USA > Indiana > Allen County > History of the Maumee River basin, Allen County, Indiana > Part 23
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On the IIth of October, 1876, Mr. Bowser was united in mar- riage to Miss Sarah F. Russell, who was likewise born and reared in Allen county, being a daughter of William and Sarah Russell, of Fort Wayne.
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ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
GEORGE B. M. BOWER, M. D.
Prominent in the ranks of the able and successful members of the medical profession in Allen county is found Dr. Bower, who is established in a large and representative practice in the city of Fort Wayne, with office headquarters at 326 East Berry street.
The old Keystone state of the Union figures as the place of Dr. Bower's nativity, since he was born near the town of Jersey Shore, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, on the 24th of March, 1862, while he is a son of Jesse and Leah (Bixler) Bower, both of whom were likewise born in Pennsylvania, and both of whom are now deceased, the father having devoted the major portion of his active career to mercantile pursuits. Dr. Bower passed his youth in his native town, in whose public schools he secured his early educational training, having been graduated in the West Branch high school as a member of the class of 1878. He then entered Lafayette College, at Easton, Pennsylvania, where he completed the classical course, and in 1884 he was matriculated in the medical department of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1887, receiving his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. In the following year, after special post-graduate work, he passed a most creditable examination in the Medico-Chirurgical College, in the city of Philadelphia, being granted a certificate by this institution.
Dr. Bower initiated the active work of his profession by locating in the village of Elimsport, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, where he remained but a short time and then serving one year as resident physician in St. Joseph's Hospital, in Reading, Pennsylvania. In the meanwhile he took a special post-graduate course in gynecology in the medical department of the University of Maryland. In 1889 the Doctor located in Fort Wayne, where he has since been
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established in active practice as a physician and surgeon and where he has risen to prominence as an able representative of his exacting profession. He is held in high regard by his professional con- temporaries and is a member of the Allen County Medical Society, of which he was president in 1900, and he is also identified with the Fort Wayne Medical Society, the Indiana State Medi- cal Society and the American Medical Association. At the time of this writing the Doctor is a member of the board of censors of the Fort Wayne Medical Society, while he also holds the preferment of president of the United States board of pension- examining surgeons for Allen county, and is medical examiner for a number of the leading life-insurance companies doing business in Indiana, notably the following named: Union Central, of Cin- cinnati, Ohio; Metropolitan Life, of New York; Travelers', of Hartford, Connecticut; Michigan Mutual, of Detroit, Michigan; Illinois Life, of Chicago; Franklin Life, of Springfield, Illinois; Equitable Insurance Company, of Des Moines, Iowa; the New York Casualty and United States Casualty Companies, of New York, and the Great Eastern Casualty and Indemnity Company, of New York.
In politics Dr. Bower gives an unqualified allegiance to the Republican party, while both he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church. He is a Knight Templar and a Scottish Rite Mason and is also affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
On the 7th of November, 1889, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Bower to Miss Florence Kelly, of Reading, Pennsylvania, who died on the 19th of September. 1901, leaving one child, Clara. On the 26th of December, 1904, the Doctor wedded Miss Lillian L. Weld, of Guthrie Center, Iowa, and she presides most graciously over their pleasant home in Fort Wayne.
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ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
WILLIAM B. McMAKEN.
The lineage of this well known and substantial farmer of Wayne township, Allen county, traces back to Scottish derivation, and he bears a name which has been identified with American history since the seventeenth century, while he is also a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Allen county, where he has passed practically his entire life.
The founder of the family in Indiana was Joseph Hamilton Mc- Maken, grandfather of the subject. He was born in Monmouth, Kentucky, in 1787, and from his native state removed to Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio. He served with distinction as a soldier in the war of 1812, during the progress of which he was for a time stationed at Fort Wayne, which was then but a frontier post. In the spring of 1832 he removed from Ohio to Allen county, Indiana, and settled in Fort Wayne, where he was engaged in the hotel business for a number of years, while as a citizen he wielded much influence and was held in high regard in the community, having been a man of forceful individuality and leaving a distinct impress upon the public activities of the town and county. He was one of the first supervisors of Wayne township and one of the early judges of the local courts. This honored pioneer removed to Burlington, Iowa, in 1857, and the Hawkeye state thereafter continued to be his place of residence until he was called to his final reward. In politics he was originally an old-line Whig, but he espoused the cause of the Republican party at the time of its organization and thereafter was a firm advocate of its principles. The maiden name of his wife, who died in Fort Wayne, was Moore, and she was a representative of one of the twenty-two families which founded the city of Cin- cinnati, Ohio, whither the original ancestors removed from the state of Pennsylvania.
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Concerning Joseph Gettys McMaken, father of the subject, we record that he was born in Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio, and there passed his boyhood days, while he accompanied his parents on their removal to Fort Wayne, in 1832. Though his educational advantages were somewhat limited, in the academic sense, he was possessed of such alert mentality and such appreciative determination that he was enabled to overcome the handicap, becoming a man of advanced ideas and much business acumen. He was one of the first general contractors in Fort Wayne, while he did a large business in the way of contract teaming, especially in the handling of govern- ment supplies for the Indians. He became the owner of a large tract of farming land in the county and was a substantial and honored citizen. He joined the Republican party at the time of its or- ganization and ever afterward gave a zealous support to its prin- ciples, while he was called to serve in various local offices of public trust and responsibility. He continued to reside in Allen county until his death, which occurred on the 13th of December, 1864. His wife, whose maiden name was Dorothy Ruch, was born in Alsace, Germany, and was eleven years of age at the time of her parents' immigration to America. She survived her husband by many years, having passed away on the 8th of August, 1899, at a venerable age. Of the twelve children of this union two died in infancy, and of the others we enter brief record as follows : Henry C. is a prominent farmer of Wayne township and is individually mentioned on other pages of this work; William B. is the immediate subject of this sketch; Joseph H. resides on the old homestead farm, in Washing- ton township; Sarah J. is the wife of Sylvester Coleman, of Wayne township; Anna M. is a valued teacher in the Fort Wayne public schools; Adelia A. is deceased; Lewis C. died in childhood; John C. F. is a farmer of Washington township; and Franklin A. is a resident of Fort Wayne.
William B. McMaken, to whom this review is dedicated, was born in Adams township, Allen county, Indiana, on the 22d of May, 1846, the place of his birth having been the homestead farm, four miles east of Fort Wayne. He was afforded a good common- school education and remained on the home farm until there came to him the call of higher duty, when the integrity of the Union was
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imperiled through armed rebellion. On the Ist of January, 1864, he enlisted as a private in Company B, One Hundred and Twenty- ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel Zollinger, while General Hovey was the brigade commander during the entire time the regiment was at the front. Among the principal engage- ments in which Mr. McMaken took part may be mentioned the following; Resaca; Kenesaw Mountain; the work in the right of the city of Atlanta during the siege; Lovejoy Station; Columbia, Franklin and Nashville, Tennessee; and Kingston, North Carolina. In the battle of Kenesaw Mountain Mr. McMaken received a severe flesh wound from a rifle ball, but he bravely bound up the wound and continued on his way, not leaving the ranks and continuing at the post of duty without interruption. The wound was sufficiently deep to leave a scar for all time. After the battle of Nashville the command marched to the Tennessee river and thence proceeded up the Ohio river to Cincinnati, from which point the regiment was sent to the city of Washington and on to Beaufort, North Carolina, while it reached Fort Anderson, that state, two hours after the engagement. The command joined Sherman's forces at Raleigh and the lines were drawn up in expectation of a battle, but the engagement did not come, as Johnston surrendered. The brigade then marched to Charlotte, North Carolina, to hold the territory, and there remained until August 29, 1865, when its members were mustered out, and our subject returned home by way of Petersburg, City Point and Baltimore, reaching Fort Wayne on the 15th of September and hav- ing been at the post of duty and in active service for a period of twenty-two months, save for a furlough of thirty days, which he passed at home. He received his honorable discharge as corporal of his company, having been chosen to this office after the battle of Resaca and having served in the same until the close of the war. On one occasion he was assigned to detail duty in guard- ing division rations, and the little detail was surrounded by Con- federate guerillas, who were finally repulsed, though word had gone to regimental headquarters that all men in the detail had been killed. One of the members was captured by the enemy and was hanged. A great loss and bereavement was suffered by our sub- ject during his absence at the front, as his honored father passed
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away, though William was favored in having been able to visit his home on short furlough only a short time previously.
After the close of the war Mr. McMaken turned his attention to work at the carpenter's trade and thereafter was employed by the Wabash Railroad Company about four years-up to the time of his marriage, which was celebrated in 1874. Since that time he has given his attention almost entirely to agricultural pursuits, hav- ing taken up his residence on his present farm about the year 1878, the same being a portion of the old homestead of his father-in-law, while for eight years he had operative control of the entire home- stead. His present farm embraces one hundred acres of fine land and is recognized as one of the best farms in the county, being situ- ated in section 29, Wayne township, four and three-fourth miles southwest of the city of Fort Wayne, on No. 8 rural mail route. In 1890 Mr. McMaken erected his present commodious and attractive modern residence, while all other buildings on the place are of the best order. He gives his attention to diversified farming and makes a specialty of market gardening, placing his horticul- tural products with the wholesale groceries and doing a large busi- ness in this line. Mr. McMaken is a man of progressive ideas and brings to bear in the management of his farm the most approved and scientific methods and accessories, so that he secures the maxi- mum returns from the labors and funds expended. His horticul- tural products are of specially high standard and find a ready market at top prices. About eighteen acres of land which had been pro- nounced worthless he has reclaimed by effective drainage, utilizing the same for the raising of corn, potatoes, etc., and finding it one of the most productive sections of his farm. The expense incurred in the installation of the drainage system has been paid several times over from the products of the land thus reclaimed.
Mr. McMaken has never found it expedient to take an active part in political matters and has never been an aspirant for public office, though he is a stalwart supporter of the principles of the Re- publican party. He is affiliated with General Lawton Post, No. 590, Grand Army of the Republic, in Fort Wayne, and for nearly forty years he has been identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, holding membership in Harmony Lodge, No. 19,
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while both he and his wife are members of the allied organization, the Daughters of Rebekah. Mrs. McMaken is a prominent and valued member of Sion Bass Woman's Relief Corps, No. 7, of which she is past president. Their church relations are with the Methodist Episcopal church.
On the 12th of February, 1874, Mr. McMaken was united in marriage to Miss Deborah Robertson, daughter of John and Susan (Banks) Robertson, the former of whom was born in Botetourt county, Virginia, and the latter in Montgomery county, same state, while their marriage was solemnized in Darke county, Ohio, to which state their respective parents had removed when Mr. and Mrs. Robertson were children. Thomas Robertson, the paternal grand- father of Mrs. McMaken, was one of the honored pioneers of Darke county, Ohio. In 1850 John Robertson came with his family to Allen county and settled on Indian reserve land, in Lafayette town- ship, the tract being entirely unreclaimed from the forest. In the primitive cabin home on this place were born three of his children. After remaining there for somewhat more than two years he re- moved to Wayne township and passed four years on the farm now occupied by the home for feeble-minded. He then purchased two hundred and forty acres of canal land and instituted its develop- ment and improvement, and of this tract the fine farm now owned by his son-in-law, the subject of this sketch, is an integral part. The hewed-log house which he erected on the place is still standing and is incorporated in the modern residence of his daughter, Mrs. Ruth Cunnison. Mr. Robertson accumulated other farm land in the county, and his home at the time of his death was the old McNear homestead, on the Huntington road, Wayne township, where he died on the 20th of August, 1886, at the age of sixty-seven years, three months and eighteen days. His wife died on Christmas day, 1901, at the age of seventy-eight years, eleven months and twenty- one days. The latter was a devoted member of the Wayne street Methodist Episcopal church, in Fort Wayne. Mr. Robertson was a man of prominence and influence in his community, was a stanch Republican in politics but never sought official preferment. Of the twelve children of Mr. and Mrs. Robertson four are living, namely : Martha, who is the widow of Dr. Samuel Humphreys and who re-
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sides in Riverside, California; Deborah, who is the wife of the subject of this review; Lydia R., who is the wife of Charles Bennett, of Chapman, Kansas; and Ruth A., who is the wife of George Cunnison, of Santa Cruz, California. Mr. and Mrs. McMaken have two children, William G., who is cashier in the offices of the International Harvester Company at Buffalo, New York; and Clinton R., who is associated with his father in the work and man- agement of the home farm. Both sons received good educational advantages, Clinton having completed a course in business college but finding ample scope for his efforts in connection with the great basic industries with which he continued to be identified.
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ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
RUFUS MORGAN FRENCH.
Rufus Morgan French was born on the Ist day of April, 1822, in the town of Norwich, Connecticut, and was the son of Captain Charles and Betsey (Giddings) French, both natives of that place and of American ancestry for many generations. Mr. French's elementary education was received in the public schools of his native town and at Brockport, New York, whither the family had removed. Coming to Fort Wayne, he and his brother, Charles G. French, formed a partnership as carpenter-contractors, being also, as was the custom of the time, the architects of most of the buildings they erected. In 1849 Mr. French went by sailing vessel around Cape Horn to California, where he remained a year or two, and upon his return was for some time employed as a salesman in the Oakley hardware store. Entering then upon the manufacture of woolen goods in a modest way, he met with gratifying success and the greater part of his subsequent life was devoted to this line of industry. He built up a large and flourishing business through absolute honesty and the sincerity that he carried into every part of his daily life. Whatever he did was well done, whatever he said was truly said, and he was held in the highest esteem by friends and acquaintances. Yet only his immediate family and closest friends really knew him, for he was one of the most thoughtful and considerate of men, modest, reserved and unassuming. More than one struggling youth was helped and cheered by the kindness and wise counsel of Rufus Morgan French. When the late Gen. Henry W. Lawton enlisted in the volunteer service at the beginning of the Civil war, Mr. French was instrumental in securing his warrant as sergeant, and in help- ing to fit out the young soldier.
At seven o'clock A. M., on March 7, 1854, at Fort Wayne, Mr. French was united in marriage to Miss Maria Catherine Rudisill,
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who was born at Fort Wayne on February 12, 1833, the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Johns) Rudisill. In her were united the refinement, courtesy and good sense which seems the birthright of the well known Rudisill family. Their union was a most congenial one and was blessed in the birth of four children, Julia, Francis Henry, Susan and Martha W. In politics Mr. French was an earnest Republican, though never a seeker after public honors. His religious belief was that of the Presbyterian church, of which he was for many years a faithful and consistent member. The subject and his wife are both now deceased, Mr. French dying in Fort Wayne in June, 1891, and Mrs. French at Sewickley, Pennsylvania, in Febru- ary, 1897. Their remains were laid to rest in beautiful Lindenwood cemetery. Of an equable temperament and seeing the best side of every individual, Mr. French had a kind word for every one and few men ever numbered among their acquaintances more earnest and loyal friends than did he. A man of distinctive personality, he left his impress in a quiet but certain way upon all who knew him and his influence still remains as a blessed benediction.
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ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
WILLIAM PINKNEY COOPER.
Mr. W. P. Cooper was born in Fort Wayne on the 27th day of August, 1852, and has spent almost his entire life here. His parents were Henry and Eleanor (Brown) Cooper. The former was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, in 1795, and was descended from English ancestors, Protestant followers of Lord Baltimore, some of whom served in the French and Revolutionary wars of this country. Henry Cooper came to Fort Wayne in 1825, being thus one of the pioneers of this section, and here he entered upon the practice of law, in which he gained marked eminence, being dis- tinguished for his profound learning, brilliant repartee and dignity of character. Eleanor Brown Cooper was born in 1813 in county Tyrone, Ireland, and was descended from Scotch and English ances- tors, prominent among whom was Sir Hans Sloan, the eminent physician and distinguished founder of the British Museum. Eleanor Brown came to America in her youth and was subsequently thrice married, she being at the time of her marriage to Henry Cooper, the widow of James P. Munson, the father of the late Charles A. Munson. She was a woman of fine intellect, well read and a loving and devoted mother.
Mr. Cooper secured his elementary education in the public schools of Fort Wayne, graduating from the high school in 1868. He for a short time served as city editor of the Fort Wayne Gazette and then entered Dartmouth College, where he was graduated in 1873. His taste for literature and his fine critical acumen were recognized at college and, with other honors, he was made class poet. After his graduation he studied law in the Columbia Law School, New York city, and also in the office of Cook & Nassau, of that city, and with Hon. Robert Lowry, of Fort Wayne. However, the field of journalism held for him more attractions, and he re-
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linquished his legal studies and began his professional life as city editor of the Fort Wayne News, being also at different times city editor of the Sentinel, the Gazette and the Journal, besides serving efficiently as Fort Wayne correspondent for the metropolitan papers. With a literary style of marked simplicity and directness, his was the rare charm of a "wit that without wounding could hit." But while his humor would lend grace alike to the most prosaic "locals" or to an important article, his perfect taste was his marked character- istic. It was a serious loss to Fort Wayne when, in 1888, the late Joseph McCullagh, managing editor of the St. Louis Globe- Democrat, induced Mr. Cooper to go to that city on special work covering assignments of importance in and out of St. Louis. How- ever he returned to Fort Wayne to become managing editor of the Journal, for a few years, when he quit journalism and entered into the insurance business. In this were also exhibited those sterling qualities which insured his former success and in 1895 he was ap- pointed general agent of the New York Life Insurance Company, which responsible position he still holds.
August 30, 1887, Mr. Cooper was united in marriage with Miss Nellie Brown, the talented artist of Lafayette, Indiana, and to them has been born one son, Brown. This union has been most felicitous and their home and home life ideal. Socially Mr. Cooper belongs to the Greek letter society, Kappa Kappa Kappa, of Dartmouth College, is a member of the Anthony Wayne Club, and is a member and vice-president of the Northern Indiana Life Underwriters' As- sociation. Politically Mr. Cooper is a Democrat, but declined to support the free-silver doctrines of Mr. Bryan and twice voted for Mckinley. In June, 1896, he was elected a member of the board of school trustees, serving three years, the last two years as president of the board. In 1901 Governor Winfield T. Durbin appointed Mr. Cooper a member of the state board of charities and at the end of his first term he was reappointed, being at the present time a member of that board. He represents the best type of citizen and dignified self-respecting manhood.
319
ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
ADAM M. BOWERS.
The first half of the nineteenth century was characterized by the immigration of that pioneer element which made the great state of Indiana what it is. These immigrants were sturdy, heroic, upright, sincere folk, such as constitute the intrinsic strength of a common- wealth. It scarcely seems possible that in the future history of the world another such period can occur, or, indeed any period in which ยท such a solid phalanx of strong-minded men and self-sacrificing women will take possession of a new country. Too careful or too frequent reference can not be made in the pages of history concern- ing those who have thus figured as founders and builders of a com- monwealth, and in connection with this brief review of the personal career of Mr. Bowers it is our privilege to touch incidentally and specifically upon interesting data in regard to the sterling pioneer family of which he is a member and one whose name has been linked with the annals of Allen county for more than half a century. The subject is known as one of the influential and worthy citizens and successful agriculturists of Madison township, where he has resided from his youthful days, and it has been his portion to assist in the reclamation of much wild land in Allen county and to aid in starting forward the wheels of industrial and civic progress, while through his well directed efforts he has gained a success worthy the name.
Among the many brave and loyal men whom Indiana contributed to the Union ranks during the climateric epoch of the Civil war there were few whose service was more prolonged or more notable for fidelity and patriotism than that of him whose name initiates this sketch, and thus another element of interest is added to the con- sideration of his life history in this compilation.
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