USA > Indiana > Wabash County > History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58
Durward A. Pike, a son of Albert and Anna B. (Small) Pike, was born December 5, 1878, at the Pike factory south of Wabash. He attained the greater part of his education at Wabash and in a business college at Lafayette. When seventeen years old he started out for him- self, and at the age of eighteen was in the grocery trade, a line which he followed for two years. On October 18, 1898, he married Eva Beck, daughter of Francis M. Beck. For the first five years following his marriage, Mr. Pike bought and sold wood. In November, 1904, he engaged in the sawmill business at Wabash, and that has been the chief line of his endeavor and business effort ever since. He also owns a farm of seventy-five acres, but rents out that place. Mr. Pike is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Maccabees, and in politics supports the progressive party. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Their two daughters are Gwendolyn and Helen.
JESSE TALBERT AND WILLIAM O. TALBERT. The record of the Talbert family in Wabash county goes back nearly half a century, and has been one of quiet but effective participation in the business and community
Digitized by Google
530
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
life. While great wealth or conspicuous attainments in public affairs have never been accomplished nor desired by any member of the family, on the other hand there has never been failure nor any demerits that might be written across the family history. The late Jesse Talbert was one of the early settlers, and a man who accepted the responsibilities of life as they came, and discharged them with credit. Mr. W. O. Talbert has for many years been a Wabash business man, and has made a spe- cially successful record as a buyer and shipper of horses.
Jesse Talbert came to Wabash county from Hamilton county, In- diana, in 1866. He was born in Preble county, Ohio, on March 19, 1819, and was of Quaker parentage. The Quaker religion has always been retained by the family, and the present generation as well as the earlier are identified with that simple sect. Jesse Talbert was reared on a farm, and when a young man moved to Hamilton county, Indiana, where he was a settler sufficiently early to get his full share of the heavy tasks involved in clearing, grubbing and improving a farm from the midst of heavy timber. While living in Hamilton county, on January 22, 1848, he married Elizabeth Denney, also of Quaker stock. In 1866, they moved to Wabash county, and settled in Noble township, his farm being on the northern boundary of Waltz township. While the farm, known as the old Murphy farm at that time had some improvements, it was far from being a well developed property, and only from the hardwork and good management supplied by Jesse Talbert did its soil become thor- oughly productive and its resources utilized. Jesse Talbert was a pioneer of Hamilton county, and an early settler of Wabash. His quiet unob- trusiveness, his industry, and his excellent neighborly qualities com- manded universal respect. He was always generous of his means in supporting the Quaker church. There was nothing remarkable in his career beyond the fact that he was an upright citizen, doing his work on the farm and meeting his responsibilities to man with a strict regard for both the spoken and written word. He and his wife were the par- ents of four children : Cordelia, who is the wife of J. S. Kerr, a farmer living in South Wabash; Alonzo, who is married and lives in South Wabash; William O. and J. Franklin. Jesse Talbert died July 1, 1909, when past ninety years of age, and his widow passed away November 3, 1912.
William Orlando Talbert a son of Jesse Talbert was born in Hamil- ton county, Indiana, February 20, 1857, and was nine years of age when the family was moved to Wabash county. He lived on the old home- stead until reaching manhood, had a common school education, and began doing for himself as soon as he had reached his majority. Dur- ing the next two years he spent most of his time employed as a farm hand, and in that way accumulated a little money, and took the next straight step in his career which was marriage. That event was cele- brated February 26. 1880, when Miss Mary Jeffrey became his wife. Her father, Joel Jeffrey, settled. in Hamilton county of this state in pioneer days, and subsequently moved to Wabash county. After his marriage Mr. Talbert moved to a home on West Main Street in Wa-
·
Digitized by Google
531
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
bash, and for several years was engaged in the teaming business. From that he got into the livery and feed line and continued in that way for nearly twelve years. The handling of horses for livery purposes natur- ally opened an avenue for dealing in these animals, and while conducting a livery he was to some extent engaged in the buying and selling of horses. Since disposing of his livery business Mr. Talbert has con- fined his attention wholly to the buying and shipping of horses, and has long been one of the largest buyers in this part of Indiana. One year he shipped as high as one thousand head to Europe, and his exportation to Europe would aggregate about three thousand head. Associated with him in this line of business for about three and a half years was Harman Wolf, who had charge of the selling department, while Mr. Talbert did the buying and shipping. Since the dissolution of their partnership, Mr. Talbert has continued in the business alone, and also in association with his son.
Mr. Talbert is a republican in politics, and has a birthright mem- bership in the Quaker church. The four children of himself and wife are Louis, Veva, Harold, and Mary.
ALLEN W. KING. Youngest of the sons of the late Peter King, Allen W. King has had a long and active career. Before reaching his majority he had served his country as a soldier, and he was broken in health by the rigors of military life before he had fairly begun his career.
Born at Wabash, Indiana, July 13, 1845, he was educated in the public schools and his boyhood recollections all center about his native city. Sixteen when the war broke out, he remained at home until Jan- uary 1, 1864, when he enlisted in Company E of the One Hundred and Thirtieth Indiana Infantry. This regiment, though recruited toward the close of the war, was soon given a baptism of fire and participated in some of the hardest fighting of the entire war. He joined Sherman's army prior to the beginning of the Atlanta campaign, and fought at Resaca, Lost Mountain, Pine Mountain, and Kenesaw Mountain. After the last engagement his health broke down, and he did not recover from his disability until after the fall of Atlanta and the march to the sea. He was present at the severe fighting at Wise's Forks, North Carolina, and joined Sherman's army again at Goldsboro in that state. When John- ston had surrendered Mr. King's regiment was stationed at Charlotte to guard government stores, and remained there until his honorable dis- charge on December 2, 1865, after almost two years of service.
Mr. King's army career seriously affected his health, and for a num- ber of years he lived alternately in Wabash county and Minnesota. While in the latter state he met and on August 8, 1868, married Miss Mary E. Wheeler, at Cedar Mills. In the spring of 1873, he settled permanently in Wabash county, and while health did not permit active participation in farming he has looked after his country property and has been a capable business manager. Mr. King is a Republican, and affiliates with the Grand Army post at Wabash. He and his wife are the parents of two sons, Allen W. Jr., and Fred I.
·
Digitized by Google
532
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
Allen W. King, Jr., was born February 17, 1870, at Cedar Mills, Minnesota, but has lived in Wabash county since infancy, and for twenty years has been an active man in business affairs. Educated in the Wabash schools and graduated from the South Wabash high school in 1884, he later spent two years in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. In 1888, when he was eighteen, the Wabash National Bank, as its present title is, took him in as a clerk and bookkeeper, and he had four years of that experience. In 1892 he succeeded his uncle, Thomas Wellman King, in the hardware business, with which his enterprise has been identified ever since. In January, 1913, he and his brother Fred took over the ele- vator and grain business which had been founded by Thomas Wellman King and which had been continued by the latter's son Harry S. until the death of Harry King, and the brothers are now active managers of the King Grain Company, which for many years has been a factor in local commerce.
Mr. King, Jr., has accepted the progressive brand of politics, and is a broad-minded business man and public-spirited citizen. August 13, 1890, he married Morttie Weesner, of Wabash. They have three children, Muriel, Dorothy and Elizabeth. Mrs. King is a member of the Presby- terian church.
HON. FRED I. KING. With several generations of solid family success behind him, Fred I. King seems to possess in a conspicuous degree the commercial talents that have characterized the various members of the King family in Wabash county, and by his varied relations with the busi- ness community has done much to uphold the prestige of the old name in this county. Fred I. King is president of the Plain Dealer Company, publishers of the Wabash Plain Dealer, is editor of that old and influen- tial newspaper, is vice-president of the Citizens Savings & Trust Com- pany of Wabash, and made a name for himself in republican politics a few years ago as minority leader in the legislature.
Fred I. King, who is a son of Allen W. King, Sr., and Mary E. (Wheeler) King, and a grandson of Peter King, the pioneer of the family in this county, all of whom are mentioned on other pages, was born on a farm in Noble township of Wabash county, one and a half miles southwest of the county seat, October 6, 1874. His early life was spent on the farm, but he was liberally educated. After the district schools he attended the South Wabash public schools and graduated in 1893 from the Wabash high school. Entering the Indiana State Univer- sity, he completed the classical course and received the degree A. B. in 1897, and on his return to Wabash was for eighteen months a reporter for the Wabash Plain Dealer, of which he is now editor. This experience in practical newspaper work was followed by his entrance to the Indiana Law School at Indianapolis, which gave him the degree LL. B. in 1899, and on his admission to the bar he established an office for practice at Wabash, and continued to take cases and engaged in a general practice until February 4, 1914. At that date Mr. King became active head of the Plain Dealer Company, and editor of the paper.
Digitized by Google
Find& King
Digitized by Google
-
534
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
away four years previously. Of their ten children, eight lived to maturity.
As an examination of the early incidents of his life shows, John B. Latchem achieved success by sheer force of character and admirable powers of industry and vigilance. As a boy he attended the country schools near the old home in Wabash county, and one winter with a cousin Thomas Merrick, came to Wabash to secure higher advantages. The young men walked in the distance of six miles from the farm on Monday morning and returned home each Friday night. They had a small room over a grocery store, and their food consisted mainly of bread and molasses. It was the ambition of both to become lawyers, but neither John B. Latchem nor his father could afford to buy the necessary law books, and thus one ambition was thwarted, but with a man of his deter- mination new paths toward success are always opening. It is interest- ing to note that the cousin, Thomas Merrick, subsequently became a law- yer and gained considerable prominence in the profession.
The incidents and experiences of his early career cannot be followed in detail. At the age of eighteen he took charge of a country school, and was a teacher for three winters. Six months were spent as a can- vasser in the book trade, after which he engaged in the grain elevator business with William Steele, and followed that line for thirteen years. He was distinctly a man of affairs, one who could successfully manage more than one enterprise at a time. He founded the Treaty Creek Stone and Lime Company, and to that ten years later added lumber under the firm name of Hildebrand & Latchem, which under the able man- agement of Mr. Latchem was a prosperous business for a number of years. He was a director of the first building and loan association founded at Wabash in 1880, and was later identified with the Wabash Building & Loan Association, and when the Wabash Valley Loan & Savings Association was organized in 1894, he was made its first presi- dent, a position which he held four years, and then became its secre- tary and manager. In October, 1907, the Wabash County Loan & Trust Company was organized, and Mr. Latchem was elected Secretary and Treasurer. This office he capably filled until his death.
During many years much of his attention and capital were devoted to the upbuilding of the industrial interests of Wabash. While he had himself started without capital, he was able to assist in realizing the ambitions of a number of younger business associates. Early in his career he was connected with the Underwood Manufacturing Company, which is now the Wabash Cabinet Company, an enterprise started when his capital was limited to five thousand dollars, but which was subse- quently developed and has had a course of uninterrupted prosperity. When the Wabash Bridge and Iron Works Company was established, in 1895, Mr. Latchem was made president, and was also for a time a mem- ber of the board of directors of the Anderson Malleable Iron Company at Anderson. For sixty-five years a resident of Wabash county, Mr. Latchem gained a wide acquaintance over the county and the northern
Digitized by Google
535
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
part of the state, and was esteemed for his upright character and strict integrity not less than for his business success.
From the time he arrived at manhood he voted the democratic ticket and was an active worker'in the ranks of his party, being chairman of the democratic county central committee and acting as delegate to numerous state and county conventions. For ten years succeeding 1883, he served as a member of the city council, and proved himself a valu- able official. Fraternally he was both a York and Scottish Rite Mason, having served as Master of his lodge, as High Priest in the Royal Arch Chapter, belonged to Wabash Commandery No. 37, and reached the thirty-second degree in the consistory of the Valley of Indianapolis. He was a member of the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows and affiliated with the tribe of Ben Hur. At his death the Wabash Commandery of Knights Templar acted as escort to his funeral, and the St. Anastasia Mesnil Lodge of Odd Fellows also attended in a body. Mr. Latchem was for many years an active member of the Presbyterian church of Wabash, having served as deacon.
While his outside interests were perhaps as varied and important as those of any other citizen in Wabash, it was in his home that his character had its finest illustration. He was devoted to his family, and it was the proud boast of his mother that he had never said an unkind word to her in his entire life. This was a fact, a keynote to his char- acter in all its relations with his fellowmen that was properly em- phasized by Dr. Little in the funeral service. But at home and on the street and in his office he was noteworthy for his remarkable control of temper, and seldom if ever was he heard to make an unkind remark to anyone. On October 20, 1869, Mr. Latchem was united in marriage to Miss Amelia Alber, daughter of Philip Alber, at Wabash. Mrs. Latchem, who survives her husband, and enjoys a large circle of friends at Wa- bash, is the mother of three children : Charles, Paul and Lucy. Charles is identified with the Wabash Canning Company. Paul is City Civil Engineer at Huntington, Indiana. Another member of the household was Miss Bessie Latchem, a niece of Mr. Latchem's.
WABASH CANNING COMPANY. CHARLES LATCHEM. One of the im- portant local institutions of the county seat, the Wabash Canning Com- pany, for the past seven years has occupied an important position not only to a large number of people in the city, but to an even greater number of raisers of vegetables in the vicinity. The Wabash Canning Company was organized in 1906, and was incorporated under the laws of Indiana with a capital stock of thirty thousand dollars. The first officers were Charles Latchem, president and general manager, and Louis L. Hyman, secretary and treasurer. The object stated in the charter of incorporation proposed the canning of vegetables, and it has been along that line that the industry has been conducted with such thriving success. The first quarters obtained by the company in starting busi- ness were in the old Bruner Building, at the corner of Miami and Water Streets. So rapidly did the business increase within a short
Digitized by Google
538
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
occurred February 28, 1908, caused widespread sorrow, not alone among the members of his immediate family, but in business, financial and social circles, where men had had the chance to know him and were proud to be called his friends.
Mr. Walter was married in 1874 to Miss Esther E. Williams, of North Manchester, Indiana, and to this union there were born three children: Myrtle B., Josephine V. and Fred B. The last-named is secretary and treasurer of the firm of B. Walter & Company, and one of the progressive business men of the younger generation in Wabash.
FRED B. WALTER. Among the younger generation of Wabash business men whose names are deserving of special mention for what they stand in the line of achievement in their chosen vocations in life stands that of Fred B. Walter, secretary and treasurer of the firm of B. Walter & Com- pany, manufacturers. His career has been an exemplification of typical ambitious American manhood, and he is already accorded a place among the men whose activities are serving to advance the importance of Wabash as an industrial and commercial center. Mr. Walter is a native of Wabash county, born at North Manchester on the 15th of January, 1882, a son of Bossler and Esther E. (Williams) Walter. A complete review of the life of his father, who was one of the leading business citizens of Wabash at the time of his death, in 1908, will be found on preceding pages of this volume.
Fred B. Walter attended the public and high schools of Wabash, and supplemented this with a course at Purdue University, graduating from the mechanical department of that institution in 1903. For a time there- after he was associated with the General Electric Company of Schenec- tady, New York, and then returned to Wabash to become associated with the firm of B. Walter & Company, manufacturers of table slides, an enter- prise which had been founded by his father, and at the time of the elder man's death the concern was incorporated, with Mrs. B. Walter, as presi- dent; Chas. Rish V. P .; and Fred B. Walter as secretary and treasurer, and has thus continued to the present time. Mr. Walter, the son, is also the president of the Service Motor Truck Company, of Wabash, manu- facturers of motor trucks. This is one of the important industries of Wabash, and is capitalized at $250,000. The other officers are: Jean Marks, V. P .; Edward Bridges, treasurer and manager, and Moi Cook, secretary. Mr. Walter is also the president of the American Coating Mills, of Elkhart, Indiana, an extensive manufacturing concern which is practically owned by Wabash capital. The capital stock of this industry is $100,000. Moi Cook is its secretary and Joseph C. Teague is the vice president, while C. C. Colbert, a former resident of Wabash, is treasurer and manager. The industry was established in Elkhart in 1910, and they erected the plant at that time. He is also a director and the second vice president of the Citizens Savings & Trust Company. Mr. Walter is a young man to whom large opportunities have been given to demonstrate what manner of man he is, and he has proved himself to be thoroughly capable, having managed the affairs of the large industries wisely and
Digitized by Google
1
539
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
well. When war was declared between the United States and Spain he gave evidence of having inherited the patriotism that called his father to the support of the Union during the Civil war, and enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Sixtieth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, but never saw active service, as he was incapacitated by contracting typhoid fever while his regiment was in camp at Newport News. He is well known in fraternal circles of the city, being a member of the Masons and the Elks, and is popular with a wide circle of friends.
On the 28th of June, 1911, occurred the marriage of Mr. Walter and Miss Jean Graden, daughter of John Graden, and the granddaughter of the late Albert Pauling. One son has been born of this union, John Frederick.
WILLIAM WALLACE AND CHARLES N. WALLACE. Of the pioneer families of Wabash county one of the most notable is that of Wallace, which has been identified with this community for nearly seventy years. The Wallace name was one of the first in the state, and the earlier genera- tion was planted in Wayne county before Indiana attained statehood. In Wabash county the Wallaces have been successful farmers, business men, especially as dealers in horses, and their record for good citizenship is above question.
William Wallace, who came to Wabash county in 1845, and began working as a farm hand for Mahlon Corey, west of the present city of Wabash, was born near Milton in Wayne county, Indiana, October 20, 1824. His father, John Wallace, and wife had established a home in the wilderness of Indiana while it was still a territory, and when prac- tically all the population was located south of an east and west line extending through the present site of Indianapolis. Naturally, they had to contend with the hard conditions of the wilderness, they were here at a time when Indians were almost as numerous as the whites, and when the daily provision of the table was supplied by the wild game abounding on the prairies and in the woods. It was in such an environment that William Walace grew up. He was twenty-one years of age when he came to Wabash county, and two years later he bought one hundred and sixty acres, a tract of land which has ever since been in the Wallace name and possession. This farm is situated about three miles west of the city of Wabash, on what is known as the Farr Pike, and is now owned by Charles N. Wallace, a son of this first buyer. When William Wallace secured ownership of that land it was practically in a state of nature, and it was by his hard work, clearing and grubbing and planting, that he made of it one of the fine farmsteads in that locality. Soon after locating in Wabash county, William Wal- lace returned to Wayne county and married Viana Ferguson. To their marriage were born five children. The mother of these children died and her husband again married. During his later years, he moved to the city of Wabash and lived a retired life until his death in 1903.
Charles Nimrod Wallace, who still owns the old homestead and car- ries on a flourishing business as a horse dealer at Wabash, was born May
Digitized by Google
540
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
15, 1854, at the old farm west of Wabash. His young days were spent for the greater part, after he had acquired sufficient strength, in assist- ing his father with the extension of the cultivated area of the land, and in the varied works of planting and harvesting, and during the intervals of this labor and at a time when his services could well be spared he attended the district school, but his advantages in this direction were limited. On reaching manhood he began farming for himself, and has always classified himself as a farmer, although for the past twenty years his business has kept him largely in the city of Wabash. He moved to Wabash in 1893, and here continued and developed on a larger scale the business of buying horses, which had been begun in connection with his farm work. In Wabash he built a large barn especially equipped for a sales stable, and has probably bought and sold as many horses as any other individual dealer in Wabash county.
Aside from his business, to which he gives his active attention, Mr. Wallace is a lover of all outdoor sports, and is one of the most skillful hunters and fishermen in the county. Among the many spoils of his hunting trips are the heads of two moose, which he brought down in the wilds of New Brunswick. The second specimen belonged to an espe- cially magnificent animal, as is shown by the fact that there are twenty prongs on his antlers. In politics, Mr. Wallace is a democrat, and has served as a member of the Wabash city council. On December 28, 1876, he married Miss Lillie Stone. They are the parents of three children, namely : Grace, Lawrence and William. Mr. and Mrs. Wallace belong to the Christian church.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.