USA > Indiana > History of the Indiana democracy, 1816-1916 > Part 113
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In 1884, for governor, Democrats 2,533, Re- publicans 2,409.
In 1886, for secretary, Democrats 2,555, Re- publicans, 2,467.
In 1888, for governor, Democrats 2,684, Re- publicans 2,736-a Republican victory.
In 1890 there was a material falling off in the vote: Democrats 2,256, Republicans 1,855, for secretary of state.
In 1892, for governor, the Republicans had a majority of two in the county: Democrats 2,458, Republicans 2,460.
In 1894, for secretary of state, Democratic 2,420, Republican 2,735.
In 1896, another presidential year, the vote for governor was: Democratic 2,697, Republican
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HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY-1816-1916
3,014. That was Bryan's first campaign, and he lost the county in about the same proportion as the state ticket suffered.
In 1898, for secretary of state, Democratic 2,543, Republican 2,744.
In 1900, for governor, in Bryan's second race, the vote was 2,778 Democratic to 2,930 Republican.
In 1902, for secretary of state, Democratic 2,499, Republican 2,764.
In 1904, when Parker was a candidate for the presidency, Spencer gave to the Democratic candi- date 2,472 and to the Republican candidate 2,973.
In 1908, Democratic 2,635, Republican 2,876.
In 1910, for secretary of state, Democratic 2,673, Republican 2,659.
In 1912, for governor, this being the year when the Progressives predominated, Spencer county cast 2,387 for the Democrats, and 1,244 for the Republicans, giving to the Progressives 1,128.
In 1914 the Progressive campaign was less seri- ous to the Republicans, the vote being Democratic 2,268, Republican 1,878, Progressive 723, these be- ing the votes on United States senator.
In 1916 John A. M. Adair, Democratic nominee for governor, received 2,341 votes, to 2,492 given to James P. Goodrich, his Republican opponent.
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HISTORY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF STARKE COUNTY
I N 1838 the territory of northern Indiana, though sparsely settled, was divided by an act of the Legislature into districts or counties and the county boundary lines were established. Starke county was one of these counties thus formed and because of it being so thinly settled it was joined with Marshall county for county purposes and continued to be so joined until 1850, when a call was sent out to the inhab- itants of Starke county for a mass-meeting for the purpose of talking over county organization and formulating a plan whereby it could be con- summated. This meeting was held as near the center of the county as was convenient, and after some deliberation a committee was appointed to locate and lay out a county seat, which was done on April 1, 1851, by a locating committee consist- ing of the following named persons: William C. Barnett, L. Chamberlain, William M. Patterson, and named Knox in honor of General Henry Knox of Revolutionary fame. The committee then pro- ceeded in the usual way to perfect the organiza- tion of the county and the following named people who, of course, seemed to be the prime movers in the process of organization, were appointed the first officials of the county: Stephen Jackson, coun- ty clerk; Jacob G. Black, county auditor; Jacob Bozarth, county recorder; Jacob Tilman, county treasurer; James B. Prettyman, county coroner; Jacob S. Wampler, county sheriff; William Parker, George Esty, John W. Hopkins, county commissioners; John S. Bender, county surveyor. It happens that Starke county was settled princi- pally by men who were leaders in the Jefferson principles of Democracy. So far as can be learned there was no Democratic organization or central committee as we have today. It seems that Charles S. Tibbets can be spoken of as the first Democratic county chairman or leader. In all prob- ability and from the best records obtainable he shared this honor at succeeding elections with James H. Adair, John Good, Solon Whitson, Jacob Black, M. T. Hepner and others between the years 1850 and 1874, at which time W. C. Boyles became county chairman, who, in 1876, was followed by Sylvester McCrackin. In 1878 Robert H. Bender was chosen and served until 1884, when Samuel S. Bonner was selected, who was followed in suc- cession by the following named men: 1886, John G. Kratli; 1888, William B. Sinclair; 1890, Jacob Bozarth, who served until 1898, when James C. Fletcher became county chairman and served until 1902, when he was followed by Robert D. Peters, who in 1904 gave way to George Rogers, who in
turn was succeeded by James C. Fletcher, who served until 1908, when Clarence M. Fuller be- came the leader and served until 1914, when Au- gust H. Knosman, our present county chairman, was chosen. Starke county, though sparsely set- tled and small in size, was considered a Demo- cratic county with a great degree of certainty from 1850 to 1894, when, for the first time in its career, it was carried by the Republicans on the State ticket. Most of its county officers have been Democrats: in fact, it was a very strange thing that a Republican was elected to office in Starke county from 1850 to 1894; however, occasionally one was successful.
Starke county has never been entitled to a rep- resentative in the State Legislature, but has al- ways been joined with some other county for leg- islative purposes. However, the following named men from Starke county have several times rep- resented the district in the State Lesislature: Lloyd Glasebrook, so far as I am able to learn, was the first one, who was succeeded by his son, Dr. Lorenzo Glasebrook; who was followed, pos- sibly not in succession, by William Perry; who gave way to James Peele, and he to Sylvester Bertram, and he to Lon E. Bernethy. These men, from the best information obtainable, served their districts with credit to it and honor to themselves. They were also found steadfast in the cause which they represented and ready and willing to sup- port any worthy cause for the best interest of the State. The only representative in the upper branch of the State Legislature that Starke county can lay claim to is the Hon. Chester A. McCormick, who was elected Joint Senator from Jasper, Newton, White and Starke counties in 1912. He made a very enviable record for him- self in both the 68th and 69th sessions of the Legislature. The most prominent Democrats in county affairs that Starke county can claim are perhaps in the order of prominence named as follows: Solon O. Whitson, James H. Adair, R. H. Bender, John S. Bender, M. T. Hepner, A. P. Dial, Wingate Prettyman, Jacob Bozarth, James C. Fletcher and Henry Schricker, of Knox, and Jacob Keller, Charles W. Weninger, Lon E. Ber- nethy, Chester A. McCormick and others, of North Judson. The Hon. George W. Beeman was also one of the very prominent Democrats of Knox. He was the first and only Democratic Judge of the Forty-fourth Judicial District who lived in Starke county. Of the above named gentlemen Mr. Keller perhaps was the most widely known. He was an energetic merchant and politician and always fa-
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HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY-1816-1916
vored any movement which would benefit his na- tive town or county. When the new tax law was passed he, against his wishes, was prevailed upon to serve his county in the capacity of county as- sessor. Starke county has had the honor of hav- ing one candidate on the State ticket since its origin in 1850, namely, Prof. William B. Sinclair, who was the choice of his party on two different occasions for the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction. As has been said before, Starke county has been a Democratic county from its origin until quite recent years. It has invari- ably returned a Democratic majority in state and national tickets varying from 50 to 300, the cause of the variation being the increase in population.
The first newspaper in Starke county, strong in the support of Democratic principles, was launched in Knox, the county seat, in the summer of 1861 by J. A. Berry, its editor and publisher. This paper was known as the Starke County Press and was ably edited until its suspension near the close of the war. The next frontier journalist to link his fortunes with a newspaper in the county was Oliver C. Musselman, who launched the Starke County Ledger in Knox druing the early months of 1867. Mr. Musselman continued to edit and publish the Ledger, with the assistance of his son, Clum Musselman, until 1892, when he sold the plant to J. Don Gorrell, who changed the name of the paper to the Starke County Democrat and modernized it in many respects. Mr. Gorrell was an enthusiastic, energetic Jeffersonian Democrat, who brought new life and vigor to the forces of his party in the county. In 1893 he was succeeded by his brother, Samuel M. Gorrell, who continued as editor and publisher of the Democrat until Sep- tember 1, 1908, when Henry F. Schricker, a native son of the county, purchased and took charge of the plant. Mr. Schricker is still at the helm and his strong advocacy of Democratic doctrine has been a source of strength to his party throughout the district. Much can be said in regard to the efficient work of the Democratic paper of this county. In fact, many prominent Democrats be- lieve that it was a very efficient means by which the Democratic candidates were able to win the confidence of the citizens of the county, thus se- curing their success at the polls. The following is the list of Democratic officeholders, both appointed and elected, from 1850 to 1914:
CLERK OF CIRCUIT COURT.
Stephen Jackson, appointed 1850. Jacob Bozarth, appointed 1851. Charles Humphreys, elected 1852. John S. Bender, elected 1856. Oliver H. P. Howard, elected 1860.
Andrew W. Porter, elected 1864 and 1868.
Willoughby McCormick, elected 1872 and 1876. Mathias T. Hepner, appointed and elected 1877 and 1878.
Jeremiah Good, elected 1882 and 1886.
James C. Fletcher, elected 1890 and 1894.
Henry E. White, elected 1898 and 1902.
COUNTY AUDITORS.
Jacob S. Black, appointed 1850.
Charles S. Tibbets, appointed 1850.
Charles Humphreys, elected 1852.
John S. Bender, elected 1856.
James H. Adair, elected 1860 and 1864.
Robert H. Bender, elected 1868 and 1872.
William Perry, elected 1880 and 1884.
Robert H. Bender, appointed and elected 1887 and 1888.
August H. Knosman, elected 1892 and 1896.
John W. Kurtz, elected 1900.
Charles W. Weninger, elected 1912.
COUNTY RECORDERS.
Jacob Bozarth, appointed 1850.
William D. Calkins, elected 1855.
Willoughby McCormick, elected 1859.
Sylvester McCrackin, elected 1863.
Austin P. Dial, appointed and elected 1867 and 1870.
Michael Kelley, elected 1874 and 1878. Jacob Bozarth, elected 1882 and 1886.
Henry Seegrist, elected 1890 and 1894.
Jacob Quigley, elected 1898 and 1902.
COUNTY TREASURERS.
Jacob Tilman, appointed 1850. Adam Lambert, appointed 1853. Willoughby McCormick, elected 1853.
Solon O. Whitson, elected 1857 and 1859.
Wingate Prettyman, elected 1861 and 1863. John Good, elected 1865 and 1867. Mathias T. Hepner, elected 1870 and 1872. Austin P. Dial, elected 1878 and 1880.
Franklin Whitson, elected 1884 and 1886.
Andrew O. Castleman, elected 1888 and 1890. Oratio D. Fuller, elected 1892 and 1894.
Wilbert Pierson, elected 1900 and 1902. Frank Joseph, elected 1910 and 1912. Henry Luken, elected 1914.
COUNTY CORONERS.
James B. Prettyman, appointed 1850.
John Lindsey, elected 1852. Adam Lambert, elected 1856 and 1858.
J. K. Crites, elected 1859.
Samuel Smith, elected 1861.
Elijah Wood, elected 1864.
David Favorite, elected 1865 and 1867.
Wingate Prettyman, elected 1870.
George W. Schofield, elected 1872.
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HISTORY INDIANA
DEMOCRACY-1816-1916
Israel Uncapher, elected 1874 and 1876.
Wilson Loring, elected 1878.
Joseph Hiler, elected 1880 and 1882.
Thomas R. Lambert, elected 1884 and 1886.
Leander Conner, elected 1888. Mark R. Wright, appointed 1889.
Mark R. Wright, elected 1890 and 1892.
Thomas J. Agnew, elected 1898.
Samuel Bonner, elected 1900.
Albert Fisher, elected 1908 and 1910.
Frank Eatinger, elected 1912.
Thomas C. Hite, elected 1914.
COUNTY SHERIFFS.
Jacob S. Wampler, appointed 1850.
A. W. Porter, appointed 1852.
Solon O. Whitson, elected 1852.
William P. Chapman, elected 1854.
Wingate Prettyman, elected 1856 and 1858.
Mathias T. Hepner, elected 1860 and 1862.
William Elmandorf, elected 1864 and 1868.
George Savery, elected 1874 and 1876.
William Elmandorf, elected 1877 and 1878.
William Seagraves, elected 1880 and 1882.
John W. Seagraves, appointed 1884.
Mathew Kays, elected 1884.
Jacob VanDerweele, elected 1890 and 1892.
William Harter, elected 1896 and 1898.
Sidney Uncapher, elected 1900 and 1902.
Gabriel Doyle, elected 1908 and 1910.
George E. Pettis, elected 1912 and 1914.
COUNTY ASSESSORS.
William P. Stanton, appointed 1874.
Jacob Keller, appointed 1891.
Albert C. Wolfram, elected 1892.
George W. Harkins, elected 1896.
COUNTY SURVEYORS.
John S. Bender, appointed 1850.
Robert H. Bender, elected 1856 and 1858.
John P. Kelley, elected 1860 and 1862.
William C. Boyles, elected 1864, 1866 and 1868. John E. Short, elected 1870 and 1872.
Joseph McCormick, elected 1874 and 1876.
William C. Boyles, elected 1878, and 1880. George Fisher, elected 1882.
Albert L. Purcell, appointed and elected 1883 and 1884.
Joseph McCormick, elected 1888 and 1890.
John W. Good, elected 1892 and 1894.
Adam F. Seider, elected 1898.
Leo M. Kelley, elected 1900.
Charles A. Good, elected 1912 and 1914.
COUNTY SCHOOL EXAMINERS.
Andrew W. Porter, appointed 1861. H. T. Howard, appointed 1864. Samuel Jacobs, appointed 1866.
John E. Short, appointed 1868.
Willoughby McCormick, appointed 1871. Uziah Kline, appointed 1872.
Oliver Musselman, appointed 1876.
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
Henry C. Rogers, elected 1883.
William B. Sinclair, elected 1885 and 1887.
William B. Sinclair, elected 1889, 1891 and 1893.
William A. Foust, elected 1897.
George E. Butcher, elected 1899.
J. Walter Dunn, elected 1903.
Carroll W. Cannon, elected 1911.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
William Parker, elected 1850.
George Esty, elected 1850.
John W. Hopkins, elected 1850.
Andrew Long, elected 1851.
Edward Smith, elected 1852.
Abram Welsh, elected 1853.
George Feldon, elected 1855.
John Good, elected 1856.
William P. Chapman, elected 1858.
John Fry, elected 1858.
George Feldon, elected 1858.
William Swartzell, elected 1859.
Isaac Reed, elected 1859.
Jacob Kelver, elected 1859.
Eli Brown, elected 1860.
Amasa Green, elected 1860.
Jacob Kelver, elected 1861.
Jesse Jackson, elected 1863.
Jacob Kelver, elected 1864.
Madison Jones, appointed 1865.
Elijah W. Geiselman, elected 1865.
Madison Jones, elected 1865.
Mathias Hepner, elected 1866.
Madison Jones, elected 1866.
Samuel Lafever, elected 1867.
Elijah W. Geiselman, elected 1868.
Samuel Lafever, elected 1870.
Henry Bender, elected 1870. Ed. Tucker, elected 1872. Christian Kreis, elected 1872.
Elijah W. Geiselman, elected 1874.
Jefferson Seagraves, elected 1876. Christian Kries, elected 1876.
Richard Gibbs, elected 1878.
William L. Scudder, elected 1878.
Oratio D. Fuller, elected 1880. O. D. Fuller, elected 1882. George Stoker, elected 1882.
Richard Gibbs, elected 1884.
George Stocker, elected 1884.
Joseph Hiler, elected 1886.
James M. Tuker, elected 1888.
Daniel H. Stanton, elected 1888.
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HISTORY :INDIANA DEMOCRACY-1816-1916
Daniel Lafever, elected 1888. Jacob Kries, elected 1898. Daniel Lafever, elected 1890. Jacob Kries, elected 1890. Daniel Stanton, elected 1892. W. T. Collins, appointed and elected 1892-93-96.
Christian Borchardt, elected 1898-1900.
Henry C. Short, elected 1900. Henry Luken, elected 1908. O. D. Fuller, elected 1908.
Lee Wolfe, elected
Peter Mosher, elected
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HISTORY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF STEUBEN COUNTY
By Frank B. Van Auken
A REPUBLICAN chairman once exclaimed, "Where the hell is Steuben county ?" Well, it is in the cool corner of Indiana adjacent to Michigan and Ohio. Yet, when fifteen hundred Democrats impinge against twenty-five hundred Republicans in campaign times, the heat becomes torrid.
To explain these age-long contests with some account of the captains who have led the fray need not take very long. The results have been so distressing that within the last fifty years only a very few live Democrats have caught any glimpse of the promised land. Does this seem discouraging ? Not so. The contest for an equal and just government bequeathed, like "freedom's cause," "from bleeding sire to son," has produced a body of men not lured by the bribe of office, but held together by abiding faith that "ever the truth comes uppermost and ever is justice done." Time has seemed long, but the reward of victory great, for Wilson has written "in letters of living light, no question is ever settled until it is settled right."
The earliest teachers of Democracy in this cor- ner of Indiana was a band of Maumee Indians. They taught by example. Was not every warrior the equal in privilege of every other save as wis- dom in council or prowess in war gave him pres- tige? So Democratic were they that a red man wearing a white man's coat was driven from the tribe in disgrace. They called Steuben county their "good hunting ground." And why not? Did not its many kinds of forests, its prairies and marshes, waving with luxuriant grasses, its streams dammed with great jam piles and much more imposing then than now; and almost a hundred enchanting lakes surrounded with shaded hills-a land abounding with great nut-bearing trees, wild fruit, fish and game-who doubts that this was to the child of the forest a paradise of repose? Resentment against the pale intruders caused the "Great Father" to lead the last rem- nant of these wild people forever toward the set- ting sun. They had already heard the tramp of Anthony Wayne's pale warriors as they marched through the magnificent region from Detroit to Fort Wayne, and Tecumseh, the mighty, had read his doom in the dark waters of Tippecanoe.
Between May, 1837, when the county was or- ganized, and the Civil War the Democrats car- ried the county twice only. Lewis Cass, Democrat, for president in 1848 over Taylor and Van Buren
by a plurality of 37, and Franklin Pierce in 1852 over Winfield Scott and John P. Hale by a plu- rality of 56, out of a total vote of 1,163. These were the only candidates who ever carried the county in a general election and their success was due probably to the division of the Whigs on the question of slavery and the question of free schools. At all other general elections, before or since the war, the Whigs or the Republicans have been triumphant.
In 1874 the Democrats and Liberal Republicans in a coalition elected part of the county ticket. In 1912, thanks to Taft and "Teddy," the usual majority of 200 to 1,000 was almost annihilated.
The pioneers of the county came from Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, bringing very strong anti-slavery sentiments with them and this has tinged the politics of the county to this day.
The two most prominent pioneer families were the Stayners of Jackson Prairie at the west, and the Powers family who laid their family altars among the sugar groves at the east. The im- press of these noted families can still be read in the community life about them. John Stayner, man of property and first settler, represented Steuben and Dekalb in the Legislature of 1850. All four brothers of the Powers family, Clark, Stephen, Winn and Calvin, were noted men, Stephen having been surveyor at different times; Calvin, county commissioner, and Clark, repre- sentative in the General Assembly of 1845-6. In 1888 Stephen A., son of Clark Powers, was chosen after a remarkable contest, Circuit Judge by a majority of 7, the district being Steuben, Dekalb and Noble, and in 1908, after a house-to-house canvass, he was elected Joint Senator from Steu- ben and Dekalb. In the Assembly he was noted as chief opponent of the "Marshall" revision of the constitution. His long gray hair led to much merriment about the capitol, the boys giving him the soubriquet, "Quaker Oats." He was widely known as president of the "Old Settlers," whose meeting became an institution. This fine citizen and patriot died in 1913. His eulogy should be "One of the Kindest of Men."
Frank M., son of Calvin and cousin of Stephen A. Powers, was chosen to the Circuit Court bench of Steuben and Dekalb, the Thirty-fifth Judicial District, in 1910, and elevated to the Appellate Court of Indiana in 1914. His premature death from pneumonia, after a few weeks at the capital, cast a pall of sadness over the entire State. His
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HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY-1816-1916
fame as a jurist was based upon an insight of justice which, like that of the ancient patriarch, rose above the written statute and made him, to the humble and the great, a plain, wise, just judge.
Cyrus Cline, of Angola, a lawyer and banker by profession, was elected to Congress in 1908, re-elected in 1910, 1912 and 1914, and is the only Steuben county Democrat who ever became a member of that body.
At the election of 1912 two young Democrats of the county were successful, James R. Nyce as Prosecuting Attorney of the Judicial District of Steuben and Dekalb, and Glenn Van Auken as Joint Senator for the same counties.
Among the noted Democrats who have presided over the Steuben County Court are Charles W. Ewing, Henry Chase, John W. Wright, Elza Mc- Mahon, James L. Worden, Edwin R. Wilson, Rob- ert Lowry, Hiram Tously, Charles A. O. McClel- lan, F. M. Powers, and last, but not least, our present Circuit Judge, Daniel M. Link.
Distinguished Democratic lawyers who have graced the county bar, so far as the writer can learn, have been Edward R. May, William G. Croxton, George B. Adams, S. A. and F. M. Pow- ers, Benjamin F. Dawson, Cyrus Cline, Alphonso C. Wood and Charles A. Yotter, for many years able speakers and workers for the county Democ- racy.
Democrats who have represented the county in the State Senate have been Madison Marsh, 1846; Reuben F. Dawson, 1849; Stephen A. Pow- ers, 1908, and Glenn Van Auken, 1912.
Democrats in the State House of Representa- tives. as near as can be ascertained, have been George W. Balding, 1846; George W. McConnell, 1851, and Lewis Price, of Lagrange county, in 1912.
.A list of Democratic chairmen is more or less incomplete, as some of the early names seem cov- ered with the dust of oblivion. Within forty years the list is: Harmon Freygang, George E. Young, John Somerlott, Cyrus Cline and A. C. Wood.
To Harmon Freygang the writer awards the palm as our greatest Democrat-faithful, wise, adroit, fearful to the enemies of Democracy, yet gracious to all and trusted by all. "Honor and the good repute which follow faithful service as its fruits be unto him whose memory we salute."
In medicine and surgery four brothers, A. C., H. D., T. F. and F. Wood, have given prestige to the county. Three of them have been noted Dem- ocrats. Alphonso C., killed in a runaway in 1868, was mourned as our first citizen. In this sketch belong the names of Doctors M. F. Morse, T. B.
Williams, G. W. McConnell and Thomas J. Creel, present Mayor of this beautiful city of Angola.
The first and only Democratic paper, the An- gola Herald, was founded in January, 1876, by Isaac L. Wiseman, and still enjoys modest pros- perity. July, 1877, W. K. Sheffer became owner and editor, continuing for twenty-nine years, to 1906. C. C. Klink and H. W. Morley, present proprietor and editor, complete the list to the present time. W. B. McConnell was for two years part owner and editor. Mr. Sheffer still abides among the faithful as reporter for the Fort Il'ayne Journal-Gazette.
Some account of the campaign of 1848 may be of interest. Cyrus G. Luse, who settled on a wild farm and with his own hands split the rails to fence it, said to the writer: "I made a furious campaign in Steuben and Dekalb counties on a platform of Free Schools and lost." Reuben F. Dawson and Mr. Luce rode from place to place on horseback and in their joint debates abuse played as great a part as argument. The same Mr. Luce was afterward twice Governor of Michigan. How public opinion changes! A leading Republican of those days said to a friend now living, "You don't know what you're doing. This free school law would be the ruination of the country."
The campaign of 1841 sounds like an Indian story, but it is true and illustrates mightily the importance of getting out the last Democratic vote. Dr. Madison Marsh, noted Democrat of the county, lost on the face of the returns by one vote to his Republican opponent, Captain Beall. On a contest it was decided that one vote for Mr. Marsh, that of Henry Shoemaker, whose ballot had been received after the time limit but before the box was closed, had been improperly thrown out and he was declared elected to the Legislature. Edward A. Hannegan was elected United States Senator by one vote, Dr. Marsh casting the decid- ing vote. Texas was admitted to the Union, it is declared, by a majority of ore, Hannegan being the man of destiny to decide the momentous issue. The Mexican war ensued as well as other mighty consequences and all is traced to Steuben or De- kalb county's careless Democratic voter, and as the boys say, "What do you know about that?"
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