Memorial and genealogical record of Representative Citizens of Indiana, Part 5

Author: Dunn, Jacob Piatt, 1855-1924. cn
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Brown
Number of Pages: 1674

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In May, 1869, Judge N. H. Johnson died suddenly, leaving a tacaney on the bench of the criminal court of Wayne county, and to the position Mr. Holland was appointed. Previous to this time, bin only child, Georgiana, had married Charles C. Binkley, a .og lawyer, whom Judge Holland admitted into partnership m his luisiness, this connection continuing until his elevation to the touch. In July, 1861, he had determined to remove to Rich- mond, and in May, 1862, had established his family in the new In .. When elevated to the bench he was in very poor health, !out oft ... n few months spent at Martha's Vineyard, Massachu- es Hta, he returned much improved, and with characteristic energy . .... .. . upon his judicial labors. He was re-elected to that office, alsoluisteren justice without fear or favor until the court was wehushed by legislative act. His professional brethren spoke of ! th as one of the foremost lawyers of Indiana of his day and his grand reflects honor upon the bench and bar of the state.

When twenty- three years of age, Judge Holland was united in runninge with Elizabeth John, daughter of Robert John, in whose lanals he was reared, and he never lost an opportunity to ac- Bear lodge his indebtedness to his wife and her parents for all that "es sere to him. To her mother, Mrs. Asenath John, he attrib- " I all the ambitions and honorable influences which permeated ". . . oh, and to the assistance and encouragement of his wife he attributed the success which crowned his many years of effort in 1 site: off the debts of another. As intimated above, one daugh-

ter, Georgiana, was born to this marriage, and from the time of their removal to Richmond, Mr. Holland and his wife and Mr. and Mrs. Binkley and their children lived in one family. In 1849, having no son of their own, they adopted Edwin Holland Terrel, then only nine months old. He was left motherless at that age, and his father, Rev. Williamson Terrel, was an itinerant Metho- dist minister. The boy proved entirely worthy the love and ten- der care bestowed upon him. For some years he was a prominent practitioner at the bar in Indianapolis. Having married at San Antonio, Texas, he removed there and entered the practice at that place. Soon afterward he drifted into railroad and a number of other enterprises, resulting very successfully. In 1888, his merit and qualification being well known to Benjamin Harrison, Presi- dent of the United States, he appointed him United States min- ister to Belgium, which place he filled in a manner that reflected much credit upon his ability and distinction to the close of the administration. He died in San Antonio, July 1, 1910.

In politics Judge Holland was a stalwart Republican, and in 1860 he was a delegate to the national convention in Chicago, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency. In the spring of 1842 he acknowledged his belief in the Christ and was ever afterward a follower in His footsteps, having an abiding faith in the Christian religion. He was always at his place in the church, and manifested his belief in that practical spirit of help- fulness of the One who came not to be ministered unto but to minister. Death came to him unexpectedly on November 30, 1875, but his upright life had fully prepared him to meet it, and he passed from earth as "one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him and lies down to pleasant dreams."

No death in Wayne county was ever more universally la- mented than that of Judge Holland, well known throughout the state. He was a man who regarded home ties as most sacred and friendship as inviolable. Emerson says: "The way to win a friend is to be one," and no man in the locality of which this biographical compendium deals had more friends than he. He was a man of very sympathetic and generous nature, a pleasant companion, and especially congenial to those who cultivated all that was highest and best in life. Resolutions of the highest respect were passed by the bar of the county and circuit and the bar of Brookville, his old home, and the sympathy of the entire community was with the family. Although thirty-seven years

have dissolved into the mists of the irrevocable past since Judge Holland was summoned to take up his work on a higher plane, he in well remembered by all who knew him, his memory is cherished in the hearts of his many friends, and his influence still remains an a blessed benediction to those among whom he walked on the highway of life.

The Judge's widow made her home with her daughter until called to join him in the Silent Land on December 15, 1904. She was a woman of beautiful Christian character, and many worthy attributes of head and heart.

CAROLYN RANDALL FAIRBANK.

The family of which Mrs. Carolyn Randall Fairbank is a creditable representative has been a prominent one in north- eastern Indiana since the pioneer period and, without making any invidious comparison, it can with propriety be said that no other name is better known in Allen county. Honored and re- spected by all, there is today no woman in this locality who occupies a more enviable position in the various circles in which she moves than she whose name forms the caption of this brief biographical review, the name of this estimable lady being a familiar sound to the people of the city of Fort Wayne, where she has done such a commendable work in clubs, civic and social circles, and the record of her life outlined in the following para- graphs will doubtless be read with interest by many friends and acquaintances who have learned to prize her for her beautiful character and useful life, which has been as an open book in which there are no pages marred or soiled by conduct unbecoming true womanhood, and whose influence has always made for the good of the large circle of friends with whom she associates. She is a lady of unusual tact and soundness of judgment; these and other com- mendable attributes, coupled with her industry and gracious per- sonality, render her popular with all classes and she has won and retained a host of friends and admirers wherever she is known.

Carolyn Randall Fairbank, the fourth of a family of ten chil- dren, was born in Fort Wayne, at the picturesque old Randall homestead, No. 409 East Wayne street, which historic and com- modious residence has been occupied by the family for the past seventy years, having thus stood through all the vicissitudes of the interesting period that marked the wonderful growth of this city from a straggling Indian trading post and military fort on the frontier to one of the important metropolises of the Middle West. The subject still occupies the old home, in which throng myriad pleasant memories, clinging beneatlı the "roofs that heard her earliest cry." Few are fortunate enough to spend their after days in the old home, so beautifully described by Tennyson, for no other place is ever found to compare with it, and a "charm seems to hallow us there." She is doubly blessed in that with her

(4 still her aged mother, now eighty-four years old, a woman of gracious personality and beautiful Christian faith, who recalls many interesting reminiscences of the early days, for Mrs. Frank.Im P. Randall has been a most interested spectator to the development of her chosen city. The latter's son, Irwin Randall, te also still a member of the home cirele.

Mrs. Fairbank grew to womanhood in her native city and tereived her early education in the Fort Wayne public schools, later attended St. Mary's Institute, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, ss Irre she made an excellent record for scholarship.

In 1880 she was united in marriage with Clark Fairbank, in Fort Wayne, a man of excellent business characteristics and ex- emplary habits, who passed to his rest in 1908. To this union one winsome daughter was born, Agnes Randall Fairbank, who be- canwe the wife of James L. Taylor, Jr., of New York City.

Mrs. Fairbank has always been greatly interested in club affairs of Fort Wayne, also in publie questions, and she is one of the leading women of her city and state, widely known and in- thuential, a woman of rare talent and versatile powers, very fond of literary and historical pursuits, devoting most of her time to these lines. As a writer she wields a forceful, graceful and enter- taining pen, giving every evidence of rare literary gifts, and whatever she gives to the public is eagerly read by a wide and appreciative audience. She is a worthy member of Trinity Episcopal church, of Fort Wayne, of which she has been a liberal supporter for many years. She is one of the leading lights in local literary clubs, and she very ably officiated as president of the Art: Association and School of Fort Wayne. She has been president of the Morning Musicale for years, and its pronounced enereky has been due very largely to her efforts. She is intensely interested in the Daughters of the American Revolution, and she has officiated as regent of the same on two different occasions, and she has always held office in the local chapter since its found- wg. She is interested in everything pertaining to Fort Wayne, very largely because her honored father always had such a strong muuration and faith in his chosen city. It was through Mrs. Fair- bank's efforts that the relie room in the Allen county court house 1/4 /4tablished. It is one of the most interesting places, from the "t.uidpoint of the relie admirer, in northern Indiana. Many of the relies are those of her father, which he prized very highly and which are of great value.

One of the most commendable works of Mrs. Fairbank as regent of the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, known as the Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter, is her work through the city council of Fort Wayne and the park board of the city to secure the historie battle ground where General Harmer met the Indians in 1796 and was defeated. This ground will be used as a public park. It is a beautiful spot and is pleas- antly located in the eastern part of the city. The people of Fort Wayne love her and greatly appreciate her efforts. She repre- sented the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revo- lution at the Continental Congress in Washington, D. C., several times, also represented the same in various state committees, always discharging her duties in a manner that reflected much credit on herself and to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned. She is a lady of culture, refinement, profound education, broad- minded and progressive, and possesses that rare quality known as personal magnetism which renders her popular with all with whom she comes in contact.

HIV Meiller

HIRAM W. MILLER.

Agriculture has been the true source of man's dominion on earth ever since the primal existence of labor and has been the pivotal industry that has controlled, for the most part, all the fields of action to which his intelligence and energy have been devoted. Among this sturdy element of Marion county of a past generation, whose labors profited alike themselves and the com- munity in which they lived was the late Hiram W. Miller, for many years one of the substantial and best known farmers and business men of Indianapolis and vicinity. An enumeration of the representative men of this section of the state who have fin- ished their labors and been transferred by the fate that awaits all mankind to a higher plane of action, would be incomplete without specific mention of this popular, influential and honored gentleman, whose memory will long be revered by a wide acquaintance. A member of one of the old and highly esteemed families of Marion county, this state, he stamped the impress of his individuality upon the community and added luster to the untarnished escutcheon of the name he bore, having always been scrupulously honest in all his relations with his fellow men and leaving no stone unturned whereby he might benefit his own con- dition as well as that of his neighbors and the locality of his resi- lence, consequently he stood in high favor with all classes.

Before proceeding with the life record of the subject, the biographer deems it advisable to give the genealogy of the gen- erations of Millers as compiled by John W. Miller, in view of the prominence of the members of this sterling old family. This rec- ord of the family of Anthony Miller, as translated from the German, is as accurate as it is possible to make it, the main facts in the history of the six generations embraced being concisely set forth. Tradition has it that the parents of the paternal grand- father spent their lives in Germany and that their three children, sons, emigrated to America and here made their future home.

We first hear of Anthony Miller, who was born in Diellen- burg, county of Beillsteiner, province of Nassau, Germany, March 9, 1747, and was christened the same month. There he grew to manhood, and when twenty-two years old set sail for our

shores, landing at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 18, 1769, accompanied by his two brothers, John and Jacob, and the long voyage was made in a sailing vessel. Anthony Miller was the grandfather of the subject of this memoir, and in relating the incidents of this voyage he is remembered to have said that the vessel was becalmed in mid-ocean, the ship lying perfectly still for three days and nights, the air being so calm that a feather dropped overboard would fall straight to the water, and he would always finish by saying that if they hadn't got any wind they would be there yet, and he would then give a hearty laugh. The three brothers were millwrights by profession, and in making a tour through the unsettled part of the state of Pennsylvania they came upon an old abandoned grist-mill and they all three began a close examination of it, not knowing that a number of hostile Indians were lying in ambush ready to kill any white person that they might chance to sec. After the trio of brothers had finished inspecting the old grist-mill and had satisfied their minds as to its construction, they proceeded on their journey, John being in the lead as they emerged from the mill. He was killed in- stantly as the savages opened fire on them. Anthony and Jacob both ran away, not knowing how large a party of red men had attacked them and not having any weapons of defense of any kind. The Indians pursued them and Jacob was captured, An- thony making his escape, but he never heard what became of his brother Jacob. It is supposed that he was tortured to death, for that was the period of the Revolutionary war when most Indian tribes were endeavoring to exterminate American citizens. Thus deprived of the companionship and sympathy of his younger brothers and being in a strange country, Anthony Miller's life was everything but pleasant. On January 17, 1775, he was united in marriage with Kathalene Clafsatlerin, he being then in his twenty-eighth year. He was still living in Pennsylvania at that time. To this union the following children were born: Katha- lene, born May 14, 1776, and christened on June 9th following; Magdaline, born July 28, 1778, was christened on September 4th following; Sussana, born March 26; 1780, was christened on Sep- tember 21st following; a son was born on April 25, 1782, and died in the following month, unnamed; John, born February 25, 1783, was christened on March 27th following; Maria, born April 28, 1786, was christened on June 15th following, and her death oc- curred on April 21, 1808, when lacking but a week of her twenty-

second birthday; Elizabeth, born November 26, 1788, was chris- tened on December 28th following; Daniel, born March 20, 1791, was christened April 30th following; Henry, born May 6, 1793, was christened on May 29th following; Rebecca, born April 4, 1798, was christened on April 19th.

The above named children married as follows: Kathalene and Samuel Cadwalarder were married on January 27, 1798; Mag- daline married Fred Adelspirger, May 28, 1800; Sussana married Henry Ricksetter, February 19, 1807; Maria died unmarried; Elizabeth married Adam Ridenauer; there is no record of Re- becca's marriage; John never married so far as is known; Daniel married Polly Shook; Henry married Mary Shook, sister of Dan- iel's wife. Some of these children settled in Ohio, some in Mary- land. The records show that upon their marriage they were given household property amounting to somewhere near twenty dollars each and thus started out in life.

The death of Anthony Miller occurred on August 1, 1834, when past eighty-seven years of age.

Henry Miller, mentioned above, who was a native of Pennsyl- vania, married Mary Shook, as stated above; she was born in · October, 1794, in Virginia, and to them seven children were born, in Frederick county, Maryland, namely: Samuel, father of the subject of this memoir, was born January 21, 1819; Elias, born April 19, 1825, died August 11, 1845, when twenty years old; Elizabeth, born October 15, 1826; John, who compiled this gene- alogy, was born April 8, 1829; Andrew was born September 8, 1830; Maria was born April 25, 1832; Mary Ann was born August 18, 1836. -

It was on October 1, 1837, that the Miller family, numbering forty-seven people, bade farewell to their old Maryland home. There were seven households represented, the heads of which were Henry and Mary Miller and their children, Samuel, Elias, Elizabeth, John W., Andrew J. and Mary Ann; Adam and Eliza- beth Ridenour, the latter a sister of Henry Miller, and their chil- dren, Polly, Daniel, Peggy, William, Sarah, Adam Jr., Morton, Elizabeth and Susie; Henry Shook, brother-in-law of Henry Miller, and his wife Polly, whose maiden name was Wilhide, and their children, Jacob, John, Josiah, Elias, Polly and Sarah; Na- thaniel Rice and his wife Polly, who was a daughter of Adam Ridenour, and their children, Harrict, Louisa, William and Mary; Manasses Crecger and his wife Peggy, who was the daughter of

Adam Ridenour, and their children, Mary and Adam; Zebulon Creeger, his wife Sarah, who was the daughter of Adam Riden- our; Thomas Waltman, his wife Mary Waltman and their chil- dren, Henry, Magdalena and Thomas, Jr. Jacob Wolf and Tobias Foss, who also came, had been in the employ of Henry Miller. The first six families named were all related.

Two of the nine teams were four-horse, and the trip was not without some hardship, but was enjoyed by the party, which ar- rived at Indianapolis on November 1, 1837, having been just one month on the road. Henry Miller rented a house here and the family spent the winter in it, and after sixty-three years the house was still standing. Henry Miller later purchased a farm northwest of Indianapolis, on the state road running from this city to Lafayette, and moved to it in March, 1838, and they set to work with a will to get their first crop planted. The farm con- tained three hundred and twenty acres, which came to be owned for the most part by Hiram W. Miller, the immediate subject of this sketch. For this valuable land Henry Miller paid twelve dol- lars and fifty cents per acre and on that farm the children of the Miller family grew to maturity. The other families that came here from Maryland with Mr. Miller all soon scattered, some going on farther west. The Miller family experienced the hard- ships incident to life in a new country. Malaria was prevalent, as well as other ailments, and many of the family became ill the following fall when they went to work on the raw ground, and the family log cabin lacked many comforts.

Of this family of children, Samuel Miller married Peggy Klingensmith and they became the parents of four children: Hiram Wesley, subject of this sketch; Laura, John and Henry. The death of Elias Miller occurred in 1845; Elizabeth Miller mar- ried Jonathan L. Holmes and they became the parents of these children, Mary Ann, Elias, John and William; John W. Miller married Rachael J. Padgett and to them these children were born, M. Lizzie, George E. and Effie, and two others deceased.

- Andrew J., son of Henry Miller, married Angeline Ward, and three children were born to them, Flora, Clarence and Louis; Maria, daughter of Henry Miller, married William McCaw and they had one child, Alice; Mary Ann, daughter of Henry Miller, married William R. Ward and to them these children were born, Martha Ellen, Mary Jane, Henry Russell and Naomi Catherine.

Laura Miller, daughter of Samuel Miller, married Emanuel

Meyers; John Miller, son of Samuel, remained single; Henry, son of Samuel Miller, married and he and John Miller went West a muuber of years ago and now live in Oklahoma. Elizabeth Miller, daughter of John W. Miller, married Herbert R. Brown; George I. Miller, son of John W. Miller, married Lida Holmes and they have these children, Raleigh W., Cora E., Charles R. and Ralph F. Effie E. Miller, daughter of John W. Miller, married Ralph E. Dutch; Flora Miller, daughter of Andrew J. Miller, married John 'Troast and they have two children, Helen and Walter. Clarence, son of Andrew J. Miller, is married and has two children, Ernest and Russell. Lewis, son of Andrew J. Miller, is married and has one child, Florence. Alice, daughter of Maria McCaw, a daugh- ter of Henry Miller, married Frank Henseley and they had one child, Grace, who married Harry Thomas. Martha Ellen, daugh- ter of John R. and Mary Ann Ward, the latter the daughter of Henry Miller, married James Todd and they had one child, Callie. Later James Todd died and the widow married William Cline; and three children were born to them, William, Evelyn and Ruby. Mary Jane, daughter of John R. and Mary Ann Ward, mar- ried Christian Meyers and they had one daughter, Helen. Henry Russell, son of John R. and Mary Ann Ward, mar- ried Agnes Todd and they had two children, Elizabeth and Harry. Naomi Catherine, daughter of John R. and Mary Ann Ward, married Jacob Clevenger and they had three children, Ward, Wayne and Haskell.

Samuel Miller devoted his life to farming and made his home with his son Hiram W., of this memoir, until his death. Maria Miller, mentioned above, lived in Indianapolis until her death, in January, 1912. Andrew Miller, who formerly lived at the Sol- diers' Home at Danville, Illinois, now lives with his daughter in Indianapolis. John W. Miller, who compiled the genealogy of his family, lived in Meadville, a suburb of Butte, Montana, until his death, about the year 1909.

lliram Wesley Miller, the immediate subject of this review, was born March 2, 1845. He grew to maturity on the farm pur- chased by his grandfather, Henry Miller, and he received his edu- ention in the common schools of his day, He developed a splendid physique and while in his youth did the work of a matured man. After the death of his mother, Margaret Miller, in 1868, his father, Samuel Miller, continued to reside on the homestead until his death in 1904 at an advanced age. The subject was indus-

trious and temperate and always honest, and from this sure foun- dation he never departed during all the years of his useful and active life.

Mr. Miller always spoke of himself as an old-fashioned, prac- tical farmer. On his splendid farm of nearly eight hundred acres he raised the staple cereals, wheat, corn and oats, and always kept his ground highly fertilized. He had a large dairy in con- nection with his farm. The place was noted for its large and well arranged farm buildings. At the time of his death there were in his granary more than four thousand bushels of wheat. Mr. Miller was thought to be worth in farm and city properties more than half a million dollars. He was a lover of good live stock and always kept large numbers of high grade stock of various kinds, being an excellent judge of all varieties.

Mr. Miller was one of the organizers of the State Bank of Indiana in 1892. This bank occupied the corner of Washington and Illinois streets in the old Bates House. He was director of this bank and was its president at the time it sold out its busi- ness in 1901 to the Columbia National Bank, of which he was a director from that time until his death. He was probably the wealthiest farmer in Marion county.

The death of Hiram W. Miller occurred on Friday, April 22, 1910, at the age of sixty-five years. Death came suddenly, al- though he had been in failing health for six weeks, but had not been confined to his home, two miles west of Riverside, much of that time.

Mr. Miller was active in public affairs, always ready to assist in any way in such movements as were calculated to be of general benefit to the community of his residence, and he was for many years a prominent Democrat, being elccted in 1878 and again in 1880 as trustee of Wayne township, Marion county. In 1884 he was nominated by acclamation on the Democratic ticket for treasurer of Marion county. He was duly elected and served one term, declining to make the race a second time. As a public servant he discharged his duties in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself and with eminent satisfaction to the people.

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Memorial and genealogical record of Representative Citizens of Indiana, Part 5

Author: Dunn, Jacob Piatt, 1855-1924. cn Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Brown Number of Pages: 1674

Author: Dunn, Jacob Piatt, 1855-1924. cn
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Brown
Number of Pages: 1674