History of the Maumee River basin, Allen County, Indiana, Part 11

Author: Slocum, Charles Elihu, 1841-1915; Robertson, R. Stoddart, 1839-
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Indianapolis ; Toledo : Bowen & Slocum
Number of Pages: 630


USA > Indiana > Allen County > History of the Maumee River basin, Allen County, Indiana > Part 11


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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


In 1857 Captain White was united in marriage to Miss Maria Brown, a half-sister of John Brown, previously mentioned, and she


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remained as his loved and devoted companion until the time of his death, more than two score of years later. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1836, and came to America with her brother in 1853. She is a daughter of John and Jennie (Blair) Brown, the former of whom was an extensive contractor and builder in Scotland, where he died about 1840. His widow came to Fort Wayne in 1858, and here continued to reside until her death, in 1878. Both were lifelong members of the Presbyterian church, in whose faith they reared their children, while Mrs. White has long been numbered among the val- ued members of this church in Fort Wayne. Captain and Mrs. White became the parents of seven children, six of whom are now living, namely : John W., who is the president of the White National Bank of Fort Wayne; Jessie; Edward, president of the White Fruit House, of this city; Grace, wife of W. S. Morris, of Fort Wayne; James B., Jr., secretary of the White Fruit House, and Alexander B., who is manager for the Higgins Artificial Ice Company of Fort Wayne.


After his marriage Captain White was for two years in the em- ploy of Becker & Frank, who conducted a tailoring establishment at Warsaw, and after this he was enabled to open a shop of his own and purchase a home, his prospects for success being excellent. But a higher duty came to him with the thundering of rebel guns against Fort Sumter, for his loyalty to his adopted land was roused to re- sponsive protest. His courage was that of his convictions, and in August, 1861, he disposed of his little stock and business at a con- siderable loss and assisted in recruiting a company, of which he was elected captain and with which he proceeded to Camp Allen, Fort Wayne, where it was made Company I of the Thirtieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Securing the essential equipment at Indianapo- lis, the regiment was sent to Camp Nevin, Kentucky, to join the com- mand of General Wood. The Thirtieth Indiana was among the first regiments to reach Nashville after the battle of Fort Donelson and arrived at Pittsburg Landing in time to participate in the second day's engagement. In the battle of Shiloh, during the attack in which Colonel Bass, of Fort Wayne, was killed, Captain White was wounded in the right side, by a spent minie ball, but soon recovered, participating in the siege of Corinth and the skirmishes incident to that campaign. His regiment then joined in the pursuit of Bragg.


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proceeding to Louisville and thence back to Nashville, and not long afterward Captain White resigned his commission and, in the spring of 1863, in company with Joseph A. Stellwagon, became a sutler for the Eighty-eighth Regiment, in which capacity he remained engaged until the close of the war. Within this time he was twice captured by the enemy, and on one occasion, in the Wheeler raid near Chat- tanooga, his wagons and entire stock of supplies were entirely de- stroyed.


After the close of his faithful and prolonged military career Captain White returned to Fort Wayne, where he established himself in the grocery and fruit business. He was meeting with excellent success when, in January, 1872, his store was destroyed by fire, . entailing a considerable loss. On the following day, however, he resumed business in a building on the opposite side of the street. A general financial depression followed hard upon this misfortune by fire, but the Captain's methods were careful and conservative and his discrimination so potent that he passed successfully through the ordeal which overthrew so many business concerns, being con- secutively successful in his operations. He continued to be identified with the enterprise thus founded until the time of his death, and the White Fruit House, as the establishment is known, still controls a most extensive trade throughout northern Indiana and northeastern Ohio, being recognized as representing one of the important com- mercial industries of the state. This immense concern exercises both wholesale and retail functions and is located in a fine modern building at the corner of Calhoun and Wayne streets and the annual business had attained to the notable average of fully a half million dollars. The lines handled include groceries, fruits and general mer- chandise, and the stock is large and comprehensive. The executive corps of the concern, which is incorporated, is as follows: Edward White, president; James B. White, Jr., secretary; and Alexander B. White, the stock of the company being held entirely in the family of the founder of the great enterprise. As his financial resources increased Captain White made judicious investments in real estate, and he not only added materially to his own fortune but also did much for the improvement and advancement of the city through


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his operations in this line. He laid out four different additions to Fort Wayne, and embellished and substantially improved the same.


Captain White started out in life dependent entirely upon his own resources, and he won success through earnest and well directed en- deavor along legitimate lines of enterprise. In partnership with his eldest son, John W., he established and controlled a wheel factory, in which about two hundred workmen were employed, the concern being one of the largest of the sort in the Union and being suc- cessfully carried forward under the active management of John W. until 1892, when the plant and business were sold to the American Wheel Company. In the same year Captain White became asso- ciated with the same son, John W., in the organization of the White National Bank, with a capital stock of two hundred thousand dol- lars, and this institution stands today as one of the solid and popular monetary concerns of Fort Wayne, John W. White being president of the bank, while the subject remained a member of its directorate until his demise. He was essentially public-spirited and held the in- terests of Fort Wayne close to his heart, while to him was accorded the unqualified regard of its citizens of all classes. He was one of the commissioners from Indiana to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, in 1893, receiving the appointment from Governor Hovey. He was one of the most popular and honored members of Sion S. Bass Post, No. 40, Grand Army of the Republic, the same having been named in honor of the colonel of the regiment of which he was a member, the Thirtieth Indiana. In 1894 Captain White was a member of the staff of Hon. Thomas G. Lawler, commander in chief of the national organization of this noble order.


At one time Captain White owned an interest in the Fort Wayne Gazette, and he always manifested a lively interest in political affairs, though his active work in the arena of politics was done only in the later years of his life. He was a stalwart Republican and was well fortified in his convictions as to matters of public polity. He was twice elected to the city council from the second ward, a Democratic stronghold, and in 1874 he nearly overcame the three thousand Democratic majority as the Republican candidate for clerk of the cir- cuit court. In 1886 Captain White was prevailed upon to accept the Republican nomination for congress, as representative of the


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twefth district, which had previously shown a normal Democratic majority of about three thousand. At the ensuing election he ran ahead of his ticket by about twenty-five hundred votes,-a fact which attested his unbounded popularity and the unqualified confidence reposed in him. That he was worthy of this distinguished prefer- ment is shown by his record in the connection. During his term in congress he was noted as a zealous worker, not only for the good of the people of his own district and state but also for that of the gen- eral public, and he introduced several measures for the benefit of the working classes. These were not at the time adopted, but in the future will be recognized as the proper foundation for legislation for the amelioration of the condition of wage-earners throughout the world. His minimum-wages bill was particularly calculated to help the laboring class. In the fiftieth congress his voice was often heard in the discussion of various measures, and particularly in the debates on the tariff question. In this field his information was that of a practical business man, and his arguments in the connection were widely quoted and carried much weight.


After his retirement from congress Captain White resumed management of his business affairs with undiminished energy, and he continued in the harness until practically the time of his death, which occurred on the 9th of October, 1897, at his home in Fort Wayne. He was a man of intrinsic nobility, and this fact made his life count for good in all its relations, while the record of his accom- plishment, which so closely touched the city of Fort Wayne, must remain an integral part of the history of this municipality and this county. Captain White was broad and liberal in his views, and was a firm believer in the spiritual verities as exemplified in the Chris- tian faith, having for many years been a member and liberal sup- porter of the First Presbyterian church. Honorable and straightfor- ward in all the relations of life, he was justly numbered among the most honored and valued citizens of Fort Wayne.


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ALLEN ZOLLARS.


Allen Zollars was born in Licking county, Ohio. The ances- tors of Mr. Zollars were of German extraction and emigrated from Prussia to this country at an early period. They belong to that robust and intelligent class of early emigrants who, to secure their political and religious freedom, were ready to encounter the priva- tions and hardships of an unknown and unbroken wilderness, and the dangers arising from the frequent hostilities of native savages who claimed the whole country as their rightful and undoubted her- itage. It was fortunate for the succeeding generations of America that the circumstances attending the first settlement of the country were somewhat forbidding, and such as to invite to its shores only the liberty-loving people of Europe. The sturdy ancestors of Mr. Zollars contributed their share in the struggle for independence and helped to secure for themselves and those to come after them that complete national freedom and personal liberty which all en- joy today. His paternal grandfather was an officer in the war of the Revolution and served his country with distinction for more than five years. Mr. Zollars' father was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and at twelve years of age removed with his parents to Jefferson county, Ohio. At that time Ohio had been a state in the Federal Union but thirteen years, and was in a large measure an unbroken forest. Until his manhood and marriage the father of Mr. Zollars lived in that county, when he moved to Lick- ing county, of the same state. There in the course of time he be- came the owner of flouring, lumber and woolen mills, which he operated with success. Subsequently he disposed of those prop- erties and engaged in farming and the raising of fine stock.


In 1868, in good health mentally and physically, he retired from business, and until his death in March, 1889, at the age of eighty-


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seven years and three months, he lived in happy retirement, manag- ing his property and enjoying the most devoted love and affection of an unusually large number of direct descendants. But a short time before his death he had assembled under his own roof five gen- erations of his family-himself and wife, with whom he had lived for more than sixty-five years, and who survives him, some of his children, some of his grandchildren, some of his great-grandchil- dren, and one great-great-grandchild. He was a man not only of remarkable health and strength physically, but also, as self edu- cated, a man of strong mental power and extended reading. Upon many subjects his thoughts were in advance of those among whom he lived. It was a source of very great comfort to his family that during his long and active life they never knew him to give the least sanction by word or act, to anything that was immoral, dis- honest or dishonorable, but on the contrary he uniformly con- demned all such things in the strongest terms.


In early boyhood the subject of this sketch, after completing the common-school course of study in his neighborhood, was placed in a private academy, and there thoroughly prepared to enter col- lege. He entered Denison University, at Granville, Ohio, pursued a classical course and graduated in 1864, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Three years later the university conferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts, and in 1888 the degree of Doctor of Laws. Having finished his college course and at- tained his manhood, the time had come for Mr. Zollars to decide for himself what should be his life pursuit. Choosing the law, he entered the law office of Judge Buckingham, of Newark, Ohio, where he studied for awhile, and he then entered the law depart- ment of the University of Michigan, and graduated in 1866, re- ceiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Being thus prepared for the practice of his chosen profession, Mr. Zollars located at Fort Wayne, Indiana. He at once made a favorable impression upon the bench, the bar and the people. All regarded him as a young man of fine attainments, high moral character, and great profes- sional promise.


In November, 1867, he was married to Miss Minnie Ewing, of Lancaster, Ohio, a lady of culture, who has contributed much to the subsequent success of her husband.


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Mr. Zollars is a Democrat. In 1868 he was elected to the legislature, in which body he took a prominent part in the debates of the house, and was much esteemed for his statesmanship. In May, 1869, he was chosen city attorney of Fort Wayne, and con- tinued to serve in that capacity for six years. Upon the establish- ment of the superior court of Allen county, he was appointed by Governor Williams, judge of that court. He held the office for a short time and then resigned in order to resume the practice of his profession. In 1882 Judge Zollars was nominated by the Demo- cratic party of the state as a candidate for supreme judge. He was elected, receiving in the northern part of the state, where he was best known, much more than the party vote. He was nominated by his party for the same office in 1888, but was, with the rest of the Democratic ticket, defeated. In addition to his general prac- tice he is solicitor of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, operat- ing the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad through Indi- ana.


As judge of the supreme court Judge Zollars more than met the high expectations of his friends, and so discharged the duties of his office as to receive the hearty approval and warm commenda- tion of the bar of the state without regard to party. As a judge he was industrious, careful and singularly painstaking. In his high office he was independent, fearless and honest. It is but just to say and it is infinitely creditable to Judge Zollars that it may be truth- fully said that no political bias, prejudice or zeal could deflect his mind from its honest and intelligent convictions. There is not a judge nor lawyer in the state of Indiana that does not know and who would not assert this. The written opinions of Judge Zollars found in more than the last thirty volumes of our reports attest his fitness for judicial position. His style is lucid, unstrained and vigorous, his statements full and comprehensive, his analysis per- spicuous and complete. His opinions show great research, indus- try and care. They challenge approval, and must commend them- selves to bench and bar. The writer is somewhat acquainted with the bar of the state and he has yet to hear an unfavorable criticism of any opinion prepared by Judge Zollars. As a lawyer Judge Zollars has always stood high. He has a large practice and has


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been unusually successful. He has argued many cases in the su- preme court and has lost but few. No one knows better than Judge Zollars the necessity for thorough preparation in the trial of cases, and no one more industriously prepares his cases than he. Though of a warm and ardent temperament, Judge Zollars is in the trial of a cause always master of himself; he is rarely not at his best. He is always courteous and deferential toward the court and kind and forbearing toward its adversaries. He examines a witness carefully and thoroughly, but treats the witness with re- spect, and as a general rule, so as to secure his good opinion and make him feel that he has been treated kindly and forbearingly. While subjecting the witness to the most severe tests he so ques- tions him that the witness never seems to realize the fact. As a speaker Judge Zollars is always direct, logical and forcible. His treatment of his case is always full, comprehensive and accurate; his analysis of the facts is clear and exhaustive. He sees without effort the relation and dependence of the facts and so groups them as to enable him to throw their combined force upon the point they tend to prove. Judge Zollars is in the prime of life, rather below the medium size, his head and chest are large, his frame compact and vigorous ; he is graceful in action, in manner, courteous, for- bearing and genial; he is popular and his future is full of promise.


In domestic life Judge Zollars is most fortunate ; surrounded by a most estimable family, every member of which is thoroughly de- voted to him and striving to add something to his comfort and happiness,-a family that has deserved all the affections of his heart, stimulated his pride, increased his hope and contributed to his success in life and augmented his happiness.


Judge Zollars is a chapter, Knight Templar and Scottish-Rite Mason of the thirty-second degree .- [HON. JOHN MORRIS. ]


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BENJAMIN F. HEATON.


The Heaton family has been conspicuously identified with the civic and industrial development of Allen county, within whose con- fines representatives of the name took up their abode in the very early pioneer epoch, securing government land and reclaiming the same from the native forest, while in each generation have been found ster- ling citizens of marked public spirit and unqualified loyalty to the county. In the present connection we have to do with a worthy scion of this pioneer stock, and one who has attained to no slight prestige and precedence in the profession of law, in whose practice he is suc- cessfully engaged in the city of Fort Wayne, as a member of the firm of Heaton & Yaple. His able coadjutor is Carl Yaple, concerning whom individual mention is made on other pages of this work.


On the old homestead farm, in Marion township, this county, Benjamin F. Heaton was born, the date of his nativity standing re- corded as June 18, 1878, while the homestead, which is still in the possession of the family, is a portion of the landed property secured from the government by his ancestors, many decades ago. He is a son of Jesse and Samantha C. (Larkin) Heaton, the former of whom was born in the southern part of Indiana, in the year 1829, while the latter was born in New York state, in 1834. The father of our sub- ject was a child at the time of his parents' removal to Allen county, where he was reared to manhood, assisting in the developing of a farm in the midst of the forest wilds of Marion township, where he con- tinued to be actively identified with agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in 1888. He was a man of exalted integrity of character and one of high mentality, so that he naturally wielded beneficent influence in the community in which he so long made his home, while he gave an unqualified support to the Republican party from the time of its inception until he was summoned from the scene


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of life's endeavors, at the age of fifty-nine years. He was a sincere and earnest member of the Methodist church, as is also his widow, who now resides in the city of Fort Wayne. They became the parents of eleven children, of whom seven are living: Dessie is the wife of Dr. Calvin H. English, a representative physician of Fort Wayne; Hon. Owen N. is the present judge of the superior court in Allen county ; Mary is the wife of Homer B. Smitley, a successful contrac- tor in Fort Wayne; Luella and Ellis J. reside with their mother ; Jes- sie Pearl is the wife of George H. Allen, chief of the distributing department in the Fort Wayne postoffice; Benjamin F. is the immedi- ate subject of this review, and is the youngest of the children.


Benjamin F. Heaton secured his rudimentary education in the dis- trict schools and thereafter continued his studies in the city schools of Fort Wayne, after which he entered the Tri-State Normal Col- lege, at Angola, Indiana. After leaving school Mr. Heaton became associated with his brothers, Owen N. and Ellis J., in the breeding and handling of high-grade live stock, in which connection they util- ized the old homestead farm. They made a specialty of the raising of sheep and swine, having fine herds of registered stock and through the same doing much to improve the grade of stock in Allen county, while their surplus stock was disposed of at public sales at various points in northern Indiana and western Ohio. Our subject continued to be actively identified with this important branch of industrial ac- tivity for several years, and upon his retirement turned his attention to the retail drug business, becoming one of the proprietors of the Postoffice drug store, in Fort Wayne, and successfully conducting the same about two years, when he disposed of the business. In 1898 he took up the study of law, to the reading of which he continued to de- vote his attention while conducting his drug store, and he passed about two years as a student in the office of the well-known firm of Vesey & Heaton, of Fort Wayne, his eldest brother, Judge Owen N. Heaton, having been the junior member of the firm. Under this effective preceptorship Mr. Heaton continued his technical discipline until he became eligible for admission to the bar of his native state, his admission being granted in June, 1900. Therefore he remained in the office of his preceptors about one year and was made a member of the firm. This relationship continued until the autumn of 1902,


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when he entered into his present professional alliance with Mr. Yaple, and they are meeting with distinctive success in their practice, which is largely devoted to the commercial, corporation and real-estate de- partments of law. In politics Mr. Heaton holds to the faith of his father, and gives a stalwart allegiance to the Republican party, while he is identified with Fort Wayne Lodge, No. 25, Free and Accepted Masons; Fort Wayne Lodge, No. 155, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Fort Wayne Lodge, No. 116, Knights of Pythias ; the Fraternal Assurance Society and the Tippecanoe Club, while he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and his wife of the Pres- byterian church.


On the 18th of October, 1904, Mr. Heaton was united in mar- riage to Miss Helen M. Reitze, who was born and reared in Fort Wayne, being a daughter of William F. Reitze, who is paying teller in the Old National Bank of this city.


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FREDERICK J. HAYDEN.


Among the leading and representative men of Fort Wayne is the gentleman whose name appears above. Fred J. Hayden, who was born in Cobourg, Canada, is of English parentage. His father was Rev. William Hayden, who, with his noble wife, served well their day and generation, their memory being still revered by the children and children's children of the early settlers of Cobourg and the surrounding country. Mr. Hayden secured his early edu- cation at Cobourg, and in 1866 received the degree of Master of Arts from Victoria College. He then became secretary of the C., P. & M. Railway and Mining Company of Canada, but in 1875 he resigned this position and took up his residence in Fort Wayne, where he has since resided. In 1884 Mr. Hayden was elected a member of the lower house of the Indiana legislature, serving two sessions, and in 1888 he was elected joint senator from the counties of Allen and Whitley, serving two sessions in the upper house also. In 1892 he was appointed by Governor Hovey a member of the Indiana world's fair commission and at the organization of the board he was unanimously elected its treasurer, which office he filled until the close of the fair in 1893. How well he discharged the duties of this position will be found in the report of the auditing committee of the Indiana commission, consisting of the late Judge Garvin and Edward Hawkins, from which report we quote as follows: "We have examined with great care the final report of the treasurer, which is a well digested and complete summary of all previous re- ports. We have examined the vouchers and compared them with the statement of expenditures as set forth in the final report and find that the same correspond exactly, both in amount and dates, with the original allowance. * * In making this report, your com- mittee feels that it should call your attention to the manner in which




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