USA > Indiana > Allen County > History of the Maumee River basin, Allen County, Indiana > Part 35
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On the 30th of May, 1848, Robert D. Baird was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary Hatfield, daughter of Joseph and Phoebe (Peppard) Hatfield, of Wells county, this state, whither they re- moved from Wayne county when she was fourteen years of age, the latter county having been her birthplace. The removal to Wells county occurred in 1839, and there she continued to reside until her marriage to Robert D. Baird, who had remained at home until this time, being thirty-one years of age at the time of his marriage.
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He erected a log house on the site of his father's first residence, and about 1859 he came to the old home place, where he passed the re- mainder of his life and where his children still reside. He came into possession of the home place through gift from his father, and he supported and cared for his parents during their declining years. He devoted his entire attention to the improvement and cultivation of this fine farm and was one of the highly esteemed and substantial citizens of his township, of which he served as trustee in the early days. He was originally a Democrat in politics, but gave his support to Gen. William H. Harrison for the Presidency and later became a Whig, but his strong abolition principles did not coincide with the policy of the party and he refused to vote for President until 1856 on this account. At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion he offered to enlist, but was rejected by reason of his teeth being unsound. He was one of the most enthusiastic members of the Republican party from the time of its organization until his death, taking a deep and intelligent interest in public affairs and always being ready to defend his position and opinions and discuss affairs of public polity. He was summoned to his reward on the 31st of March, 1899, in the eighty-first year of his age. The family has long been identified with the Presbyterian church, and he and his wife were numbered among the founders of the Cedar Creek Pres- byterian church, in Huntington county, and his father was an elder in said church for many years, while in its cemetery his remains lie at rest, as do also those of his wife and his parents. His wife died on the 2d of April, 1883, her life having been one of signal devotion to home and family, while her memory remains as a bene- diction upon her children and all others who come within the sphere of her gentle and kindly influence. She and her husband were in close touch with church doctrines and their lives were constant ex- emplification of the faith which they professed. The nearest Presby- terian church was six miles distant, and in view of this fact services were frequently held in their home by the Presbyterian families of the neighborhood, while on such occasions Revs. Wolf, Forbes, Martin, Maxwell and others officiated. Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Baird became the parents of three sons and one daughter, all of whom reside in the old homestead except one daughter, who died
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in early childhood. « The three sons and one daughter have passed their entire lives on the old farm, to which they have added by the purchase of an adjoining tract of forty acres, so that the area of the estate is now two hundred acres. The farm is devoted to di- versified agriculture and to the raising of high-grade live stock, especially the thoroughbred Shorthorn cattle, of which they keep a herd of from twenty to forty head, of the Cruikshank line, having many fine specimens and making exhibits at the state and county fairs. On their farm they also hold annual sales of stock, the sales being largely to local buyers, and the brothers have done much to improve the grade of cattle raised in the county and vicinity.
David W. Baird secured good educational advantages in his youth, having completed the curriculum of the high school, after which he attended the old Methodist Episcopal College in Fort Wayne, and Hillsdale College, Michigan. He thereafter made teaching his profession for a number of years, after which he took up the study of law with the well-known firm of Robertson & O'Rourke, of Fort Wayne. He then completed the course of the law department of the Indiana State University, at Bloomington, and he was duly admitted to the bar and began the practice of his profession in Fort Wayne. In 1884 he went to Oskaloosa, Kansas, where he remained three years, at the expiration of which he re- turned to his native county and resumed teaching, in which work he was thereafter engaged during each school year until 1903. He taught for six years in Wayne township, and one year in Hunting- ton county. He has been a most popular and effective worker in connection with teachers' institutes, and for three years was chair- man of the Eel River township institute. He has taken a lively interest in local affairs of a public nature and is a stalwart adherent of the Republican party. In 1878 he was the nominee of his party for prosecuting attorney of his county, but was defeated. In No- vember, 1904, he was elected trustee of Eel River township, and his election to the office stands in evidence of his popularity, since only one other Republican (John Holmes) has been elected to this position in the township since the war of the Rebellion. The town- ship has twenty-five miles of gravel road, has nine school houses and nine teachers, with an enrollment list of one hundred and eighty
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pupils, while all but two of the teachers are residents of the town- ship. The school houses are all of brick and compare favorably with those in other townships of the county, while the standard of the schools is high, enabling the students to prepare for teaching. Mr. Baird is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
William H. Baird was also a successful and popular teacher, devoting his attention to the pedagogic profession for six years. As a Republican he has been a candidate for representative in the state legislature and also for township trustee, while in 1894 he received the nomination of his party for county commissioner. All the members of the family are identified with the Presbyterian church.
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THOMAS COVINGTON.
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In section 13, Aboit township, is located the fine homestead farm of this well known and highly honored pioneer of Allen county, and it is interesting to record that his farm was secured by his father more than half a century ago and has ever since remained in the pos- session of the family, while the name has been intimately and loy- ally identified with the civic and industrial history of this section of the state during the long intervening years.
In tracing the genealogy of the subject we must needs revert to that cradle of so much of our national history, New England, for the family was established on American soil in the early colonial era. Mr. Covington was born in Plymouth county, Massachusetts, on the 18th of December, 1836, and is a son of Thomas and Mahala (Holmes) Covington. The grandfather was a sea captain and sail- ing master from historic old Plymouth, and he made numerous voy- ages to the principal ports of the old world. His father likewise bore the name of Thomas, and the ancestry is traced back to stanch Eng- lish extraction, while the family was one of the earliest to be founded in the Massachusetts colony, in whose annals the name is frequently mentioned, especially in the Plymouth records, while the name was long linked with the seafaring life of the New England coast. The Holmes family is also one of the oldest of New England, and there many representatives in a direct and collateral way are yet to be found. Jonathan King, maternal uncle of Mrs. Mahala (Holmes) Covington, was a valiant soldier in the Continental line during the war of the Revolution, and he lived to attain the patriarchal age of ninety-two years.
The father of the subject was for a time engaged in mercantile pursuits in South Carolina, whence he returned to Massachusetts. From Middleboro, that state, the family came to Indiana in 1850,
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settling on the fine old homestead farm now occupied by him whose name initiates this sketch. The father here purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land, whose reclamation from the virgin forest he forthwith instituted, though during the earlier years of his resi- dence here he was engaged in the shoe business in Fort Wayne, which was then scarcely more than a trading post, with a few hun- dreds of people constituting its population. He finally took up his permanent abode on his farm, where he continued to reside until he was summoned from the scene of life's endeavors, having been seventy-nine years of age at the time of his demise, while his cher- ished and devoted wife lived to attain the age of eighty-four years. In politics the father was originally a Whig and later a Republican. He was a man of marked force of character, unbending in his in- tegrity, broad-minded and liberal in his views, and he commanded a high place in the esteem of the community, where he wielded un- mistakable influence in public affairs. Of the six children the sub- ject of this sketch was the only son, and of the daughters we enter the following brief data: Elizabeth is the wife of Joshua W. Davis and resides in Newton, Massachusetts; Mary is the widow of Rev. Samuel A. Collins, a clergyman of the Baptist church, and resides near the city of Cincinnati, Ohio; Louise is the widow of Rev. John D. Messon and resides in Newton Center, Massachusetts; Mahala is the widow of Dr. Justin P. Garvin, late of Elkhart, Indiana, and she now makes her home with her only brother, the subject of this review; and Prudence died in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of sixty-five years; she was a talented artist and made many fine pro- ductions in oils and water colors, as well as in china painting; she maintained a studio in Fort Wayne for a number of years and many of her paintings are to be found in the best homes of the city, while she attained a specially high reputation as a landscape artist.
Thomas Covington was fourteen years of age at the time of the family removal from the old Bay state to Indiana, and he had previously received good educational advantages, thus laying an ex- cellent foundation for that broad and practical knowledge which so denotes the man of the later years of earnest endeavor. He assisted in the reclaiming of the home farm, and has here resided during the major portion of his long and useful life. The farm comprises one
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hundred and twenty acres, and of the same fifty-five acres are main- tained under effective cultivation. The original family residence was a log cabin, sixteen feet square. This gave place to a two-story dwelling of hewed logs, and the latter building continued to be the family domicile until the erection of the present substantial and com- modious brick residence, about thirty years ago. In addition to general agriculture Mr. Covington has given special attention to horticulture and the raising of small fruits, and his vegetables and fruits are sold in the city market of Fort Wayne, where he has displayed and sold his products for many years. On the walls of the pleasant residence may be found a most pleasing water-color painting depicting the old homestead of hewed logs and also a picture of the first school house on the site of the present No. 4, in Wayne township, the one depicted having been erected in 1851, of round logs, and having been fourteen feet square. The primitive structure was equipped with a shake roof, floors and slab benches, while the windows were made by cutting through logs on each of three sides of the building and inserting a sash of glass in each opening, said sash being moved back and forth transversely to afford ventilation or insure required warmth from the huge stove. Mrs. Garvin taught in this building the second term of school, in 1852, her honored father having taught in the preceding year. She re- calls that her pupils numbered about twenty-five and that the ac- cessories of the "institution of learning" were meager in the ex- treme. Mr. Covington is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and he served two terms as town- ship trustee, receiving a majority of twenty-six votes at a time when the two parties as represented in the township constituted a tie in ballots. He has taken an active interest in the party work and has been a frequent delegate to the county conventions.
In 1859 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Covington to Miss Adeline Burk, who died ten years later, leaving four children, namely : Elizabeth D., and Katherine May, both of whom have re- mained at the parental home, joint housekeepers for their father, and also engaged in the cultivation of flowers, and for outside work the Sunday school, Elizabeth having been, for ten years, superin- tendent of the West Wayne Sunday school, situated near her home;
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Thomas E., who is a Baptist minister, but now engaged in business in Lagrange, Indiana; and Mary Louise, who is the wife of Bertrand Early, of Fort Collins, Colorado.
Mrs. Garvin has presided over the domestic economies of her brother's home since 1875, and is most popular in the social life of the community, being a woman of fine intellectuality and gracious presence. She has three children, two of whom are missionaries in foreign lands,-Ann Eliza, who was formerly a teacher in Allen county, is now a missionary teacher in Osaka, Japan; and Rev. James F. Garvin is a missionary clergyman of the Presbyterian church in Valparaiso, Chili; Emma, the youngest, died at the age of eight years.
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ALPHONSE AND FRANK CORBAT.
The Corbat brothers are numbered among the representative farmers of Allen county, their landed estate being a large and well-improved one, ranking among the best in this favored section of the state, while the homestead place has been in the possession of the family for nearly two score of years, having been secured by the honored father of the brothers whose names initiate this para- graph. This attractive farmstead is located in section 3, Aboit township and is looked upon as a model in all respects, while the evidences of intelligent and progressive ideas are manifest on every side.
Alphonse Corbat was born in canton Berne, Switzerland, on the 13th of February, 1854, and Frank was born in Huntington county, Indiana, on the 20th of October, 1859. They are sons of Vandelin and Rose Corbat, who immigrated to America in the year 1857, making Indiana their destination. The family located near Hunt- ington, Huntington county, where the father secured employment in operating a boat on the old Wabash and Erie canal, the boat being owned by two Fort Wayne men and being run between Fort Wayne and Wabash. In 1868 the family removed to the present home- stead farm, the original purchase being a tract of one hundred and twenty acres, while the major portion of the place had been re- claimed to cultivation and otherwise improved. This has ever since been the family home and here the venerable father still lives, honored by all who know him and revered in true filial devotion by his sons. He is seventy-seven years of age at the time of this writ- ing, in 1905, and for the past fifteen years he has lived essentially retired from active labor, his sons ably carrying forward the work which he inaugurated so many years ago as one of the energetic and trustworthy farmers of the county. His cherished wife died in
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1868, only one month after the family came to the present home- stead. She was a devoted member of the Catholic church, with which he also has long been identified. They became the parents of eight children, five of whom attained to years of maturity and four of whom are still living, namely: Joseph, who is engaged in the mercantile business in Mishawaka, this state; Alphonse and Frank, who are the immediate subjects of this sketch; and Louisa, who is the wife of Ernest Stutts, of South Bend, Indiana. Ellen, who became the wife of Henry Braenf, died at the age of thirty-two years.
Alphonse and Frank Corbat have been associated as partners for the past quarter of a century, both having been reared to manhood on the home farm and both having received good educational ad- vantages in the common and parochial schools of Allen county. When they initiated their partnership they rented land, continuing operations in this way for three years, at the expiration of which they purchased a tract of fifty acres, to which they have added from time to time until they now have in joint ownership a fine estate of two hundred and thirty-three acres, while they have had charge of the old homestead for nearly twenty-five years, and now own the property, which was deeded to them by their father in 1903, so that the aggregate area of their farm in Aboit township is three hundred and fifty acres, all in one body. They also own sixty acres in Lake township, and this farm also is improved with excellent buildings. The present family residence was erected by their father in 1885, while the fine bank barn, forty by seventy feet in dimen- sions, was builded in 1882. The farm is devoted to diversified agri- culture, wheat and corn being the principal products, while the brothers also raise a considerable amount of high-grade live stock. Frank remains a bachelor and resides with his brother and partner, Alphonse. The latter was married, in 1876, to Miss Elizabeth Manier, who died in October, 1901, being survived by nine of her ten children, namely : Celia (wife of Frank Conners, of Erie, Penn- sylvania), Frank, Joseph, Rose (deceased at the age of two years), Julian, Florence, Albert, James, Mary and Robert. On the 12th of January, 1904, Alphonse Corbat consummated a second marriage, being then united to Mrs. Catherine Golden, widow of Samuel
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Golden, of Fort Wayne. She was born and reared in Aboit town- ship, being a daughter of Peter and Catherine (Shadle) Stahl, who were honored pioneers of this part of the county, where her father was a representative farmer. Mrs. Corbat had three children by her first marriage, and two are living, Bertha and Amanda, the latter being the wife of William Wolf.
In politics the Corbat brothers are stanch adherents of the Democratic party, as is also their venerable father, and they take a lively interest in public affairs of a local nature, while both brothers have served as delegates to the state and congressional conventions of their party. They are communicants of the Catholic church, being identified with the parish of St. Patrick's church, at Arcola.
The brothers have shown marked capacity and acumen as business men and have demonstrated the expediency of utilizing scientific methods in carrying on their farming operations. They have per- sonally reclaimed to cultivation fully one hundred acres of brush land, besides much marsh land. They have their farm equipped with a most perfect system of tile drainage, having installed the tile by degrees and having secured the best of results through the ter- ritory covered, one field alone having one hundred and sixty rods of the tiling. The buildings are of high type and rank among the best in the county, while in the matter of insurance indemnity they stand second in amount on the books of the Allen County Mutual Fire Insurance Company.
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KILIAN BAKER.
Among the old and influential citizens of Fort Wayne, and for many years one of the city's leading manufacturers, is Kilian Baker, a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, where his birth oc- curred on December 15, 1830, being one of eight children whose parents were George and Catherine (Baschinger) Baker. Five years after the above date Mr. and Mrs. Baker, with their family, emi- grated to the United States, going at once to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where they remained until 1836, when the elder Baker came to Allen county, Indiana, and entered a tract of government land in Cedar Creek township. After entering the land he returned to Pittsburg and remained until 1838, when he left Pittsburg with his family and started westward, consuming two weeks in the journey that brought them to Fort Wayne, then a small backwoods hamlet of about three hundred and fifty or four hundred inhabitants. Here he started a wagon-making shop, which, under his judicious manage- ment, soon became one of the leading manufacturing establishments of the place. After working at his trade for a period of ten years, he discontinued wagonmaking and in 1848 erected a saw-mill and began the manufacture of lumber on quite an extensive scale, in which enterprise he was associated with his sons John, Jacob, Henry and Kilian, the firm as thus constituted becoming prominent in the industrial affairs of the new town, the demand for the output soon taxing the mill to its utmost capacity. Two years after commencing operations the father and John disposed of their interests to the other brothers and retired from the business. Henry sold out in 1867 and Jacob in 1878, leaving Kilian sole proprietor, and as such he continued with the most encouraging success until 1903, when, by reason of an ample competency acquired the meantime, as well as by the need of rest from such a busy and exacting life, he closed
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out his lumbering interests and turned his attention to less onerous pursuits.
Kilian Baker was a lad of eight years when he came to Allen county and his childhood and youth were spent in Fort Wayne, where he received a fair education in the parochial schools under the supervision of the Catholic church. He grew up with the city, con- tributed largely to its development along industrial lines and in due time became an influential factor in promoting its varied interests. Energetic and public spirited, he soon took an active part in all enterprises for the common good, gave countenance and support to every laudable undertaking for the advancement of both city and county, and in many matters his judgment was consulted and his opinions ever carried weight in the councils of his fellow citizens.
Mr. Baker is essentially a business man and as such achieved a high and enviable standing in the community for the best interests of which the greater part of his life has been devoted. Unflagging industry, discriminating judgment and wise foresight have been among his chief characteristics and during the years of his prime his strength and vitality, as well as those clearer mental qualities which enabled their possessor to take advantage of opportunities, stood him well, in pushing to the largest success the important undertaking in which he was engaged. Coming to the state in the pioneer period and witnessing the phenomenal growth of the city with which his life has been so closely interwoven, he has ever been a close and critical observer of events, and today there are in Fort Wayne few if any whose minds are so fully stored with valuable historical reminiscences or who are more frequently consulted on matters concerning the past. Until recently he retained to a marked degree the possession of his splendid physical powers, but of late the infirmities incident to advancing age have to a certain extent undermined his vitality, although his memory is clear and his mental powers keen and alert as in the days of his prime.
The father of Mr. Baker, from whom he inherited much of his physical energy, died February 29, 1870, at the good old age of eighty years, the mother departing this life some time in the '50S, while in the prime of her womanhood. The marriage of Kilian Baker was solemnized in 1859 with Miss Anna Dougherty, whose
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birth occurred in 1840, her parents, John and Marcella (Lyons) Dougherty, being among the pioneers of Fort Wayne, where they settled as early as the year 1838. Mr. and Mrs. Dougherty were natives of county West Meath, Ireland, but came to the United States in 1835 and spent the remainder of their days in Allen county, having long been residents of Arcola, where they are still gratefully remembered for their many acts of kindness, as well as for those qualities of mind and heart that win and retain confidence.
The union of Kilian and Anna Baker has been blessed with the following children : John G., of Missouri; Frank J., of Fort Wayne; Mary, wife of Latham F. Blee, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; Agnes, now Mrs. Henry J. Taylor, of Fort Wayne: Margaret A., who married William D. Gordon, their home being now in Peoria, Illinois ; Charles H., who died in early childhood; Catherine A., now known as Sister St. Euphrasie, of the Sisters of Providence; Rosella M., Alfred K., Grace A., who reside with their parents, and Herbert W., the last named dying when quite young.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Baker were reared in the Catholic faith and have ever been loyal members of the holy mother church, belonging to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, in Fort Wayne. Be- lieving every other consideration subordinate to the claims of re- ligion, they have been untiring in their devotion to its duties and, like all true Catholics, have spared no pains in the rearing of their chil- dren according to the principles and precepts of the church, which they consider life's greatest and best safeguard.
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