect. Before the commissariat was prepared to furnish anything for them, several hundred men had rendezvoused at Wabash, and were subsistent wholly upon the bounty of the citizens of the city and vicinity. In this embarrassing condition of affairs, a number of the prominent citizens of Wabash were summoned to Indianapolis by Governor Morton for consultation, but Mr. Cowgill happened to be not among the number. The governor suggested that they select some citi- zen who should accept a temporary appointment as quartermaster, with
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the understanding that he should use his own means or credit to supply the men then at the rendezvous and constantly arriving, until the govern- ment contract should take effect, when supplies could be furnished through the regular channel. The citizens thus met in consultation with the governor, selected and recommended Mr. Cowgill for the appoint- ment. When called to Indianapolis he desired the governor to release him from the acceptance of this office, as, if he went into the army, he would prefer going as a private rather than to fill the position of quarter- master. The matter was finally arranged by his being designated as quartermaster pro tem, with the understanding that as soon as possible he should be relieved from duty. But the mustering officer would not recognize such an office as quartermaster pro tem, drew his pen through the word "pro tem," and Mr. Cowgill was duly mustered in as a quar- termaster in the service of the United States. He did not shrink from the labors or duties of the office, but he did shrink from the odium that attached to it, in the minds of those acquainted with army matters, on account of the corruption prevalent in the supply-department of the Union armies. To his great gratification he was released from the duties of the office, having been mustered into service in August, 1862; he did not receive official notice of the acceptance of his resignation until March, 1863.
Another important public trust imposed upon Mr. Cowgill was that of acting as the agent of the government to disburse nearly a quarter of a million of dollars to the Miami Indians, who were scattered through- out several states and in the Indian Territory. This money the govern- ment was holding in trust for the Indians, by virtue of a treaty entered into with them in 1834. It was the last installment paid by the United States for the great Miami Reservation. With the same care, prudence and scrupulous exactness that through life characterized his conduct in the discharge of every public duty, Mr. Cowgill paid this large sum of money to the scattered remnants of the tribe in the winter and spring of 1882, giving to each member, there being at that time three hundred and eighteen, the per capita that each was entitled to receive. He made his settlement with the government to the entire satisfaction of the Interior and Treasury departments, both of which had to pass upon his accounts, and the beneficiaries of the fund.
Turning aside from Mr. Cowgill's connection with military, political and government affairs, we will note his activity in other spheres, more important to the direct interests of his own community, perhaps, even if not bringing to him more apparent honor, than when he was more conspicuously before the public. In the material interests of Wabash county Mr. Cowgill enacted a prominent part. In 1869, he organized the Cincinnati, Wabash and Michigan railroad, then known as the Grand Rapids, Wabash and Cincinnati railroad. He was its first president, afterwards vice-president, then treasurer. He was active in obtaining the various subsidies, and was involved in almost numberless law suits, till by his energy and business tact largely, it was placed on a firm basis. He collected and disbursed over three-fifths of a million of its funds,
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and not a breath of suspicion of dishonor or peculation attached to his name. He was attorney for the road from its organization until 1872, then attorney of record till 1878, after which time his son, Hon. Carey E. Cowgill, held that position.
Mrs. Mary Cowgill, nee Flannegan, was a helpmate to him in the true sense of the word and relation. She was born in Fayette county, Penn- sylvania, February 10, 1821, and on her father's side was of Irish ancestry. On the 15th of September, 1841, she was united in marriage to Calvin Cowgill, Judge Diggs performing the ceremony. To them were born the following children: Caroline, who is now Mrs. Harvey F. Woods; Carey E .; Emma, wife of Gen. Robert P. Kennedy, ex-lieu- tenant governor of Ohio, who, during the Civil war, was the youngest general of the army of the Potomac; Catherine Louise, who married Harvey B. Shively; Thomas Corwin; and Harry, who died in infancy. Commencing active life with an insignificant beginning, Mr. Cowgill besides providing for his children, always contributing liberally of his means, as well as labor, to every enterprise looking to the building up of the interests of the community in which he lived, still retained a comfortable fortune, which he looked upon as his by right as well as by possession. Such is the imperfect record of a busy life whose useful- ness is now spent.
The school interests of Wabash are greatly indebted to Mr. Cowgill for his efforts to put them on a substantial basis. Through his energy and determination largely was due the building of the Union School building, now known as the "Central School building" in the town of Wabash. The plan adopted by the town council for erecting a school building met with much opposition from many of the most wealthy citi- zens. Wabash, at that time, 1857, had no public school building of any kind. The citizens in opposition believed the council to exceed its authority in the amount of tax assessed, and a large number of the wealthiest citizens resisted its collection. The tax duplicate was put in the marshal's hands for collection, but he, not being indemnified against loss from threatened suits, was unwilling to attempt the collection of the tax. Mr. Cowgill, having advised the levy, fully believing in its legality, regarding it a disgrace to the town that it had no house in which to school its six hundred or seven hundred children, determined that so necessary an enterprise should not fail. He was at that time county treasurer, and the statute then in force provided the town council might order its tax duplicate certified to the county auditor, who should de- liver it to the county treasurer for collection.
The tax duplicate duly came into Mr. Cowgill's hand at his sugges- tion to the council. He assured it that he would collect the taxes. Then followed numerous suits between him and various taxpayers, they using all possible forms to delay or defeat the collection of the tax. Eminent counsel was employed by those resisting its collection, the most of it, however, having been collected by distress and sale of property long before the questions in litigation were disposed of. Mr. Cowgill was successful in the collection of every dollar assessed those making the opposition, and
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promptly paid the same into the town treasury, besides donating his own fees allowed by law, near one thousand dollars, to the schoolhouse fund. He neither received nor asked compensation for either official duties or legal services rendered.
Judge Cowgill died in 1904, his wife having passed away in 1895, and both are now at rest in the cemetery at Wabash.
THE PIKE FAMILY. This family was established in New Holland, Wabash county, during the pioneer days. Subsequent decades have wit- nessed the extension of the family's business energies to other sections of the county, and the name and family stock are still flourishing in this part of Indiana.
It was John S. Pike who first brought the family name to Wabash county, and his record is such that it deserves a full presentation on the pages of Wabash county's history. He was born July 18, 1813, at Richmond, Ohio, and was a son of John Pike who came from North Caroline. John S. Pike was reared in his native state, and first learned the harness-making trade, making harness, saddles, and was especially skillful in the making of collars. While that was the basis of his busi- ness career, he was subsequently best known for his prominence in other lines. In 1837; he established his home in Henry county, Indiana, where he secured land from the government. In the 'forties he came to Wabash county, and located at the new vilage of New Holland, where he lived some twenty years. There he built the first store, which he conducted for some years, and was the first man in Wabash county, and probably the first in the state of Indiana to manufacture tiling. He also operated a sawmill.
In the community of New Holland, he was chiefly identified as a groceryman and dry goods merchant. He also did a good deal of farm- ing in Wabash county.
In 1842, Fred Kindley erected a water power sawmill at New Hol- land, and that was the first mill for the manufacture of lumber in a large territory. John S. Pike acquired ownership of the plant in 1853, and the mill, beginning with 1874 was operated by Mr. Pike's sons, Albert and Irwin, and still later by Asa Kindley, son of the builder. Besides lumber of different kinds, this mill also manufactured sash. In 1865, John S. Pike established his tile factory at New Holland, and its machinery was operated by horse power. From the beginning the tile was of a superior quality, and had a wide sale, although at that time the use of tile for the varied purposes to which it is now put had scarcely begun. As already stated this was the pioneer tile factory in Wabash county, and so far as records are obtainable it was the first in the state. Indiana ranks now among the leading states in the manu- facture of tile and other clay products, and much interest attaches for this reason to that old factory at New Holland. New Holland was platted as a village on November 23, 1842, and John S. Pike was one of the men who really made it a center of trade and population, hav- ing his store and dwelling from the first, and doing a great deal to
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attract business to that locality. In 1846, he ventured into another field, starting a nursery, which he operated for many years, and supplied much of the fruit stock used by the farmers over a large surrounding territory.
John S. Pike was married September 13, 1850, to Lucretia Wright. Besides the two sons already named, they had a daughter who died in infancy. The mother died in 1888. John S. Pike was of Quaker parent- age, stern, sturdy, honest and methodical and just in all his transactions. The death of this honored pioneer occurred in November, 1901. About 1877, he moved from New Holland to South Wabash, where he lived some eleven years, then lived in the city of Wabash, and elsewhere with his children the rest of his days.
The first of his sons was the late Albert Pike, who was born July 2, 1851, at New Holland in Wabash county. After attending the public schools, he started in to help his father, and at the age of sixteen was performing a man's labors. It was not until after he reached his majority that he was able to better his early limited opportunities for attending school, and then studied for a while in the South Wabash Academy. In 1874, he and his brother Irwin succeeded to the sawmill and tile business founded by their father.
On October 14, 1875, Albert Pike married Anna B. Small, and in the following spring they moved to a place three miles south of Wabash on the Vernon Pike, where the two brothers built a large tile and brick factory. This factory was destroyed by fire in 1880. After that Mr. Pike moved into Wabash, and became a traveling salesman for clay-working machinery. He continued in that line until his death on December 13, 1891. He was a man of superior business ability, and executive powers, was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and a republican in politics.
Irwin W. Pike, a brother of Albert, is now a farmer in the state of Maine. His early youth and manhood were trained in much the same manner as was true of Albert Pike. The two brothers were brothers in fact as well as in relationship. One common pocketbook served them both; in youth they were inseparable, and as manhood approached the tie of affection grew still stronger. For his first wife Irwin W. Pike married Mary' E., the daughter of Reuben Small and a sister of Albert Pike's wife. Mrs. Mary E. Pike died in December, 1887. The present wife of Irwin Pike before her marriage was Julia Coe. Each of these wives became the mother of one son and one daughter.
Mrs. Albert Pike survives her husband and still resides in Wabash. She is the mother of four children: Myrtle, Durward A., Julia Hazel and Elsie Marie. Of the daughters, Hazel is the only one married, being the wife of James C. Green.
Reuben Small, father of Mrs. Albert Pike and also of the first Mrs. Irwin Pike, though not a pioneer of Wabash county, was one of the prominent early settlers in this section of Indiana, and for many years was influentially identified with Wabash county affairs. He was born April 5, 1812, in Highland county, Ohio, a son of Joseph and
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Clarkey (Perisho) Small. His early training was necessarily in the midst of pioneer surroundings, and he was a product of the early decades of the nineteenth century. When a young man he came to Grant county, Indiana, and acquired a section of land on Deer Creek. Later, in 1858, he had a store and sawmill at Jonesboro, where he was one of the prominent men in that old Quaker community. It was at Jonesboro on March 25, 1835, that he married Elizabeth Shugart. Their marriage was solemnized according to the customs of the Quaker faith, that is, by verbally repeating the marriage ceremony without the aid of a preacher or magistrate. During the ante-bellum days, Reuben Small became identified with the abolition movement, and especially with the operation of the underground railway, and his house was a station on that line and through his aid many unfortunate slaves were furthered in their flight to Canada and freedom.
About the year 1866, Reuben Small moved with his family to what is known as the Upper Treaty Creek Mill in Noble township of Wabash county, and in 1870, he bought the Lower Treaty Creek Mill. He con- tinued milling until his retirement about 1880, when he moved to the city of Wabash and died there March 8, 1887. Mr. Small was of medium stature, genial in disposition, and a man whose companionship was eagerly sought because of his optimism and good cheer. Firm in the Quaker faith, he was a firm advocate of peace and temperance, and during his later years wrote a good deal for the local press along those lines and for the general upholding of moral conditions. The wife of Reuben Small was born October 11, 1817, and died May 10, 1895. They had thirteen children, only two of whom are now living in Wabash county : Anna, widow of Albert Pike; and Julia, wife of Edwin Forest, of Wabash. One son, Enoch, was actively identified with the milling business in Wabash county, and was also associated with his father in that industry.
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