USA > Indiana > Allen County > History of the Maumee River basin, Allen County, Indiana > Part 17
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
"We recommend the adoption of the following resolutions :
"Resolved, that in the death of our late president, Madison Sweetser, the Square Table Club has lost a most kind and genial presiding officer, and each member a warm and true friend whose place can not be filled.
"Resolved, that words can but feebly express that deep sorrow which has filled our hearts, for his kindness to all, and his frank, magnanimous disposition we can never forget.
"Resolved, that we tender our profound sympathies to the family of the deceased, for while we have lost a noble and sincere friend, they have lost an affectionate husband and loving father, whose de- votion to his family was one of the most beautiful traits of his char- acter.
"Resolved, that we will ever cherish his memory, and often dwell upon the numerous pleasant qualities of mind and heart which he possessed, and that as a last tribute of respect we will attend his funeral."
The death of Mrs. Caroline Sweetser occurred on November 17, 1877, and on November 21st her remains were laid beside those of her lamented husband, in the family burial lot in beautiful Linden- wood cemetery. She was a woman of most estimable qualities, who through all the years of her residence here had maintained a warm place in the hearts and affections of all who knew her and the sin- cere respect and esteem of the entire community. All along the pathway of her life she had scattered the smiles and sunshine that go so far to brighten the lives of others and in her death all felt they had suffered a personal loss. To Mr. and Mrs. Sweetser four daughters were born, of whom two are living, Mrs. Mary C. Ew- ing, widow of the late George W. Ewing, of Fort Wayne, and Fannie C., who resides in Fort Wayne.
228
THE MAUMEE RIVER BASIN.
CHARLES M. THOMAS.
There is much of interest attaching to the career of this well known and honored citizen of Wayne township, where he is a suc- cessful and progressive farmer. A native of the world's greatest metropolis, Mr. Thomas came to America as a youth of seventeen years, dependent entirely upon his own resources, and not only has he attained to a position of independence and definite prosperity and become a valued citizen of his adopted state, but he has also proved his loyalty to the republic by serving in its defense when the integ- rity of the Union was menaced by armed rebellion. His life record is a straightforward and worthy one, and well merits a place in this compilation.
Charles M. Thomas was born in the city of London, England, on the 12th of February, 1840, and is a son of James and Sophia M. (Morris) Thomas, the former a native of Wales and the latter of England. The father of the subject came of sturdy Welsh stock, and while he was a mere infant his parents removed from their native land to London, where he was reared to manhood, and where his marriage was solemnized. He was a tailor by trade and voca- tion and controlled a prosperous business, traveling about in London and its environs and securing orders from many members of the aristocracy. He passed practically his entire life in London, where he died in 1856, in the prime of life. He was a man of ster- ling character, and both he and his wife were communicants of the Church of England. Of the two children born to them the subject of this review is the younger, while his sister, Louisa, died January 29, 1905, at Hobert, Tasmania. After the death of her first hus- band, Mrs. Thomas became the wife of William J. Gallaways, of Glasgow, Scotland, and of this union were born two children: Agnes Sophia and Sophia Marian, both of whom reside in Scotland,
229
ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
where their parents died, the mother having been summoned into eternal rest in the year 1876.
The subject of this review received limited educational advan- tages in his youth, his parents having paid the expenses of his tuition in a private school in London during the few years in which he pros- ecuted his studies. It was his to early assume the practical respon- sibilities of life, and while developing marked independence and self-reliance he did not fail to also gain the valuable lessons which are to be gained only under the direction of that wisest of headmas- ters, experience. He continued to reside at home until he had attained the age of seventeen years, when, in 1857, he valiantly set forth in search of fortune's favors, coming to America, unaccom- panied by any relative or friend, and making the voyage on a sail- ing vessel, the "Devonshire," which dropped anchor in the port of New York city after having been on the waters of the Atlantic for a period of forty-three days, while our subject recalls that en route the boat encountered a number of whales and porpoises, as well as several icebergs. After remaining for a short time in the national metropolis Mr. Thomas proceeded to the city of Detroit, Michigan, remaining in that city and vicinity for a period of two years, during which he was employed at farm work, manufacturing brooms and also upholstering. In 1860 he came to Dekalb county, Indiana, and in October of the following year, in response to President Lin- coln's first call for volunteers to aid in suppressing the rebellion, Mr. Thomas enlisted as a private in Company K, Forty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel Hugh B. Reid. Enlisting at Auburn, Indiana, the subject proceeded with his command to the front, and with the same took part in the memorable battle of Shi- loh, on April 6 and 7, 1862. In the second day's battle Mr. Thomas received a gunshot wound in the breast, the ball penetrating near the center of the body, and having never been extracted. Mr. Thomas was left on the battlefield for two days, the supposition being that he was numbered among the dead, while five days elapsed ere he received the much needed treatment for his severe injury. He was thrown into an ambulance after being wounded, and was taken to the "dead row," where he was left among the corpses of unfortunate companions, being unconscious at the time and considered eligible
ยข
230
THE MAUMEE RIVER BASIN.
only for the companionship of those who lay dead about him. In the night rain began to fall, and through its gentle ministration Mr. Thomas was revived, and the guard on duty at the time chanced to notice his eyes as he lay in his gruesome surroundings, and thus discovered that he was alive. He was taken up and placed in a tent, where he remained practically unattended for the ensuing five days, at the expiration of which he was taken by boat up the Mississippi river to Cairo, Illinois, where he finally received the long needed med- ical attention. He remained in the City Hospital for two months, and was then granted a furlough, which he decided to spend in the city of Fort Wayne, whither he came broken and enfeebled from his injuries and the hardships he had endured. He was the first soldier to return to the city from the front, and upon him were lav- ished the most kindly and considerate attentions and ministrations by the Ladies' Aid Society of Fort Wayne, who cared for him until he had regained his health in a large measure. He received his hon- orable discharge in August, 1862, his injuries having been such as to incapacitate him for further service in the field.
After recuperating his energies Mr. Thomas engaged in the up- holstery business on Columbia street, Fort Wayne, continued in this line of enterprise for four years, within which his place was twice burned out, entailing considerable financial loss. At the expiration of the period noted, in 1866, he purchased ten acres of timbered land, where he now resides, while from this nucleus he has evolved his present valuable and well improved farm of seventy-two acres. In all his work and aspirations he has had the loving and helpful co-op- eration of his devoted wife. and though they have encountered many vicissitudes, and had their full quota of discouragements, they have not been denied a goodly reward in temporal affairs, and have been blessed with prosperity, peace and happiness. They have one of the finest rural homes in this locality, the attractive modern residence having been erected in 1887, and being finished in hard wood throughout, Mr. Thomas himself having personally done this finish- ing work, which testifies to his taste and mechanical ability. The family is prominent in the social life of the community, and the circle of friends is coincident with that of acquaintances, while Mr. Thomas is recognized as a loyal and public spirited citizen, well
231
ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
worthy of the high esteem in which he is held in the community. In politics Mr. Thomas accords a stalwart support to the Republican party, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Metho- dist Episcopal church. In a fraternal way he is identified with Sion Bass Post, No. 40, Grand Army of the Republic, in Fort Wayne, thus manifesting his abiding interest in his old comrades in arms.
On the 27th of November, 1864, in Vermilion, Ohio, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Thomas to Miss Caroline L. Hyde, of that place, where she was born and reared, being a daughter of Garry and Caroline (Wooster) Hyde, both of whom were born in Oxford, New Haven county, Connecticut, being descended from stanch Puritan ancestry. Mr. Hyde was engaged in the mercantile business in Connecticut until 1833, when he came to the west, being numbered among the pioneers of Erie county, Ohio. He had the dis- tinction of setting out the first vineyard in northern Ohio, now one of the greatest grape-producing sections of the country, and the celebrated Kelly island grapes represent the direct outcome of the efforts of this honorable pioneer, who settled in the wilderness of Erie county, and there literally hewed out a home, becoming one of the prominent and influential citizens of that section. In 1876 Mr. Hyde went to Alabama, where he purchased more than one thou- sand acres of land, and there he died in 1879. His widow passed the remainder of her life with her children, having been for some time in Arizona and later in Waco, Texas, where she died on the 14th of August, 1902, at an advanced age. Of the eight children of this union we enter the following brief record: Henry W., who was a successful teacher for a number of years, and who later became prominently identified with the milling industry, died in Chester, Nassau county, Florida, in 1893; Daniel, who was a teacher and a cultivated musician, finally became a salesman in one of the leading mercantile houses in Chicago, Illinois, where he died in 1892. Henrietta first married Cornelius Harding, and after his death became the wife of William McFall, ex-treasurer of Erie county, Ohio, and they still reside in the beautiful city of Cleveland, that state; Caroline L. is the wife of the subject of this sketch; Isabella E. is the wife of Peter Laidlaw, a prominent architect of Houston, Texas; Mary Imogene first married Hazard Rogers, and after his
232
THE MAUMEE RIVER BASIN.
demise became the wife of Silas St. John, and they reside in Phoenix, Arizona. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have three children, Charles Nel- lis, who remains at home, and assists in the management of the farm; Viola Belle is the wife of Ovis V. Murray, of Wayne township, and they have three children, Winnie Aurelia, Viola Henrietta and Lavilla Belle, and Arthur I. remains on the home farm, where he conducts a prosperous dairy business, selling his products in the city of Fort Wayne, from which the homestead is three miles distant, being located in section 5, Wayne township.
233
ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
KENT K. WHEELOCK, M. D.
Professional success results from merit. Frequently in commer- cial life one may come into possession of a lucrative business through inheritance or gift, but in what are known as the learned profes- sions advancement is gained only through painstaking and long- continued effort. Good intellectual training, thorough professional knowledge and the possession and utilization of the qualities and attributes essential to success have made the subject of this review eminent in his chosen calling, and he now stands today among the scholarly and enterprising physicians in a city noted for the high order of its medical talent.
Kent K. Wheelock is a native son of the Hoosier state, having been born at Huntertown, Allen county, on the 10th of June, 1857, and is the son of Eldridge Gerry and Hannah (Moody) Wheelock. He received his preliminary education in the public schools, and then, determining to make the practice of medicine his life work, he matriculated in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York city, in 1880. In 1883 he entered the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, gaining through these several courses a thorough and practical knowledge of diseases and their treatment. He began the practice in Huntertown, Allen county, Indiana, but in October, 1884, he came to Fort Wayne, and has since continued in the active practice here with a gratifying degree of success. He keeps thoroughly in touch with the latest advances in the science of medicine, and in 1904 he went to Europe and took a course of study in the eye, ear, nose and throat departments of the General Hospital of Vienna. He keeps in touch with his brethren of the profession through his mem- bership in the American Medical Association, the Ophthalmological and Otological Society of Chicago, Academy American Ophthal- moli-Laryngological Society, Northern Tri-State Medical Society,
234
. THE MAUMEE RIVER BASIN.
Indiana State Medical Society, of which he has served as secretary, the Allen County Medical Society, of which he has served as president. From 1884 to 1900 Dr. Wheelock held the professorship of ophthal- mology and otology in the Fort Wayne College of Medicine, and since the latter date he has been clinical professor of opthalmology and otology in the same institution. He was the first coroner of Allen county, having been appointed to this position in 1881, and being elected the following year, holding the office four years.
Dr. Wheelock was united in marriage with Miss Matilda Hen- derson, a native of Cedarville, Indiana, and the daughter of G. W. and Magdalena (Tarney) Henderson. Her parents removed to Cedar Creek township, this county, from Dekalb county, this state, in 1852, having come originally from Stark county, Ohio. Mrs. Wheelock is a highly cultured lady, being a graduate of the Fort Wayne high school, and by her many admirable personal qualities has won and retains many warm friends. To Dr. and Mrs. Wheelock have been born the following children: George H., born November 10, 1881 ; Gera Catherine, born April 10, 1884, mar- ried Thomas G. Dilworth, of Waco, Texas; Ruth, born June 29, 1891. Long since Dr. Wheelock left the ranks of the many to stand among the successful few, his ability and devotion to his pro- fession gaining him this relative precedence. He has studied and read broadly, carrying his investigation into every field of thought bearing upon his profession and having readily adopted those meth- ods and improvements which wide experience and sound judgment indicated to him a definite valuation in connection with his work, his ability being attested by the representative support he receives in the community where he has so long lived and labored, and where his popularity is of the most unequivocal order.
235
ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
CECILIUS R. HIGGINS.
Probably no man who ever lived in the city of Fort Wayne had a warmer place in the hearts and affections of the citizens, or whose memory is held in deeper regard than the late Cecilius R. Higgins, who was summoned into eternal rest on the 17th of July, 1904. The spirit of a noble and earnest life breathed in his mortal tenement, and his gracious influence was felt in both social and business circles, for he was one of those symmetrical characters who stand "four square to every wind that blows." In noting the position this hon- ored citizen held in the community we can not do better than to republish an appreciative estimate which appeared in the Fort Wayne News at the time of his death, excerpts from the article being as follows :
"There were few better known men in the city than Mr. Hig- gins-'Ceil' Higgins, as he was generally called by his friends --- and everybody who knew him was his friend. He had the elements of sociability that attracted. He was warm-hearted, generous, noble and true. He spread sunshine in every circle in which he mingled. He was companionable. With these elements, which tended to make him popular with all, he combined a business energy and integrity that made him a splendid type of manhood. Everybody loved 'Ceil' Higgins. When death comes to such men there is univer- sal sorrow. Such was the case when the death of Mr. Higgins be- came generally known. He had been a sufferer from Bright's dis- ease for several years, and about two years ago had an attack of apoplexy from which he did not entirely recover. He was in an enfeebled condition, and gradually sank to the portals of the grave, his death being immediately superinduced by uraemic poison, while he was, as a last resort, taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he breathed his last.
236
THE MAUMEE RIVER BASIN.
"Mr. Higgins was born in Kalida, Putnam county, Ohio, on January 21, 1847, but early in life removed with his parents to Del- phos, Allen county, that state, where he received his educational discipline in the public schools and where he initiated his career in connection with railroading, by securing a position as messenger boy, while eventually he became a telegraph operator. In 1867 he was appointed ticket and freight agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Delphos and Ada, Ohio, and on January Ist of the following year he came to Fort Wayne as chief train dis- patcher, and in 1879 he was appointed chief clerk to Superintendent C. D. Law. This position he retained until June 18, 1889, when he was appointed postmaster of Fort Wayne, by President Harrison. He served as such for eight years, and on his retirement became proprietor of the Fort Wayne Artificial Ice Company's plant and business, the title of the concern being later changed to the Higgins Artificial Ice Company. With this important enterprise he continued to be identified until his death."
The foregoing quotations give, indeed, but the merest outline of a career of signal activity and usefulness, but "between the lines" may be read the lesson and incentive which this noble life had to give. Fairness, loyalty, self-reliance and helpfulness-they are strong words, but they denoted most truly this man, this honored citizen and good friend, while it is not for this writer to attempt to lift the curtain which veils the sacred precincts of the home life, where his character stood forth in most gracious relief, and where mutual love and sympathy found apotheosis. The life of our subject had naught of pretentiousness, but it was one which counted for good in its every relation,-and such lives and such characters need no eulogistic words, for they are their own surety and memorial.
In his political allegiance Mr. Higgins was a stalwart Re- publican, and he was ever a zealous and loyal worker in the party ranks, taking a lively and appreciative interest in the questions and issues of the hour. In 1886 he received the party nomination for the office of auditor of Allen county, making a most vigorous cam- paign and running twenty-seven hundred votes ahead of his ticket,- a fact which indicates the hold he had upon popular confidence and regard. Mr. Higgins was a most studious and loyal member of the
237
ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
time-honored fraternity of Freemasonry, in which he attained to the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, while in each of the bodies of the order he was found appreciative and enthusiastic. His Masonic affiliations were as follows: Sol. D. Bayless Lodge, No. 359, Free and Accepted Masons; Fort Wayne Commandery, Knights Templar; Fort Wayne Lodge of Perfection, Ancient Ac- cepted Scottish Rite; and Indiana Consistory, Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret, representing his ultimate affiliation as a thirty- second-degree Mason. He was for four years secretary of the Fort Wayne Lodge of Perfection, and was at one time recorder of his commandery. His funeral was held under the auspices of the various Masonic bodies. That such a man should be one to place a proper estimate on the deeper spiritual verities and to make them count in his daily life was a foregone conclusion, and Mr. Higgins exemplified his religious faith in his membership in the First Presby- terian church, of which Mrs. Higgins likewise is a devoted member.
On the 6th of May, 1874, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Higgins to Miss Ella S. Hale, of West Virginia, and she survives her husband, as do also two of their children, Mrs. A. B. White, of Fort Wayne, and Miss Adah, who remains with her mother in the attractive home.
238
THE MAUMEE RIVER BASIN.
HON. ROBERT LOWRY.
Judge Lowry left a definite and worthy impress upon the legal, judicial, political and civic life of Allen county and the city of Fort Wayne, while his services were such as to cause his influence to far transcend these purely local limitations.
Judge Lowry was born in county Down, Ireland, and was a scion of stanch Scotch-Irish stock. His boyhood days were passed in Rochester, New York, where he secured his elementary education in private schools, while he took also a practical academic course, but his education was mainly self-acquired. As a youth he became librarian of the Rochester Athenaeum and Young Men's Association, in which capacity he found many advantages for study, while he event- ually began the reading of law in that city. In 1843, while still in his minority, he came to Fort Wayne, and was soon afterward elected city recorder, declining a re-election at the expiration of his first term. He was soon afterward admitted to the bar of the state, and initiated the active practice of his profession by locating in Goshen, in 1846. Within the ensuing six years he had advanced to a foremost position among the lawyers of northern Indiana, and at the expiration of that time, in 1852, the governor of Indiana ap- pointed him circuit judge, to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term. In 1856, having previously resumed the active duties of his pro- fession, he was unexpectedly nominated for congress on the Demo- cratic ticket, in a district where the opposition was distinctly in the ascendancy. So great was his personal strength and popularity that his defeat was compassed by only a very small majority. In 1860 Judge Lowry was president of the Democratic state convention of Indiana, and was one of the four delegates at large to the national convention of the party. In 1861-2, while still retaining residence and practice in Indiana, he had a law office in the city of Chicago. In 1864 he was nominated and elected to the bench of the circuit court composed of the counties of Elkhart, Lagrange, Steu-
239
ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
ben, Dekalb, Noble, Kosciusko, Whitley, Allen, Adams and Wells. In 1866, and again in 1868 he was nominated for congress in dis- tricts heavily Republican, so that his defeat was compassed by gen- eral political exigencies, but by greatly reduced majorities. In 1867 Judge Lowry resumed his residence in Fort Wayne, and the circuit in which he had been residing being shortly thereafter divided by legislative enactment, he was, in 1870, on the expiration of his for- mer term, re-elected circuit judge, without opposition, in the circuit composed of the counties in the southern half of his former circuit. In 1872 he was one of the four delegates at large from Indiana to the Democratic national convention, held in Baltimore, and was active and influential in the councils of that body. In January, 1875, Judge Lowry resigned his position on the circuit bench, and organ- ized the law firm of Lowry, Robertson & O'Rourke, but he was not long permitted to remain in private life. In 1877, on the unanimous recommendation of the bar, he was appointed by the governor as judge of the recently established superior court of Allen county, and he was afterward elected to the office for a full term, without oppo- sition. In July, 1879, upon the organization of the Indiana State Bar Association, Judge Lowry was elected its first president. In 1882 he was elected to congress, from the twelfth district, and was chosen as his own successor in 1884, as a Democrat. While zealously inter- esting himself in the proceedings of the house at all times, he was ever watchful of the best interests of his immediate constituents, and it was almost entirely due to his earnest efforts that the increased appropriations were secured which rendered possible the erection of the present fine federal court house and postoffice building in Fort Wayne, the same being one of the finest to be found in any city of comparative population in the entire Union.
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.