USA > Indiana > Memorial and genealogical record of Representative Citizens of Indiana > Part 67
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dark valley. Though his dealing now I cannot understand, yet in child-like faith I will take this hand and doubt not Him, whose loving care encompassed me and mine, before there was a world and time.'
"From this truth of our text, you, dear mourners, may draw sustaining comfort in this hour of affliction. The death which now depresses you is not less sad than the one which occurred in the city of Nain at the time our text speaks of. Nor is the burden it imposes lessened by the thought that our beloved one's sad de- parture was due to certain circumstances, apparently insignifi- cant, which, had their import been known, might well have been avoided; in other words, that the accident which caused his death was decreed by blind faith. But is that really true? Can this dark thought, born of sadness and despair, stand in the divine light of our text? Ah, no, dear friends. The experience of the widow and her son of whom our text speaks clearly teaches that the course God's children run in this life is in no way determined or governed by blind fate, but by their merciful Father in Heaven. Nor was their experience an exception. He deals with all His children, as he dealt with them, according to his loving kindness. He has given them His divine promise: 'I have loved thee with an everlasting love,' Jeremiah xxxi:3, and 'I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands,' Isaiah xlix:16. From everlasting God has bestowed upon His children His divine love and that love prompted Him to engrave them upon the palms of His hands. He saw, He shaped their entire course before the world's foundation was laid, decreeing and planning to guide them through all dan- gers of life and lead them finally safely home. All, in circum- stances surrounding a Christian's life, the time and manner of their death, are thus objects of God's providential loving care. This truth applies to our departed friend and brother. His death, though to our reason untimely and horrible, came under circum- stances and at a time most propituous for the accomplishment of God's design: His eternal welfare. Surely God has dealt with him, in the hour and manner of his death also according to His loving kindness.
"And thus He now deals with you, dear mourners; as, through the death of the widow's son, He wanted to demonstrate his merci- ful compassion upon the poor mother; so, through the death of your beloved he wished to show you his tender mercies and lead
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you to a full appreciation of their full sweetness. It may seem paradoxical, yet it is true that the only real joy, the joy of God's children in their Saviour, is born of sadness. As we more fully appreciate the sun's morning rays after a dark, chilling storm; so a sinner will fully appreciate the quiekening rays of the sun of God's grace, merited for all by Christ, the Saviour, after the storm of contrition has raged in his bosom. For that reason, and that reason alone, does God suffer Ilis children to be again and again reminded of their shortcomings. For that reason and that reason alone, does God impose upon them the pangs of separation at the death of a loved one. He wishes to show them the ravages of ' sin (for death is the wages of siu) so that they may more fully ex- perience the happiness and joy derived from the blessed knowl- edge: In Christ Jesus I have full redemption from all my sins. I fully believe, that in your case God's purpose has been accom- plished. I am convinced that the chief cause of your grief in your sad bereavement is, beside the grievous loss you have sus- tained, the knowledge of sin, that burden which oppresses you in common with us all. Therefore in the Saviour's name I bid you, cast aside your grief. Its purpose accomplished, look to Jesus alone. While the tear-dimmed eyes of the body contemplate the sad loss you have sustained, let the eye of faith behold Jesus only. He looks upon you with the same benign look of compassion that sustained and comforted the poor widow at Nain, in the faithful promises of His gospel. He speaks to you the same words of consolation that sustained her in her grievous bereavement: 'Weep not.' 'I have loved thee with an everlasting love, there- fore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.' Grasp Him and His promises, hold them fast, cling to them; they will turn your sorrow into gladness and give you power even in this dark hour, to sing songs of joy and praises of thanksgiving.
"Our text contains another truth from which you may draw comfort. It assured you of a happy reunion, in eternity, with him whose death von mourn. . Jesus touched the young man's hier 'and they that bore him stood still; and He said unto him, Young man, I say unto thee, arise, and he that was dead sat up and began to speak.' This was one of our Saviour's most glorious miracles. By the divine power of His word He called the dead back to life, restoring the departed son to the grieving mother. The visible performance of miracles on our Saviour's part was confined to the
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time of his visible sojourn on earth. We do not expect that Jesus will restore our dead by an immediate miraculous intervention, as He did in Nain; nor did the widow expect it. Christ's previous words or actions implied no promise justifying such expectation. But we do know that, at His own appointed time He will restore his children to life. On this point His word gives us very definite promise: 'The hour is coming, in which all that are in the grave shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life,' John v:28. And this promise, oft repeated if it needed corroboration, amply finds such cor- roboration in the miracle recorded in our text, and in the glorious resurrection of our Saviour. He was raised from the dead as our substitute. On His day He will gather about Him all His chil- dren in everlasting life, who through God's own we may, there- fore, join in Job's song of triumph: 'I know that my Redeemer liveth. * * In my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another,' Job xix:25-27.
" 'God's children.' That includes the deceased brother. His soul is now in Paradise; his body, though presently to be com- mitted to the grave, shall rise on the day of our Lord, and, wonder- fully changed, reunited with the soul, partake of the joy of that life, where death and sorrow and crying and pain have no place for evermore.
"There you may find him; only let your faith be steadfast. Follow in his footsteps. Let Jesus be and ever remain your only hope of salvation. When death calls you hence let him find you clothed in Jesus' blood and righteousness. Thus you will pass through the portals of death, into the life of communion with your Saviour, where, with all holy angels and all God's elect, also your departed husband and father, you will everlastingly sing songs of praise to Him, who, at all times, even in the hours of utter dark- ness, has dealt with you according to his tender mercies."
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WALPOLE G. COLERICK.
An enumeration of those men of the present generation in Allen county who have won honor and public recognition for themselves and at the same time have honored the state to which they belong, must needs include Hon. Walpole G. Colerick, of Fort Wayne, eminent as a lawyer and citizen, and one who ably repre- sented his district in the halls of the national Congress. He has been and is distinctively a man of affairs and one who has wielded marked influence in his profession and in the broad domain of public life, while his technical and academic scholarship is of high order and his dignity of purpose and his personal integrity such, as to have ever commended him to the esteem and good will of his fellow men.
It seems to the writer that consistent recourse may be made at this point to an appreciative estimate of the life history and antecedents of Mr. Colerick written by Judge Allen Zollars, of Fort Wayne, one of his distinguished professional confreres at the present time, since this estimate comes with the full force of inti- mate personal acquaintanceship and significant and analytic ap- preciation. In making excerpt from this previously published sketch we shall take the liberty of making slight changes in phraseology, in order that the subject matter may be brought up to the date of the present writing:
"Hon. Walpole G. Colerick was born in the city of Fort Wayne, on the 1st of August, 1845, and belongs to honorable and distinguished families in the lines of both his father and mother. He is the son of the late Hon. David H. Colerick, and the maiden name of his mother was Elizabeth Gillespie Walpole. He also belongs to families of lawyers. Jolın G. Walpole was a practi- tioner in Fort Wayne. where he died many years ago, and Robert. L. and Thomas D. Walpole were distinguished lawyers at Indi- anapolis. His five brothers all adopted the legal profession, and became successful practitioners, and of the number two are en- gaged in practice at the present time. His older brother, the Hon. John Coleriek, one of the most promising and brilliant of the younger men of the state, died in March, 1872, which year also
62 witnessed the death of another older brother, David Colerick, a lawyer of ability and promise. Each of these brothers had, in early life, been trusted and honored by the people, not only in their controlling a large professional business, but also in the be- stowal upon them of public office. Still later Thomas W. Cole- rick, a younger brother of the subject, died when a young man and just when he was entering upon what promised to be a successful and brilliant career as a lawyer. He was not only a young man of fine ability and character, but he also had the industry and methods of study which always bring their reward by way of suc- cess in the learned professions. Messrs. Henry and Philemon B. Colerick, younger brothers, are both practicing and successful lawyers in Fort Wayne, while the former served for many years as city attorney, and the latter as prosecuting attorney, of the county.
"The subject of this sketch received his early educational discipline in the city schools of Fort Wayne, the course of study in which is equal to that of many colleges. He, however, did not de- pend, nor has at any time, upon what he learned in pursuing the ordinary courses of study provided by institutions of learning, but he has carried forward with great discrimination and exacti- tude such reading and study as are best fitted to fit one for the learned profession which he has so signally honored with his labors and services. He had many advantages which not many enjoy in preparing for and entering upon the duties of a profes- sion. He not only had the benefit of his honored and distin- guished father's learning, experience, example, advice and en- couragement, but also the help, advice and encouragement of a mother of fine ability and culture. He had gone through a course of study in the law, been admitted to the bar, and become a part- ner of his father before he was twenty-one years of age. From that time until the present he has been one of the leading and most successful practitioners of the Allen county bar. He is able and patient in the preparation of his cases for trial, and in the trial of them he is skillful and successful. "In the preparation of a case and presenting the same to the court and jury he has few equals in discovering in advance the controlling points and in so marshal- ling the testimony and handling it in the argument as to produce the conviction that the cause of his client is just and ought to pre- vail. He is a good judge of human nature, and is remarkably
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conversant with the modes of thought on the part of jurors. With these qualifications and his natural facilities as a public speaker he is forceful and successful as an advocate in jury cases. Added to his other elements of success is that of sincerity, which has no little weight with both the court and jury."
Further it may be said that Mr. Colerick has maintained a strong hold on the confidence and esteem of the people of his native county, and that significant evidence of his popularity was given in 1878, when, as a candidate on the Democratic ticket, he was elected to represent the twelfth district of Indiana in Con- gress, making an excellent record and being chosen as his own suc- cessor in 1880. Fidelity and diligence characterized his congress- ional career, and he labored earnestly and effectively in advancing the interests of the people of his district and those of the entire nation. After the expiration of his second term in Congress, Mr. Colerick resumed his professional work in Fort Wayne, and continued actively engaged therein until 1883, when he was ten- dered, without personal solicitation, the office of supreme court commissioner, accepting the office and entering upon the dis- charge of his duties in November of the year mentioned. At the expiration of his term in 1885, he again resumed his professional practice in Fort Wayne, and the ever increasing demands of the same now engross his time and attention. In politics Mr. Cole- rick was a stanch advocate of the principles of the Democratic party.
RALPH BURDICK POLK.
Specific mention is made in the following paragraphs of one of the worthy citizens of Johnson county, Indiana-one who has figured in the growth and development of this favored locality and whose interests have been identified with its progress, contribut- ing in a definite measure in his particular sphere of action to the well-being of the community in which he resides and to the ad- vancement of its normal and legitimate growth. Additional inter- est also attaches to his career from the fact that practically his entire life has been passed within the borders of this county. Earnest purpose and tireless energy, combined with mature judg- ment and every-day common sense, have been among his most prominent characteristics and he has merited the respect and esteem which are accorded him by all who know him.
Ralph B. Polk was born in Greenwood, Indiana, on August 31, 1875, and is the son of James T. and Laura F. (Burdick) Polk. The father was born in Gibson county, Indiana, February 25, 1844, and he is the son of George W. and Mary Polk, who were among the early settlers of that county, both living to ripe. old ages. In 1858 they came to Johnson county, Indiana, and settled on a farm southeast of Greenwood, where they spent their re- maining days, being very comfortably situated.
James T. Polk grew to manhood on the home farm, where he made himself useful during the proper age and when he was not attending the public schools in his neighborhood. During the war of the Rebellion he gave unmistakable evidence of his courage and patriotism by active service in the field in defense of the national union. In 1863 he enlisted in Company M, First Indiana Heavy Artillery, in which he served faithfully during a number of the principal campaigns until the close of the war, participating in numerous engagements. At the close of the conflict he received an honorable discharge and he spent the two years following in improving his education, which had been interrupted by the war. In 1869 Mr. Polk spent nine months in Danville, New York, taking the water cure for his health, and while there he conceived the idea of a canning factory. Becoming convinced of its feasibility,
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upon his return home he at once put his plans into execution, and by 1873 the project was in full swing. He continued in the can- ning business with ever-increasing success, his business reaching very. extensive proportions and carning for his efforts a handsome competency, until about 1903 when he gradually began to retire.
James T. Polk and Laura F. Burdick were married on Decem- ber 5, 1871, and they became the parents of three children, two of whom are living at this writing, Pearl F., who married S. O. Dun- gan, of the Polk Milk Company, of Indianapolis, and Ralph B., of this sketch. The wife and mother was called to her rest on Jan- ary 20, 1909, and the father is now spending much of his time traveling.
Ralph B. Polk received his elementary education in the pub- lie schools at Greenwood, then spent three years of preparatory work at Franklin College. He then took a year of scientific work in private study in chemistry and bacteriology, and later carried on some extensive investigations with Doctor and Mrs. Bitting, the results of which line of study and research he has been able to apply to practical processes of manufacture with excellent results.
He also took a partial mechanical course at Purdue Univer- sity. Mr. Polk was born within three hundred yards of the Greenwood canning factory and he literally grew up in this in- dustry, becoming familiar with its every phase when quite young. He started in as a boy to thoroughly learn the business, beginning at the bottom of the ladder as a mechanic, and by his own merit working his way up through various promotions until he is now the active head of the company and general manager of the ex- tensive business. He early began to study the details of the can- ning processes with a view of improving them, with the result that he has invented a number of machines and processes and over one-half of the machinery now used in the Polk factory is of his design. The result is a better quality of goods, while at the same time there is a great saving of labor and expense, and Mr. Polk is thus entitled to specific mention as an inventor, as well as a business man. He invented the "agitating system," on the perfection of which he spent a large amount of money. It makes possible the introduction of heat and sterilization into the center of cans to cook some products which must be heated to over two hundred and fifty degrees. This process has reduced the time from one hour and fifteen minutes to thirty minutes, a saving of
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labor and one-third the fuel. Many other improvements in the mechanical operation of the plant have been devised and intro- duced by Mr. Polk which have done much to improve the quality of the products and at the same time cheapen the cost of the out- put. * *
The factory in Greenwood is branching out and is now mak- ing all kinds of canned goods in enormous quantities, their prod- ucts being shipped to all parts of the United States, it being one of the largest and best known factories in the United States. The business is operated under the firm name of the J. T. Polk Com- pany, whose officers are as follows: James T. Polk, president, retired; Ralph B. Polk, vice-president and general manager; Harry McCartney, secretary, and C. E. Coffin, treasurer. Besides the principal factory at Greenwood, known as the Sunlight Can- ning Factory, the company has branch factories at Mound City,. Illinois, Columbus, Kentucky, and Barlow, Kentucky, all near Cairo, Illinois, these locations being selected primarily with the idea of utilizing the Ohio and Mississippi rivers as soon as the improvement of these great waterways is completed. In this, as in many other of his business actions, Mr. Polk has tried to dis- count the future. He has great faith in the development of these rivers and believes them to be as essential to America as the Panama canal.
On April 15, 1903, Ralph B. Polk was united in marriage with Grace Porterfield, a young lady of estimable characteristics and a daughter of an influential family of Richmond, Indiana. To their union two children have been born, James T. Polk, whose death occurred in 1911, and Ralph Porterfield Polk, who survives.
During his college days Mr. Polk belonged to a society which was opposed to fraternities and he has never affiliated with any organizations of that character. Personally, he is a studious, quiet and unpretentious gentleman, who is liked by all classes, being a genial companion, industrious worker and honest business man.
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GEORGE RABUS.
No_better enlogium can be pronounced upon a community or upon its individual members than to point to the work they have accomplished. Theories look fine on the printed page and sound well when proclaimed from the platform, but in the end it is effort in the various lines of industrial activity which develops the man and tells on society. This is essentially a utilitarian age, and the man of action is very much in evidence. The late George Rabus was such a man, and as such it is pleasant to contemplate briefly his career and character. Intimately associated for years with the industrial development of the thriving city of Fort Wayne, and taking a prominent part in the public affairs of northern Indiana, he was not underestimated by a people who long since - learned to appreciate his true value as a potent factor in import- ant affairs. Though a man of unpretentious demeanor, he pos- sessed the silent but powerful force that attracted men-the men- tal qualities and personal magnetism that drew men to him and the tact and power that made men as well as events subserve his purpose. In early life he laid the foundation of a character which, through a long and useful career, successfully withstood every temptation to depart from the path of rectitude and made him a natural leader in the affairs of men.
Mr. Rabus was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He spent his boyhood under his parental roof, leading much the same life as other boys of those days. He received his primary schooling in the public schools, and later attended the Lutheran schools. He remained a student all his life and was an exceptionally well in- formed man on current topics, and he was also a keen observer and an excellent judge of human nature.
Mr. Rahus was married on March 7, 1901, to Miss Frank Juilliard, a lady of culture and refinement, who was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the daughter of Victor and Mary (Hueg- nard) Juilliard, both parents also natives of sunny southern France, each representing splendid old families, and there they grew to maturity, were educated and married, finally emigrating to the United States and establishing a pleasant home at Fort Wayne, Indiana, where they became well known and highly re-
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spected and here spent the remainder of their lives. They came to Allen county, Indiana, fifty years ago, being among the pio- neers, and here they became influential in the affairs of the com- munity and were held in the highest esteem by all their neighbors and many friends. Mr. Juilliard owned a large and productive farm near Fort Wayne, on which he carried on extensive agricul- tural pursuits and stock raising on an extensive scale, becoming one of the most progressive and substantial farmers of the county, and maintaining a commodious and attractive rural residence which was known for its genial hospitality to the many friends of the family. He rendered great assistance in building the Wa- bash & Erie canal, which was built through Allen county when Fort Wayne was a small town. He was always ready to aid in any laudable enterprise having for its object the general upbuild- ing of the country of his adoption.
George Rabus turned his attention to merchant tailoring early in life and was soon an expert in this special line, and he spent his entire life in the tailoring business, being proprietor of the leading establishment of this kind in Fort Wayne. He un- derstood well every detail of the same and was very successful, accumulating a handsome competency from year to year until he became one of the financially strong men of the city of his resi- dence. and he owned much valuable property. He always main- tained a neat and well-stocked house and his honesty and uniform courtesy and obliging nature won and retained hundreds of cus- tomers from all over this section of the state. Politically, he was a Democrat and was very active in party affairs, in fact, was a local leader and wielded much influence in public matters, his counsel being frequently sought by politicians and others in both public and business matters, and it was invariably followed with gratifying results.
The death of George Rabus occurred on August 1, 1907. Few men have been called away from the life of Fort Wayne who were so sincerely and universally mourned, for he was one of her most public-spirited, useful, favorably known and best beloved citi- zens, exceedingly popular with all classes, for he united with rare. business ability personal qualities that are admired in every land and clime. He was a friendly, obliging, optimistic gentleman, the soul of honor, and to know him was to accord him the highest respect and praise.
JAMES CHENEY.
The spirit of a pure, noble and carnest life burned in the mor- tal tenement of the late James Cheney, than whom no pioneer of the city of Fort Wayne attained to higher distinction in connec- tion with the material and civic development of this favored sec- tion of the state of Indiana, while none wielded a wider or more beneficent influence in connection with the promotion of public enterprises and utilities which conserved such development and progress. His life was one of fullness and completeness, one of vigor and inflexible integrity. He accomplished great things for the general good and was not denied a due individual reward in the matter of temporal affluence. A man of rugged strength of character, of finest moral fiber, and one who realized a magnificent measure of useful accomplishment, his name is deeply engraved on the pages of the history of the state so long honored by his residence, particularly as applying to Allen county and the city of Fort Wayne, so that such a publication as the one at hand must needs enter a tribute of honor and appreciation to his memory if any measure of consistency and symmetry is to be claimed for same. He was universally recognized as a splendid citizen, of lofty character, sturdy integrity and unswerving honesty. Dur- ing the pioneer period he shared fully the trials and difficulties of those trying times. He was one of the sturdy figures upon which the burdens of the new community fell, and he struggled devotedly with others in bringing about the resultant evolution of develop- ment. Hand and heart and purse were always open to the necessi- ties of his neighbors, and the record of those years is one of tireless and unselfish devotion. To write the history of Mr. Cheney would be to write a book and in the limited space of a biographical memoir one can but touch upon the more salient facts in the long, useful and somewhat remarkable career of this famous captain of industry, and briefly sum up his life by saying that he was a good man-such a man that the world was better for his having lived in it. He was a good husband and father, faithful and loving; a good citizen and friend, constant and reliable; a man in the fullest sense of the word, wide, comprehensive and far-reaching in life
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