USA > Indiana > Memorial and genealogical record of Representative Citizens of Indiana > Part 38
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68
".A noble character has departed from our midst and we, who knew him best, do homage to his memory by holding this solemn communion.
" 'Though Simon Freiburger has bidden farewell to all that is earthly, he is with us, and will abide with us by the luster of his noble traits and his beautiful force of character. His good deeds will penetrate through the darkness of the grave and stand as a monument already erected. Well may we place the inscription, the name of our congregation, Achduth Vasholom, on his monu- ment, for he was the very embodiment of this motto, "Unity and peace!" My associate for so many years in the administration of our congregation, my faithful assistant in all the details of our many years of co-operation, I had occasion to observe and learn the dictate of his heart. It was Sholom-peace. He prized it higher than the execution of his own ideas, which he often for- mulated, but was always ready to surrender for the sake of peace. At times when dark clouds hovered over the horizon of our con- gregation and difficulty obstrueted the smooth sailing of our ad- ministration, he counseled peace and unity and by his wise and sincere advice we overcame the seeming obstruction.
" 'The life of this man was a poem of truth, a glorious page of fidelity and devotion, a volume of soul and piety. A messenger of peace, his very presence suggested. When I think of all this how sadly and mournfully do I view this vacant chair. His life was one of simplicity and modesty; he despised arrogance and pride and loved order. He never faltered in the discharge of his duties as an officer of our congregation and was always ready to assume any burden placed upon him to further the aims and pur- poses of our organization. His pathway was not always strewn with roses; he also had to climb the rugged path of life; yet in all his affliction he was unshaken in his belief and his trust in God above.
" 'While raised in his early youth in the school of orthodoxy, yet he was ever ready to accept such changes as were necessitated by an age of enlightenment and progress in the ritual and cere-
423
monial part of our faith and he never permitted such innovation to shake his unbounded faith in the fundamental principles of our holy religion. Never a eynie, never displaying any indifference, always abounding in faith; a God-fearing man.
"'Young Israel, in the prime of your life, surrounded by the many pit-falls and temptations of this advanced civilization, if in the rush of your daily avocations you should forget your Anties as Israelites, turn you, I pray, to the eulogy of Simon Freiburger's life. From his early youth to the end of his life he never forgot his God-a true Israelite to the last. The summons from the Most High he complied with in a peaceful sleep-his peaceful life a fitting tribute to his peaceful death.'
"Rev. Hirschberg led the services throughout in an impres- sive manner; his prayer touched every heart. We pray to God that He may give the bereaved widow health and strength to com- plete the work of benevolence and charity which he so nobly car- ried out during his life. I can say no more, but would quote the words of the Christian divine, Rev. Wagenhall, in his letter of condolence: 'He was an Israelite, indeed, without guile.'"
REV. WILLIS D. ENGLE.
There is no earthly station higher than the ministry of the gospel: no life can be more uplifting and grander than that which is devoted to ameliorating the condition of the human race, a life of service for the betterment of the brotherhood of man, one that is willing to cast aside all earthly erowns and laurels of fame in order to follow in the footsteps of the lowly Nazarene. It is not possible to measure adequately the height, depth and breadth of such a life, for its influence continues to permeate the lives of others through succeeding generations, so its power cannot be fully known until "the sun grows cold, and the stars are old and the leaves of the judgment book unfold." Rev. Willis D. Engle, an able and successful Episcopal minister, known throughout In- diana, and who, after many years of strenuous endeavor in the Master's active work, is now rendering efficient service in the interests of the time-honored Masonic fraternity and its auxiliary body, the Order of the Eastern Star, is one of those self-saerific- ing, ardent, loyal and true spirits that are a blessing to the race, leaving in their wake an influence that ever makes brighter and better the lives of those who follow.
Willis D. Engle was born on October 22, 1846, at Niles, Ber- rien county, Michigan, and is a son of Rev. George B. and Abbie (Edson) Engle, both of his parents having been natives of the state of New York. George B. Engle was a highly educated man and for many years a successful minister in the Episcopal church, having served as rector of charges in the states of New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana. He was widely known, es- pecially in Indiana, as a powerful and effective worker in the local mission field. He was honored by all as a man of rare quali- ties and attainments, being a forceful and earnest speaker and a successful laborer in his Master's vineyard. His death occurred in 1898. The subject's mother also was an enthusiastic Christian worker and ably seconded her noble husband in all her labors and sharing his hardships without murmur or complaint. She died in 1876.
Willis D. Engle was given the advantage of a good general
425
and theological education and in 1883 he was ordained to the min- istry of the Protestant Episcopal church. He brought to his call- ing, not only thorough training and natural qualifications for his work, but an enthusiasm born of earnest consecration to his life mission which in itself was a guarantee of success. His minister- ial labors were confined to the state of Indiana, where he held several charges, including Columbus, New Castle, Crawfords- ville, Connersville, Aurora, Frankfort, Huntington and Lawrence- burg. During these years the subject was active in looking after the material interests of his churches and five new churches were erected and dedicated to the worship of God under his direction, having completed a handsome new edifice at Lawrenceburg just before relinquishing his labors there. The life of a pastor has in it many perplexing situations and many obstacles, and, more than any other profession, this requires tact, patience and persever- ance, kindness and long suffering, but Mr. Engle possessed all these and by the goodness of his character and his genuine worth he was endeared to his parishioners in every church which he served and gained the friendship of all who knew him, regardless of denominational lines. In the pulpit he is an earnest, forceful and often eloquent speaker, impressing his hearers with the truth which he utters, and he never hesitates to give expression to his honest convictions on any subject affecting the weal of the people. Well educated, consecrated, enthusiastic and persevering, he ac- complished a great work for his Master during the years of his active ministry.
Mr. Engle has for many years been a live member of the Masonic fraternity, having been for thirty-four years the secre- tary of Mystic Tie Lodge No. 398, at Indianapolis, being also past worshipful master of that lodge. In the Masonic grand lodge of Indiana Mr. Engle has served as grand lecturer and grand chap- lain, and for several years he has rendered good service as librar- ian of the grand lodge, his office being with the library in the mag- nificent new Masonic Temple at Indianapolis. Since 1868 he has been secretary of the Masonic Relief Board of Indianapolis and for the same length of time secretary of the Indianapolis Masonic Burial Ground Association. In 1912 he was appointed secretary of the Masonic Relief Association of the United States and Cana- da. He has taken all the degrees of the York Rite, including the Knights Templar, and is also a member of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.
426
Mr. Engle has for many years taken a special interest in the Order of the Eastern Star and was a moving spirit in the organi- zation of the general grand chapter of that order, of which he served as secretary for thirteen years and is now the most worthy grand patron of that body. He is the author of two valuable and interesting works, "The Eastern Star in Indiana" and "The General History of the Order of the Eastern Star," the former book being published by the grand chapter and widely circulated. He has made a close study of Masonry, in which he has ever found the greatest pleasure, and in his daily life he has exempli- fied the precepts of that sublime order. He has not by any means relinquished his interest in religious matters and is still doing mission work in connection with All-Saints' Cathedral, under the direction of the Bishop of Indianapolis. His career has been complete and rounded in its beautiful simplicity; he has done his full duty in all the relations of life and is respected and esteemed by his fellow citizens.
REV. JOSEPH MARSEE.
There is no earthly station higher than the ministry of the Gospel; no life can be more uplifting and grander than that which is devoted to the amelioration of the human race, a life of sacri- fice for the betterment of the brotherhood of man, oue that is will- ing to cast aside all earthly crowns and laurels of fame in order to follow in the footsteps of the lowly Nazarene. It is not pos- sible to measure adequately the height, depth and breadth of such a life, for its influences continue to permeate the lives of others through succeeding generations, so the power it has can not be known until "the last great day when the trump shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible." One of the self- sacrificing, ardent, loyal and true spirits that was a blessing to the race, who left in his wake an influence that ever makes the world brighter and betters the lives of those who follow was the late Rev. Joseph Marsee, whose life forcibly illustrated what energy, integrity and a fixed purpose can accomplish when ani- mated by noble aims and correct ideals. He ever held the un- equivocal confidence and esteem of the people among whom he labored, and his career could be very profitably studied by the ambitious youth standing at the parting of the ways.
Rev. Joseph Marsee was born in Tennessee in the year 1800, being the scion of a hardy old Southern family, and there he grew to manhood and received such education as the schools of those early times afforded, which was later greatly supplemented by general home study and practical experience. Remaining in his native state until he was thirty years of age, he removed to Kentucky in the year 1830. Three years later, on February 20, 1833, he was united in marriage with Rebecca (Harris) Lind- sey, also a representative of a worthy old Southern family, hav- ing spent her girlhood days in the Blue Grass state.
In his younger day Rev. Joseph Marsee taught school very acceptably for some time, and he also engaged in farming when a young man. He later entered the ministry of the Methodist Epis- copal church in which he became widely known as one of the earnest and important workers in this denomination. At first
428
he was a circuit rider, covering a wide territory on horseback, riding a circuit at the lower end of Cumberland Gap, which local- ity was later to become famous in the military history of the country, and for some time he was a familiar figure in that his- toric region and did an incalculable amount of good among the mountaineers, who treasured for generations his wise sayings and gentle admonitions, for he was held in reverence by that pe- culiar, brave and rugged class of people. Later he became pastor of the Methodist church at Newport, Kentucky, and while there he was married. He was of French extraction, his parents, how- ever, being both American born.
After his marriage Rev. Joseph Marsee continued in the min- istry in Kentucky six years, after which he moved to Indiana and for several years was called from place to place to assist other ministers in different parts of the state. In 1842 he came to In- dianapolis, remaining in the Hoosier capital until 1850, in which year he moved to Lafayette, temporarily, returning to Indian- apolis in 1857 and retiring from the ministry after a long and suc- cessful record, worthy of the highest admiration.
Upon taking up his residence in Indianapolis Rev. Josepli Marsee entered the wholesale and retail lumber business with his son, John Lindsey Marsee, and continued successfully in this line of endeavor until one year before his death, which occurred in January, 1872.
To Rev. Joseph Marsee and wife eight children were born, namely: Sarah M., Louisa N., Mary D., Joseph W. (deceased), John Lindsey, and Isabella, deceased. All the living children are residents of Indianapolis.
John L. Marsee was born on September 22, 1836, at Newport, Kentucky. He was five years of age when the family moved to Indiana, and following his father from place to place in his min- isterial work, he attended the common schools in various towns, completing his education at the old Century Seminary in Indian- apolis, which stood on what is now University Square. When a young man he launched into the lumber business, conducting a yard, with his father, on East Washington street, where the Von- negut hardware store formerly stood, remaining there three years. They later built a saw-mill at the corner of Pearl and New Jersey street, which was conducted until after the death of the father. After successfully operating the mill for a period of
429
fourteen years, during which he enjoyed a large and lucrative business, young Marsee retired from the lumber field and has since devoted his time to real estate interests with gratifying results.
John L. Marsee was never married, yet he takes much inter- est in keeping up the pleasant old homestead at No. 403 East South street. Indianapolis, where the death of his father occurred and which has been known as the Marsee homestead for the past forty-seven years, and here the subject's mother spent the last years of her life, passing away in 1896. She was of Scotch-Irish deseent, and, like the rest of her family, lived to a ripe old age. The living members of the Marsee family all reside at the old home here, constituting a mutually happy household.
John L. Marsee is an active worker and faithful supporter of the Republican party. He has never allied himself with any fraternal denomination or secret organizations. He has long been an attendant of the Methodist Episcopal church, for which he has had a friendly feeling in view of the fact that his father was so long an honored minister in the same.
JOHN MACDOUGAL.
One of the leading business men and best known citizens of Fort Wayne, Indiana, of a past generation was the late John Mac- Dougal, who, for many years, ranked as one of the state's fore- most merchants and captains of industry. He is remembered by those who knew him well as a man of strong personality, but he never forced his convictions upon anyone, and he was notably re- served and undemonstrative. His energy, perseverance and ap- plication enabled him to accomplish much. His high sense of honor restrained him from directing his activities toward any but worthy objects. He had a fine presence and pleasant address, and his appearance denoted the intellectual, forceful, manly man. He was a splendid type of the self-made man. He had in him the elements that make men successful in the highest degree. Pre- eminent among his qualities was that sound judgment which is ordinarily called common sense. He had the ability to grasp facts and infer their practical significance with almost unerring cer- tainty. Few men were more sought for counsel than he by those admitted to his favor, and the correctness of his opinions in prae- tical matters was almost proverbial. His good judgment ex- tended to men as well as measures, for he had a keen insight into human nature, whether of men singly or in masses. For these reasons Mr. MacDougal was a thoroughly practical man, self-re- liant, firm, resolute. To this was added the one thing necessary for the ideal business man-a serupulous honesty in his dealings with his fellow men.
Mr. MacDougal was the scion of a sterling old Scotch family, and his birth occurred in July, 1828, in Glengarry, Canada, a Scotch settlement. He was the son of Alexander and Rebecca (McDonald) MacDougal, both parents natives of Scotland, from which country they emigrated to the Dominion of Canada in early life and there established their permanent home. The subject of this memoir grew to maturity in his native community and there received his early educational training. He was one of a very large family. When nineteen years of age he left home and went to Rochester, New York, accompanied by his cousin, James Mc- Donald.
431
John MacDougal came to Terre Haute, Indiana, in the late fifties and there conducted his first business, a dry goods store, and he soon discovered that this was his natural bent and he gradually rose in the mercantile field from that time until his death, some thirty-five years later. In 1860 he came to Fort Wayne and established the dry goods house of MacDougal, Root & Company, which is now known as the Rurode Dry Goods Com- pany, which retains the character and spirit of its founder and which is one of the largest and best known stores in this section of the state. In former years it was known for some time as the MacDougal Dry Goods Company. Mr. MacDougal was likewise the founder of the pioneer carpet business in Fort Wayne, which he established some years after his advent here in partnership with Thomas B. Schoaf, but owing to ill health he sold this and retired. In those years Mr. MacDougal was easily the foremost merchant of Fort Wayne and few men have retired from active life, enjoying to so unusual a degree the esteem and consideration of the community. The handsome block at the corner of Berry and Calhoun streets, Fort Wayne, is a monument to his mercantile career and better still is the memory that attaches to his early achievements when opportunities were created, not found.
Proud of his fine old Scoteli ancestry, he was always very mnuch a gentleman, courteous, genteel and of pleasing address, which made him a favorite with all with whom he came into per- sonal contact. He won a state-wide reputation for his business ability and was always regarded as the leader of the mercantile world in northeastern Indiana. Owing to failing health he retired from active business affairs some twenty years prior to his death, which occurred on October 24, 1895, at the age of sixty-seven years.
Mr. MacDougal was married to Julia Hedekin, daughter of Michael Hedekin, the ceremony being performed in Fort Wayne, January 28, 1860. At that time Mr. Hedekin was one of the most prominent men of this city and was one of the pioneers of this section of the state. He owned the old Hedekin House on Barr street, Fort Wayne, one of the old landmarks. The old Hedekin homestead was located between Barr and Lafayette streets on East Main street and is still standing. The death of Mrs. Mac- Dougal occurred on March 31, 1868, leaving two children, Michael Charles MacDougal, one of Fort Wayne's prominent business
432
men, and Mary Katherine MacDougal, both of whom reside at the MacDougal homestead at No. 503 West Wayne street, where the family has lived for the past quarter of a century. One child of the subject, a daughter, Anna Rebecca MacDougal, died in in- fancy.
Politieally, Mr. MacDougal was a Democrat, but he was never very active in polities, preferring to give his attention to his busi- ness affairs and to his home, being very fond of his children, to whom he gave every advantage, educational and otherwise. He was a devout member of the Catholic faith, being a member of the Cathedral Catholic church in Fort Wayne, enjoying very much the distinction of being Scotch Catholic, something quite unusual. He was a supporter of all measures looking toward the development of his home city, being very closely associated with the business and eivie interests of the same for many years, and was one of the foremost workers in pushing to a successful termi- nus any enterprise proposed for the betterment of Fort Wayne in the future of which he always had an unwavering faith, and he played an important part in its rapid growth. He was decidedly foreign in his tastes, and for recreation was a great lover of fish- ing and outdoor sport in general, never missing an opportunity to take an excursion to the secluded haunts of nature.
From its account of the death and life of the subject, we take the following paragraph from the leading Fort Wayne daily paper:
"Possessing high and varied qualities of mind and heart, Mr. MaeDougal had a strong individuality and withal a gentle nature about which will cluster the fondest memories of those dear to him. His were, indeed, a union of admirable qualities and he never ceased, even through the physical ills that long afflicted him, to manifest the dignity, the courage, the grace and the bear- ing that came from the heart of a gentleman, to the manner born."
JOHN
STEVENSON
JOHN STEVENSON.
History and biography for the most part record the lives of only those who have attained military, political or literary dis- tinction, or who in any other career have passed through extraor- dinary vicissitudes of fortune. The unostentatious routine of pri- vate life, although in the aggregate more important to the wel- fare of the community, cannot, from its very nature, figure in the public annals. But the names of men who have distinguished themselves in their day and generation for the possession, in an eminent degree, of those qualities of character which mainly con- tribute to the success of private life and to public stability-of men who, without dazzling talents, have been exemplary in all their personal and social relations, and enjoyed the esteem, con- fidence and respect of those around them-ought not to be al- lowed to perish. Few can draw rules for their own guidance from the pages of Plutarch, but all are benefited by the delineation of those traits of character which find scope and exercise in the common walks of life. Among the individuals of this class of a past generation in Indianapolis was the late John Stevenson. His record is the account of a life which was, in the main, uneventful, as far as stirring incidents or startling adventure is concerned, yet was distinguished by the most substantial qualities of char- acter. His life history exhibits a career of unswerving integrity, indefatigable private industry and wholesome home and social relations-a most commendable career crowned with success. It is the record of a well balanced mental and moral constitution, strongly marked by those traits of character which are of special value in such a state of society as exists in this country. A com- munity depends upon commercial activity-its welfare is due to this, and its promoters of legitimate and extensive business enter- prises may well be termed its benefactors. Such a man was the subject, for years a leading merchant of the capital city of In- diana, a man who, in the most liberal acceptation of the phrase, was the architect of his own fortune and nobly entitled to be term- ed by that proud American title, a self-made man, worthy of the high esteem in which he was universally held, and although he
(28)
434
has been summoned to close his earthly accounts and take up his labors on a higher plane of endeavor, his memory is deeply re- vered by a wide circle of friends.
Mr. Stevenson was born at Irvine, on the northwest coast of Scotland, about 1850, the scion of an ancient Scotch ancestry, many of whose sterling characteristics he evidently inherited. He was the son of John and Mary (Dickey) Stevenson, both of whom came from a long line of tillers of the soil-plain, industrious, honest people. John Stevenson, of this sketch, was the third ehild in a family of eight children and the only one of the number to come to America. He grew to manhood on his native heath and received his education in the academy at Irvine, an institution from which many noted men have been graduated. He left school at the age of fourteen years and when quite young began his busi- ness career by working in a dry goods house in his native town. Being apt to learn and having a natural bent in this line, he soon mastered the ins and outs of the same, remaining there about three years, then entered the employ of a branch house of a tan- dem firm at Glasgow, as traveling salesman, his territory being southwestern Scotland. He gave the firm eminent satisfaction and became well known and popular with the trade.
Believing that the United States offered a wider field of opportunities for the exercise of his talents, Mr. Stevenson set sail for our shores in 1873, and in a short time accepted a position with the firm of Mills & Gibbs, wholesale dry goods merchants, of Broadway street, New York City. They reposed implicit faith in him from the first and assigned him to a large and important territory, embracing Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio, making only the larger cities and towns, selling fine laces and embroidery. He increased the prestige of this firm immensely in the middle West and remained with it fourteen years, which fact is certainly criterion enough of his ability to get large business and of the confidence his employers had in him. During this period he made his headquarters at Indianapolis, locating here in 1878, and here he spent the rest of his life, with the exception of one year in Lafayette, Indiana.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.