USA > Indiana > Allen County > History of the Maumee River basin, Allen County, Indiana > Part 37
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498
THE MAUMEE RIVER BASIN.
LOUIS J. EME.
A well-known and popular citizen of Aboit township and a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Allen county is Louis J. Eme, who is a skilled carpenter and identified with the work of railroad bridge building.
Mr. Eme was born in Lake township, this county, on the 24th of August, 1865, and is a son of Ferdinand and Josephine ( Parnin) Eme, both of whom were born in France, whence they came to America with their respective families as children, the two families being members of the French colony which came to Allen county and settled in Washington township. Ferdinand Eme and his wife reside in Lake township, where he is a prosperous farmer. His father, Humbert Eme, was likewise a farmer of the county and here con- tinued to reside until death. The subject of this review was reared in Lake township, and his educational advantages were those afforded by the public schools in the village of Arcola. When about twenty years of age he entered upon an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, with his brother Julian. For the past five years Louis Eme has devoted his attention almost exclusively to work as a carpenter, in which line he has done a large amount of constructing and re- pairing. For a time he retained his residence in the city of Fort Wayne, after which he passed about eight years on the well-equipped dairy farm of his father-in-law. Since that time he has been con- cerned in the work of his trade as a carpenter. He is held in high regard in Aboit township, as is evident when we revert to the fact that he was chosen to serve as township assessor and for one term was incumbent of the office of township supervisor, in which con- nection he made an excellent record and gained unqualified approval from his constituency. In politics he is a stalwart adherent of the Republican party, of whose principles and policies he is a stanch
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supporter, being the only voter in his family to have thus espoused the cause of the "grand old party."
On the 27th of September, 1888, Mr. Eme was united in mar- riage to Miss Frank M. Bates, who was born in the family home- stead, in Aboit township, being a daughter of Alfred H. Bates, concerning whom individual mention is made on other pages of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Eme have two sons, Hubert Bates and Glenn Louis.
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THE MAUMEE RIVER BASIN.
WILLIAM T. WYBOURN.
One of the fine farm properties of Madison township, Allen county, Indiana, is that owned by Mr. Wybourn, who has here main- tained his home since his boyhood days and who has gained recog- nition as one of the progressive and successful husbandmen of the county and as a citizen whose life has been dominated by high principles and a determination to achieve a success worthy of the name, so that he has not been denied the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem in the county in which he has lived and labored for a half century. Such are the men who are particularly worthy of consideration in a publication of this nature, for though they have not stood forth in the "great white light" of publicity, they have been numbered among the rank and file of the world's workers and have played. well their assigned parts on the stage of action to which they have been summoned. Mr. Wybourn is one of the in- telligent and enterprising men who have successfully directed their attention and labors to the noble and fundamental industry of agri- culture and is one whose success has been due entirely to his own efforts. On his attractive landed estate, comprising one hundred and twenty acres, he is abiding in peace, contentment and plenty, honored by those among whom so many years of his life have been passed and ever doing all in his power to conserve the best interests of the community.
William T. Wybourn was born in the city of Albany, New York, on the 18th of September, 1848, and is a son of John O. and Matilda (Bush) Wybourn, both of whom were born in county Kent, England, whence they came to America, locating in Albany, New York. Here they were married and remained until the sub- ject was five years of age, when they came to Allen county, Indiana, where both died the following year, on the same day of August,
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1854, leaving William doubly orphaned when but a lad of six years. For a few weeks after his parents' demise he was cared for in the home of a family friend and he then found a home with the family of William Hammond, a well-known pioneer farmer of Madison township, this county. He was reared to maturity under the discipline of the farm and his educational opportunities in his youth were those afforded in the common schools of the locality, which he was enabled to attend during only six weeks of the year, walking two miles back and forth to the school each day and mak- ing the best use of the somewhat meager advantages thus gained, while he has effectively supplemented this early discipline by that gained under the direction of that wisest of all headmasters, ex- perience. He continued to reside in the home of his foster-father until he had attained to the age of twenty years, and upon reaching his legal majority he initiated his independent career, which has been one of consecutive endeavor along those well defined lines which lead to success. He gave himself zealously to the work in hand, prin- cipally that of farming, and within three years had saved from his earnings a sufficient amount of money to justify him in the purchas- ing of a farm of fifty-six acres, partially improved. He continued his labors with much energy and discrimination and prosperity was not denied him as the years passed by, while his present finely im- proved homestead, which comprises one hundred and twenty acres of most productive land, in Madison township, stands in permanent evidence of his industry and good management, his farm being one of the model places of this section of the county. Mr. Wybourn is one of the influential citizens of his township and has always shown a loyal interest in public affairs of a local nature, while in politics he is an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the Prohibition party, with which he has been identified from practically the time of its organization. His exalted principles are indicated by this al- legiance, and they have dominated his course in all the relations of life, so that he has held the esteem of his fellow men on the simple score that he has deserved it. Both he and his wife are worthy and active members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On the Ist of July, 1875, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wybourn to Miss Maria C. McKeeman, who was born near the
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THE MAUMEE RIVER BASIN.
city of Albany, New York, on the 20th of July, 1853, being a daughter of David and Margaret (McConaha) McKeeman, who were born in Ireland, and who came from the state of New York to Allen county, Indiana, when she was a child, here passing the re- mainder of their lives, the father having been a prosperous farmer of Madison township. Mr. and Mrs. Wybourn have two sons, John A. and David C., who are well known and popular young men of their native county. Miss Mary Peters, daughter of Ephraim and Mary (Barnes) Peters, has had her home with Mr. and Mrs. Wybourn since 1890, her mother having died about two years before.
John A. Wybourn, the elder of the two sons, was born in Madison township, this county, on the 10th of May, 1876, and was educated in the public schools, having been a student for one year in the high school at Monroeville. In 1897 he became salesman for the Singer Sewing Machine Company, by which he was em- ployed four years, being successful in his efforts. He then es- tablished himself in the buggy and harness business in Monroeville, where he now has a well equipped repository, handling an excellent line of carriages, buggies and wagons, and being one of the repre- sentative young business men of the town. On the 30th of March, 1902, John A. Wybourn wedded Miss Rose E. Barkley, who was born and reared in Adams county, this state.
David C. Wybourn was born on the homestead farm, on the 4th of November, 1878, and after completing the curriculum of the district schools he continued his studies in the public schools of Monroeville, being there graduated in the high school in the class of 1896, after which he was successfully engaged in teaching for two years. He then entered the Fort Wayne Medical College, where he completed the prescribed four-years course and was gradu- ated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, as a member of the class of 1902. After graduation he received the appointment of as- sistant physician and surgeon at the Indiana School for Feeble Minded Youths at Fort Wayne, which he continued to fill for some time. He is now successfully established in the practice of his profession in Sheldon, this county. On the 4th of August, 1903, he was united in marriage to Miss Katie Sheehan, of Monroeville, Indiana.
503
ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
REUBEN ROUSSEAU.
A scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of the Hoosier state is Reuben Rousseau, who has been a resident of Allen county for more than half a century, being one of the honored pioneer citizens of Aboit township, where he has long been engaged in farming and gardening, being one of the substantial men of the township and commanding high esteem in the community in which he has so long lived and labored. His memory forms a link between the pioneer epoch in Allen county and the latter days of opulent ad- vancement and prosperity, while his reminiscences are thus interest- ing in the extreme and should be perpetuated for future generations, since but a few years more may pass before there will be none left to tell the stirring tales of the early days.
Mr. Rousseau comes of French lineage on the paternal side, as the name indicates, but the name which he bears has long been identified with the history of America, since his grandfather, David R. Rousseau, having been a native of France and having been the original representative of the immediate family in the new world. Reuben Rousseau was born in Henry county, Indiana, on the 6th of June, 1834, and is a son of William and Ruth (McBride) Rous- seau, both of whom were born and bred in North Carolina, the former in Wilks county, on December 27, 1807. They were the parents of twelve children, six of whom are living. The subject of this sketch is the eldest son, Frank M., the second born, and James H., the youngest. The latter was born in Wells county, Indi- ana, in 1854, and bought the home farm in Aboit township, Allen county, where he resided until 1885. He then moved to Dakota, where he lived until 1887, and there homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land. During this period he was visited by the sub- ject of this sketch, who was engaged on a hunting expedition. They
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visited Fort Yates and La Grace and at the latter place saw the great Indian chief, Sitting Bull, and his band, who were engaged in a war dance. Mr. Rousseau hunted and fished along the Missouri river, killing black and gray wolves, a mountain lion, several deer and much smaller game. James M. Rousseau moved back to Allen county and, selling the old homestead, bought three hun- dred and twenty acres in the same township, of which he has since sold all but sixty acres. He bought the Lillie homestead addition to the city of Fort Wayne, where he now resides, being engaged in the real-estate business. F. M. Rousseau, who was born at New Castle, Indiana, August 20, 1836, has re- sided in Allen county for fifty years, being occupied as a farmer, gardener and dairyman. He has been a lifelong Re- publican, and is an elder in the Christian church at Fort Wayne. The maternal grandfather of the subject was of Irish nativity, while the grandmother was of German lineage, having been born in the city of Bonn, Germany. David R. Rousseau was a successful farmer in North Carolina, where he operated a plantation and owned a con- siderable number of slaves. He came to Indiana in the early pioneer days, and lived in turn in Henry, Wayne, Blackford, Wells and Allen counties, while he passed the closing years of his life in Whit- ley county, both he and his wife having been laid to rest in a little private cemetery plot between Blue River lake and Round lake. The grandfather was a typical pioneer, being a man of energy and sturdy integrity and taking great delight in hunting and fishing, a pred- ilection which seems to have been inherited by not a few of his descendants. The parents of the subject came to Indiana in the early '30s, and they encountered their full share of the experiences and vicissitudes of pioneer life, while the father devoted his attention principally to farming, having settled on wild land and reclaimed much of the same to cultivation. He continued his residence in Allen county for many years and both he and his wife died in Aboit township, where their mortal remains lie at rest in the old Bullard cemetery. They were folk of sterling worth and it is fitting that in this compilation be accorded a brief tribute to their memories, for they were numbered among those who aided in the founding of the industrial and civic structure of Allen county.
505
ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
Reuben Rousseau, the immediate subject of this review, ac- companied his parents on their various removals to different counties in Indiana, and his early educational advantages were limited, owing to the conditions which prevailed. He attended the old log school house in Hartford City, Blackford county, and well recalls the primitive facilities afforded, both in the equipment of the build- ing and in the scope of the curriculum. He was able, however, to lay the foundation on which to upbuild the excellent practical edu- cation which he has gained in the great school of experience. Mr. Rousseau was about sixteen years of age at the time of the family removal to Allen county, in 1850, and he was reared to the her- culean work of the pioneer farm, waxing strong in mind and body and finding due recreation in his hunting and fishing and in the other sports common to the period and locality. At the age of eighteen years he practically initiated his independent career, since at that time he took charge of the homestead farm and virtually became the head of the family in the matter of managing all business affairs. He was thus engaged at the time of the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, and he served for a short time in the Union ranks during the closing days of the great conflict. In February, 1865, he enlisted as a member of Company G, One Hundred and Fifty- second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he proceeded to the front, remaining in service until the close of the war and having received his honorable discharge in Charleston, West Virginia, on the 30th of August, 1865.
Upon his return from the army, in 1865, Mr. Rousseau, with his wife and son, started westward, eventually arriving at Humansville, Missouri, in 1870, where he took up some land. The following fall he sold out and went to Sumner county, Kansas, where he entered one hundred and sixty acres of government land, paying the regu- lation price of one dollar and a quarter per acre. He also assisted in laying out the town of Belleplaine. The first winter was spent in a dug-out and during this time he was very successful as a hunter, killing much game, large and small. However, in the spring of 1871 they got short of fresh meat and Mr. Rosseau proposed that he go out to the buffalo grounds. Others joined him on the expedi- tion and, taking their teams and a boy as driver, they crossed the
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THE MAUMEE RIVER BASIN.
Marquard river, crossing also the Charles river, ten miles beyond. Five miles further brought them to the Panhandle Texas trail, which was occupied by herds of cattle on their way to Wichita for ship- ment. The animals had cut the trail up so badly the hunters could hardly get their wagons across, and besides they were pretty badly scared by the cowboys, who were armed to the teeth. However, they continued on their way and the subject, who was in the lead, saw ahead of them on the trail two men, with a small wagon drawn by a span o mules. Mr. Rousseau overtook them and asked, "Which way, boys?" "Well, we thought we would go out and take a little buffalo hunt. Which way are you heading for?" "Buffalo hunt too." "Well, did you ever kill one?" "No, never saw a wild one. Just going out to see one." "Well, you will not do much." Mr. Rousseau replied that he had killed much other game and was a fairly good shot. They soon reached the buffalo grounds and camped in a ravine, the new acquaintances remaining with them. After supper the stranger, who had given his name as John Degolia, from Wichita, produced an old Spencer carbine, with which he intended to do his buffalo hunting. During conversation he stated there was not much danger from Indians and that he had lived with the Osages and Cheyennes. After these statements, Mr. Rousseau asked him to remain with the party, to which arrangements he consented. Mr. Rousseau then showed his armament, which consisted of a double- barrel shotgun, a big Colt's revolver, Spencer rifle and target rifle, the Spencer having a range of a mile. In the morning some of the party made boast of their ability to kill buffaloes, to which the new- comer replied that if one was good enough shot to kill deer he could also kill buffaloes. They soon discovered their game ahead of them. The strangers asked Mr. Rousseau to remain a little to the rear while they shot first. They fired several rounds, the result being one animal down about a half mile away. Mr. Rousseau then went to the front and, with the remark, "Why don't you shoot that big bull?" he fired, his first shot bringing down the animal to which he referred. His second and third shots likewise brought down others that had started to run. He afterwards counted the empty shells and found that the strangers had expended twenty shots apiece in their efforts to pull down the one animal, a poor showing for men who had
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previously boasted of their skill. In 1872 Mr. Rousseau again went on several hunting expeditions, taking with him his hunting dogs. On one of these trips he went to the Salt Fork and Red river dis- tricts in the Oklahoma region, and there unexpectedly ran into a band of Osage Indians, who were on a big hunt. Mr. Rousseau camped with them over night, and in the morning saw them kill twenty buffaloes with no other weapons than bows and arrows. Mr. Rousseau was also busy in the same line and upon the con- clusion of the hunt he and the Indians assisted each other in cutting up the carcasses, loading them on ponies and carrying them back to camp. Mr. Rousseau returned home without mishap, and later went on another trip up the river, where the Cheyenne Indians were engaged in a big hunt. He went out about seventy-five miles on the Wichita trail, meeting on the way many hunting parties, one of them from as far away as New York. The latter party, with their blooded horses and army guns, were met with just at the edge of the buffalo grounds. About sundown a herd of buffaloes were seen crossing the trail and the easterners were at once wild to get at them, saying they would give a hundred dollars for the chance. Mr. Rousseau volunteered to stop the animals and, going back to his wagon, he loosened and brought to the front his big Newfoundland dog Dash, whom he asked if he could see the buffaloes. He nodded his head, and Mr. Rousseau instructed him to go and stop the animals, warning the men to be careful and avoid shooting the dog. The dog, well trained as he was, rounded the buffaloes like so many sheep and twenty of them were killed by the hunters, one of whom offered Mr. Rousseau a one hundred dollar bill for the dog, which offer, it is needless to say, was refused. In 1874 Mr. Rousseau en- gaged in several successful hunts. He then returned to the old Allen county farm, after proving up on his western land, and here engaged in fine stock raising, but later sold out and went to Toledo, Ohio, where he remained for two years, being engaged in the book- canvassing business. He then returned to Fort Wayne, from there moved to Monroeville, back again to Fort Wayne, and thence to Indianapolis. A year later he returned to Monroeville, where he settled down to gardening and the raising of fine chickens, pigeons, Belgian hares, rabbits, Italian bees, in which he has been successful
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THE MAUMEE RIVER BASIN.
to a very gratifying degree. He has put forth his best energies and has thus gained a competency, having been the owner of a well improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in Aboit township, and being one of the popular and influential citizens of this section of the county. He has ever been a stanch advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and has held various offices of local trust and responsibility. For fully fifty years he has been a consistent and active member of the Christian church, of which his wife also is a member, and he is a man of clean and upright char- acter, charitable in his judgment and kindly in his association with his fellow men. He has never used tobacco in any form and is also an uncompromising temperance advocate. In a fraternal way he keeps alive the more grateful memories of his military service by retaining membership in William Link Post, No. 301, Grand Army of the Republic, at Monroeville.
Mr. Rousseau was married to Miss Caroline E. Houseman, who was born in Huntington county, Indiana, in 1840, being a daughter of John Houseman. The children of this union are as follows : James A., Ruth E., Charlotte A., Queenie B., Mary H. and Dora M.
509
ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
GABRIEL FAIR.
More than sixty-five years have elapsed since the Fair family was founded in Allen county, and thus the subject of this sketch is a representative of sterling pioneer stock, while he is to be considered as one of the substantial farmers and progressive citizens of Eel River township, while he has made his home in the county during practically his entire life.
Mr. Fair was born in Champaign county, Ohio, on the 11th of September, 1838, being a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Norman) Fair, the former of whom was born in Maryland and the latter in Ohio. At the age of sixteen years Henry Fair accompanied his parents on their removal to Champaign county, Ohio .. The Nor- man family was early founded in Rockingham county, Virginia, whence the immigration to Ohio was made in the year 1804.
In 1839 the parents of the subject came from Ohio to Allen county and located in Perry township, on the farm now owned by Matthias Fitch. Henry Fair erected on his farm a saw-mill and carding mill, also installing a turning lathe, while power was secured from the creek which traversed the farm. This was the first mill of this description in this part of the county, and a large amount of work was done in the same, especially in the fulling of cloth and coloring the same, the weaving in those days being done in the pioneer homes. He had served an apprenticeship in this line of enterprise while in Ohio, but the mill mentioned was the first to be individually operated by him. He continued the operation of the mill until 1852, having in the meanwhile reclaimed a considerable portion of his farm, and on the 30th of March, 1852, he started overland to California with a party of five men, each paying him one hundred and twenty-five dollars for transportation. He got as far as the junction of the North and South Platte rivers, in Nebraska,
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THE MAUMEE RIVER BASIN.
where he was taken with cholera and died in a few hours, his re- mains being interred at the place of his death. Peter Fair, a half- brother, took charge of the outfit and continued their trip to Cali- fornia. Henry Fair's widow purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Eel River township in 1856. She then moved there with her three sons and two daughters. Gabriel Fair now resides on this farm, he having purchased it in 1884, after his mother's death.
On the 5th of November, 1872, Mr. Fair was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary A. Fleming, of Perry township, a daughter of the late Rev. James W. Fleming, who was a member of the clergy of the Evangelical Lutheran church, while he also owned and operated a farm in the township mentioned, being one of the county's well known and honored citizens. Mrs. Fair was born in Perry township, on the 15th of June, 1841, and was reared and educated in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Fair have four children, Frank V., who is associated with his father in the operation of the home farm; two daughters, Mrs. Lyman Griffis and Mrs. C. E. Hadsell, are residents of Fort Wayne, while Gladys M. remains in the parental home.
5II
ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
FRED ECKART.
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