USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Remington > History of the town of Remington and vicinity, Jasper County, Indiana > Part 4
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liquors on the floor and demolished all his glasses. Foun- tain did not offer resistence, but let them have it all their own way. In the fall of 1865, Allen May, having returned from the army and being out of employment, he engaged in the saloon business, and in the spring of 1866 he made an application for license to retail liquor in Remington. The license was granted to him, this being the first retail, or licensed saloon in the town of Remington. He had much to contend against, as the temperance people were making him all the trouble for them possibly to do, and being continually harrassed, he sold out in the spring of 1867, to Ambrose Ford, who at once made application for a retail license; the ministers of the churches procured a remonstrance and circulated it, securing over one hundred signatures, and when this remonstrance was presented to the Board of Commissioners it had the effect to defeat Mr. Ford's application. However, he continued to do business under his license from the General Government, selling his goods by the quart. Mr. Ford's place of business was the same that May had occupied, and was on the site of Mr. McDougle's general merchandise store. In the following spring Lewis A. Ford made an application for a license to retail liquors, and the temperance element having to some extent subsided, his application was approved by the Commissioners and he was granted his license to retail. Mr. William Irwin had built a small house northwest of Exchange Block, which he leased to Ford, who established his saloon therein. This saloon again aroused the temper- ance people, and being determined to stop the sale of liquors here, they proceeded to destroy the saloon by fire, besides doing other damage. There being a large con- course of people present, the fire was subdued. Mr. Ford becoming alarmed concluded to throw up his license, which he finally did, and quit the saloon business altogether. He never attempted the business in Remington again. He was, however, soon followed in the business by Jared H. Fountain, who met with the misfortune of having his
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liquors emptied out and his glasses destroyed, at the hands of the ladies, in 1872, as hereinbefore chronicled. Jared H. Fountain came to Remington in 1866. He brought a man with him, known as Samuel Flowers; they were both deal- ers in horses, but as dealing in horses at that time was not a very paying business, Fountain concluded to engage in the liquor business, locating on the south side of Railroad street, opposite the depot, where Mr. C. Cheek's meat market is located. He carried on the business under Gov- ernment license for some time, but in 1877 he finally secured a retail license, and continued to run his business a few years under the retail license system. Finally the ladies of the town concluded that he should have no more retail license, and defeated him; but he continued in the business under Government license, or the quart system. He finally bought on the opposite side of Railroad street, where Dr. Payne's barber shop now stands, and built a saloon and residence, where he continued for some years longer in the business. The temperance women, aided by some of their male friends, continued to annoy him so long as he remained in the business. It was about this time that Mr. Fountain met with the visitation of that delegation of ladies, heretofore mentioned, that created such havoc with his liquors, and other property. The female portion of the community were determined that the sale of liquors in Remington should entirely cease, and to this end, as before stated, they organized themselves into a temperance club, the objects to be attained being the entire extermination of the liquor traffic in this town peaceably if possible, but forcibly, if it could not be accomplished in any other way. It could not, as was shown, hence they resorted to forcible measures, and succeeded in doing Mr. . Fountain a considerable financial damage, but all this did not suppress the traffic in Remington. There has not been a day since the incorporation of the town of Reming- ton that the traffic in intoxicating liquors has not been carried on within the boundary limits of the town.
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In the year 1866, Mr. John Burger moved into the town of Remington, and at once launched into the lumber. business, which he carried on exclusively for a time, but afterward combined the lumber business with that of wood and coal. He continued to do business in these lines of trade until the year 1891. But previously to this time, he was interested in the banking business, with his brother- in-law, Mr. Robert Parker, they having established the Bank of Remington, in Remington, Indiana. In 1891, Mr. Burger sold out his lumber, wood and coal business to the Jasper County Lumber Co. Mr. Burger was prosper- ous in all his enterprises, and has probably made and saved more money than any other one man who ever did business in the town. He assisted our grain men with his money when they were in need of it. His family consists of him- self, wife and one son and one daughter-Fred and Blanche. Mr. Burger has given his son all the advantages of 'a college education, and will no doubt be equally liberal with his daughter. His daughter, Blanche, is several years younger than the son Fred, and she is at present attending the schools of Remington. Mr. Burger at one time was the owner of a large and fine body of land lying east of Remington, on either side of the line dividing Jasper and White counties, which constituted two excellent farms. The farm in White county was sold in the year 1889 and that in Jasper county he sold in 1892. Before selling this latter farm he had the misfortune of losing his fine barn which was on it, it being struck by lightning, and burned to the ground, with seven tons of hay, some harness, and a team of horses. He soon replaced this barn with a new one. After selling this latter farm, Mr. Burger bought another consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, about one-half mile northwest of the town of Rem- ington. This is an excellent farm, and it is said that it is the best tiled farm in Jasper county. He has lately built a new barn on this farm also.
The firm of Ellis Bros., composed of James F. Ellis
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HON. ROBERT PARKER. (Scc page 254.)
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and A. Ellis established themselves in the saloon business in Remington, about the year 1877. They had one fire to contend with, which originated in their saloon, which was destroyed, as well as all the business buildings between the hotel on the east, and the stone and brick building on the west. The Ellises met with some opposition although their place of business has always been conducted as nearly in accordance with the law, as it is possible to do. Mr. J. O. B. McDougle owned three lots, that were made vacant by this fire. He at once commenced to rebuild. He first built the house now occupied by the C. W. Harner restaurant, and moved into it. He next put up the build- ing now occupied by James F. Ellis as a saloon; Mr. Ellis has occupied this place from the time it was first built until the present. Mr. McDougle, also, then proceeded to build his third house, which he soon had completed, and into this he moved a stock of general meachandise, and has remained in this business ever since. Jasper county was originally inhabited by a tribe of Indians known by their tribal name as Iroquois. They were removed from this territory some years after the battle of Tippecanoe was fought. The first white man in the southern portion of Jasper county to leave any record was a Mr. Carpenter, a hunter, mention having been made of him, in the opening chapters of this work; he came in a very early day, and was frozen to death, and buried in the grove that was named for him. It is said that so far back as 1832 a Mr. Thomas Murphy came here and settled in Carpenter's Grove. He had taken a claim there, and, sometime after- ward he sold this claim to Uncle John Jordan. All this country at that time, or nearly all of it, had been surveyed by the Government Surveyor, and classed by them as swamp lands, a great portion of the prairies being covered with water. The first house was built in the grove by Murphy in 1832. The second was built by a Mr. Shewey, on the Mount E. Jordan place, at the northwest end of Carpenter's Grove. The section house was the
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first house built in Carpenter Station, in 1859. In 1860 the railway was called the Logansport, Peoria & Burlington Railway. The first depot was built just north of the built Hathaway elevators in 1860. The first water tank was opposite the center of the railway bridge across Carpenter's creek in 1860. The first telegraph operator here was Cornelius McDaniel, who learned the art in the station agent's office; Sampson Sheeks was at the time the agent. The telegraph wires were put up in 1865. The second wires were put up in 1882. The first express agent was Geo. W. Hascall. The first child born here, was Nancy R. Shew, a daughter of Jacob Shew. The first woman killed by accident was the wife of Peter Kelley, killed in 1862. The first man to lose his life by reason of a railway accident was J. McDaniel, in the year 1867. The first and only person to commit suicide was Mrs. O. W. Church, who hanged herself with a halter in the year 1889. The first brick business house was built by one Ephraim Angelmeier, in 1870. The first church edifice was built here by the Presbyterian congregation in the year 1865. The first dwelling house in Remington was built by Thomas Woods, in the year 1860. The first business house in Remington was built by Mr. George B. Clark, in the year 1860, and in this building was kept a small grocery store. The first freight agent in Remington was Mr. Beronie Shaw, and he was also the postmaster for the town. The first dry goods and general assortment store for Remington, was established by a Mr. Bolles, the business being conducted by George B. Chappell and William H. Shaw. The first man to engage in the sale of intoxicating liquors in the town of Remington was Mr. Joseph Lewis, who established a liquor house here in the year 1860. The first man to engage in the hotel keeping business here was a Mr. Thomas White, who built what was known as the Nevada House in 1864, and he occupied it as a hotel for some time after Jesse H. Fordyce purchased from the United States the land that is now the site of
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Remington. This church was built about the close of the War of the Rebellion, when building materials were very high and labor hard to secure. These facts, however, did not deter the organization from consummating the work undertaken and the church was completed, being 30x50 feet in dimensions; the main door at front enterance being toward the west. In the year 1886, this church was reparied, or rather it was rebuilt, and the front entrance was changed to the south, and by this arrangement more room was secured. Rev. Samuel Searight was the first pastor for this congregation, but he only remained one year, when his charge was taken by the Rev. W. A. Patton, in 1866. He only remained one year, and the charge was again accepted by Rev. Samuel Searight, in 1867. The next minister was Rev. Levi Hughes. Mr. Hughes had in his earlier life met with the misfortune of total deafness, which was a great annoyance, and obstacle in his way, this misfortune finally resulting in his death. His wife had been away from home on a visit, and Mr. Hughes expecting her return on a certain train, started for the depot to meet her; as he was walking in the direc- tion of the depot on the railway track near the stock yards, the train which was coming the same direction in which he was going, overtook and ran over him, crushing the life out of him almost instantly. Being deaf he could not hear the warning bell or whistle from the engine, he therefore lost his life. . This occured on the 14th day of February, 1871. He had been pastor of the church something over two years, when this sad accident occurred. He had been well beloved by the congregation. The next pastor was Rev. Wm. Campbell, who succeeded Rev. Hughes, and remained until the fall of 1873, and was in turn suc- ceeded by Rev. J. B. Crow, who remained one year, being succeeded by Rev. R. T. Adams, who retired at the close of the year 1875, and the pastorate was then again sup- plied with the Rev. J. B. Crow, who remained with the charge for many years. Rev. J. B. Crow served in the
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capacity of pastor for this church, in all, fourteen years, thirteen of which were contiuous. He was very much beloved by his entire congregation and all other persons with whom he came in contact. His salary averaged him in the neighborhood of eight hundred dollars per year. A great many people called on Mr. Crow when in need of a minister of the Gospel. The congregation finally came to the conclusion that it required a younger man, and in 1888, Mr. Crow took his departure to the Southern part of Indiana, where he remained only a short time, when he was called to one of the southwestern territories to preach to and teach the Indians, where he still remains. Rev. Karnes was his successor here, but only remained one year, and on his retirement from the charge he was succeeded by Rev. Levi Foster, who was very unsatisfactory to many; he soon retired, and soon afterward he was adjudged insane by a commission, and sent to the Insane asylum at Logans- port, Ind., where he died in 1893. Rev. Foster was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Crozier, who was well advanced in years, but gave general satisfaction. He had been active in church matters nearly all his life, having organized many churches in his earlier days. Mr. Crozier was taken violently ill after he had been here about half his time, and died very suddenly. He was taken to Illinois for inter- ment. He was succeeded here by the Rev. S. McKee, who came to take charge of the church in 1892. Mr. McKee is a very pleasant gentleman, an able minister, and gives very general satisfaction to his flock. He is still the pastor of the church at Remington. This church, ever since its first organization, has apparently moved steadily along, without being disturbed with strife or dissensions of any character, pursuing the even tenor of its way, whereby it has been the means of accomplishing great good through- out the community, and is yet in the condition to accom- plish much more for humanity in the future.
The first Justice of the Peace for Carpenter township
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was John H. Miller, who held his office in Remington in 1863.
The first man to engage in the furniture business in Rem- ington was Mr. Cornelius Donnelley, who launched out in this business in 1868; he was a young man who had been reared in Remington, or principally so. He had been a pupil in the second, third, fourth and fifth schools taught in the town of Remington, but after his school days were over he engaged in the furuiture business spoken of above. He had been engaged in business for some time, and his stock had run down to a great extent, and accordinly he made arrangements to lay in a new supply of goods, but his finances being limited, he went to his various friends and borrowed from them, in sums ranging from ten to one hundred dollars, for few days only, and on his verbal obligation to repay the amounts in a few days. After receiving all he could gather in this way he proceeded to purchase more furniture. Mr. Donnelley had probably been gone away from Remington one week, or perhaps ten days, when his creditors, not seeing anything of him, and knowing that he had had ample time to make his purchases and return, began to become restless on account of his prolonged absence. They called on his wife for informa- tion as to his whereabouts, but she could not, or at least did not give them any satisfaction as to where he was. They finally arrived at the conclusion that he had left the country for good, and those that had loaned him money were very uneasy. They finally made out their several claims against him, and placed them in the hands of a justice for settlement. The justice issued the necessary papers, and placed them in the hands of a constable. Mr. Donnelley had locked up his store, and gone to Lafayette and from there to Indianapolis, on business, as he claimed. The constable, in the mean time, had taken possession of his store, and Donnelley's wife had so informed him, but he paid no attention to it, and remained away until he was ready to return. He was probably enjoying himself during
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his absence, at least the people came to that conclusion afterward, and believed that his wife understood it all, but did not care to throw any light on the case. But finally when Mr. Donnelley arrived home he found that his store had been broken open and his furniture had been sold and dis- posed of to the parties from whom he had borrowed the money, to satisfy the lenders' several claims. The consta- ble, having the legal authority, had opened the store room, and thereby made it possible for Donnelley's creditors to secure or satisfy their several claims, some being ten, twenty, twenty-five, fifty and a hundred dollars. About all of his creditors had received their pay in goods. He appeared to be very much surprised on his arrival at this state of affairs, but it afterward developed that he was more than satisfied, for the reason that his creditors had paid high prices for all the goods taken. Mr. Donnelley sold the residue of his stock to Geo. F. Bloom in 1871, and then removed to Arkansas from here.
The firm of Hathaway Bros. bought the warehouse of Mr. Cornelius Donnelley in 1872, and the former at once began to remodel it by building it larger in every way, and higher. They also placed in the house a steam engine, the first engine run by steam that had ever been placed in a warehouse in Remington. This warehouse was the one originally known as the Roberts warehouse. Our people thought an engine something wonderful in these days. Hathaway brothers proceeded at once to convert this ware- house into a grist mill, and they put in a set of burrs, which were quite suitable for grinding Indian corn. This mill did a great amount of grinding, and it was generally conceded that it did its work well and was a blessing to the community. The Hathaway Brothers also built a hay barn near the railway and on the range line. This hay barn was located near the present barns of Patrick H. Maguire. That barn was used by the Hathaway Bros. for several years.
In the spring of 1861, Milton Beal built a small
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house on the corner of First South and Range Line streets, on the lot now owned and occupied by James F. Ellis. Mr. Beal moved into this house but did not remain there very long, until he sold out and moved to the west. Mr. Beal had a sister-in-law who was a widow lady, that moved into Remington about this time. Shortly after she came to town, she met Dr. Saml. Miller, who was a widower. This couple at once formed an attachment for each other, and in a very few months they were married. Dr. Miller then built the house in which they moved, which was in later years known as the Presbyterian par- sonage. He built this in 1866. Dr. Miller did not remain in Remington very long. He sold out and imme- diately located at Winona, Minn., where some years later he died. His brother, John Miller, also moved from here to Rensselaer, where he was elected as County Sur- veyor. He was afflcted with consumption. He also passed away several years ago.
In the spring of 1862 Mr. Aaron Hartman came to Carpenter township, and settled in the Ravenscroft neigh- borhood, his first farm cornering with that of Mr. Ravens- croft. He only lived there a few years, when he sold this place to Mr. William Irwin, but he immediately bought again in the same neighborhood, but a little nearer town. Mr. Hartman, by close attention to his farming business, hard work, and economy, managed to acquire considerable property, and save some money. He was one of our foremost farmers, and an excellent man. He was a chris- tian gentleman, and a diligent worker in the cause of Christ, being a member in the Presbyterian church, in Remington. His family consisted of three sons and five daughters, all of whom are grown and married. Mr. Hartman, for some years past had been afflicted with a disease known to the medical fraternity as cancer of the stomach, which caused his death some time during the year 1890 or '91, at his home on the farm.
In 1864, Mr. Ralph Cherry and his family settled in
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the Ravenscroft neighborhood. Mr. Cherry settled on and improved the farm now known as the Thomas Collins farm, owned at present by a son of Thomas Collins, named William. Mr. Cherry did not add a great deal to the history of this community for the reason that he only remained there a very few years, having sold out his inter- ests and removed to Nebraska, in the vicinity of Hastings. The Bates family also settled in the same neighborhood, just south of the Cherry farm. There were just two boys in this family. They were good citizen's, but soon tired of farming and moved into the town of Remington. They sold their farm in 1872, having lived on it only four or five years. In 1875 they engaged in the furniture business in Remington. Nathaniel S. Bates was a soldier during the late war. He moved to Rensselaer several years ago, and was postmaster there during the four years of Presi- dent Cleveland's first administration. The other brother is living in South Dakota. George F. Bloom came to Rem- ington, Ind., from Manteno, Ill., in the early sixties, and was employed as chief clerk by the firm of Hathaway Brothers. He held this position for several years, and until the death of one of the firm, Mr. Giles Hathaway. Mr. Bloom was a good business man, attending strictly at all times to the business affairs of his employers. He is a member of the Presbyterian church of Remington, being one of the most faithful of this organization. He has held may of the church offices, and filled them with fidelity. He was the second man to engage in the furniture business here, having sold out a short time ago his furniture busi- ness to J. F. Major. Mr. Bloom is now engaged in the grocery trade. Giles Hathaway had been ill for several years prior to his death. He went to California with the hope of recovering his health, but died there and was brought back to Remington for burial. The disease of which he died was pronounced consumption. His brother, Charles Hathaway, continued in the business here for a while after his death, but finally disposed of his interests
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CHARLES T. DENHAM. (See page 266.)
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here and moved west, where he too soon sickened and passed away.
Voss Dobbins was an early pioneer of this section of the country, having arrived here in the early sixties, his brother, Thomas Dobbins, known by nearly all of our peo- ple, also come here at an early date. He located near the west boundary of White county, but afterward moved into Jasper county, where he continued to live until his death, which occurred in 1891. He left surviving him two sons and two daughters, all of whom are living in the vicinity of Remington. One of the sons, Mr. Sloan Dobbins, was of a roving disposition, always being happiest when he was moving from one locality to another. About his last move was to Oregon, on a prospecting tour, but not being satisfied there he returned to Carpenter township, and soon afterward bought a nice little property in the town of Remington where he is at present living, apparently con- tented and happy. The Hathaway brothers, during their stay in Remington, had been of great benefit to the town. They came here in 1869, and went into the mercantile and grain business. They bought the carpenter shop of Mr. Shaffer and converted it, in connection with another larger building which they erected adjoining it on the east, into a large mercantile store room, with office rooms above. Their store room was double. The lots they built on were purchased of a Mr. Reynolds.
Cornelius Donnelley, heretofore mentioned, served as Constable for Carpenter township several years, in those earlier times, but after having moved to the southwest, two or three years he returned to Indiana, and located in Michigan City. He lived there only a short time, when he was one morning found dead in his bed, having died during the previous night in a very mysterious manner. His brother Thomas was also an early citizen here. He was a member of the 48th Regt. Ind. Vols. during the late Re- bellion, and when he returned he was also elected Constable for Carpenter township, and made a good officer. He 4
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