USA > Indiana > Memorial and genealogical record of Representative Citizens of Indiana > Part 68
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and personality-a man to be missed and lamented, but whose good deeds will live after him.
James Cheney was born on December 15, 1817, at Sutton, Caledonia county, Vermont. He was the son of Roswell and Abigail (Williard) Cheney, the father a native of Keene, New Hampshire, and the mother born in Vermont. The maternal grandfather, James Williard, was a native of England, from which country he emigrated to the United States the latter part of the eighteenth century. He remained a loyal Tory during the war of 1812, and he went to Canada after the close of that conflict and re- mained there several years. The parents of the subject grew to maturity in New England and were married there. In the year 1834 Roswell Cheney brought his family from the old home farm in Vermont overland to Port Lawrence, now Toledo, Ohio. Here he took up large tracts of land and also established himself in a general merchandise business, and by his thrift and elose applica- tion became one of the substantial and influential citizens of that section of the country, and there he spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1846, at the age of fifty-six years. His wife survived him many years, dying in June, 1861, at Logansport, Indiana. There were three children in their family: Roswell Williard, who died in Toledo in 1844, at the age of twenty-six years; James, the subject of this sketch; and Cornelia M., who married George Knickerbocker, of Hillsdale, Michigan.
James Cheney received a limited education, for in that day the early schools in the country districts afforded but a meager education to the Vermont farmer boy, but here, as everywhere and at all times, the mettle of the student meant more than his educational system, and when James Cheney, at eleven years of age, left school and began clerking in a general store at Center Harbor, New Hampshire, he made the most of his opportunities and, leaving school, had but begun his real education, which con- tinued through life, for he was always a wide miscellaneous reader and a keen observer. and made un for his lack of text-hook train- ing in his earlier days. He possessed rare innate business qualifi- cations and soon mastered the ins and outs of the mercantile busi- ness, and, after three years of most satisfactory work in the little store at Center Harbor, young Cheney went into business for him- self in Genesee county, New York, and later he came with his par- ents to Toledo, Ohio, then a mere country village. Here he soon entered the employ of S. & M. Collins at their Indian trading
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post, three miles from town. Recognizing his ability at once, his . employers soon sent him to establish a branel store at Adrian, Michigan, and in a year he was taken in as half owner. Upon the bankruptcy, soon afterward, of the Collinses, the firm became Cheney & Wilson and so continued until 1839, having enjoyed a steady growth, when Mr. Cheney bought out his junior partner and the firm became R. & J. Cheney, so continuing for three years. During this partnership the firm took a contract for the construc- tion of three miles of the Wabash and Erie canal.
Mr. Cheney went to Defiance, Ohio, in 1842, where he held the appointment as collector of tolls until 1845. At this time he built the Pavilion, a large hotel for that period, but sold it in 1847 and removed to a farm on the Maumee river, two miles from Defiance. In 1853 he sold this farm and in the following year established a banking house in Defiance, and later came to Fort Wayne, where he at once became indentified with banking operations and other important business interests. In 1855 he removed to New York City, seeking larger fields for the exercise of his financial talents, and there continued operations on Wall street with much success, also forming acquaintanceship with many of the leading financiers of the day. In the spring of 1857 Mr. Cheney located at Logans- port, Indiana, being one of the twenty distinguished gentlemen who organized the Bank of the State of Indiana. Of that score of brilliant men, headed by Hugh MeCulloch, he was the last sur- vivor. When the institution was finally merged into a national bank, he became a member of its directorate, while he served for a time as cashier, remaining in control of the most of the stock until his death. He also became a heavy stockholder in the National City Bank of New York. His activities were so far- reaching and varied in the great domain of financial and industrial operations that it is impossible to enter into details concerning them in an article of this nature. However, suffice it to say that he was interested in the construction of the great Atlantic cable, being associated with other leading financiers, and for many years he was an active operator in the great stock market of the national metropolis. In 1858, in partnership with J. Uhl, he erected a flour- ing mill in Logansport, Indiana, and a few years later he sold his interests to his partner's sons. He maintained his home and busi- ness headquarters in New York from 1872 until 1878, when he re- turned to Fort Wayne. Here he remained as president of the
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Fort Wayne Gas and Light Company from 1878 until 1894, when the gas company sold its stock to the Detroit syndicate. Mr. Cheney was associated with Jay Gould in the reorganization of the Wabash Railroad Company, of which he was a stockholder until its final sale, in 1885, while he was appointed a trustee on the mortgage in connection with the Central Trust Company at the time of this sale. He was actively identified with the Masonic fraternity for many years, taking his dimit only when the infirm- ities of advanced age rendered it impossible for him to attend the lodge meetings.
The domestic life of James Chency began on May 2, 1842, when he was united in marriage with Nancy B. Evans, who was born in Defiance, Ohio, on February 21, 1824, and whose death oc- curred on June 27, 1895, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Alice Knight, of Fort Wayne. She was a woman of many estimable characteristics and represented an excellent old family, being the daughter of Pierce Evans, one of the leading citizens of Defiance county, Ohio, where she was reared and educated. For a number of years she was prominent in the social life of Fort Wayne, her gracious and genial personality making her a favorite with a very wide circle of friends, while her earnest Christian character was a source of inspiration to those who came within the sphere of her influence. She and her distinguished husband are serenely sleep- ing the last sleep "in the windowless palaces of rest" in beautiful Mount Hope cemetery at Logansport, Indiana.
The union of James Cheney and wife was blessed by the birth of four children, namely: Helen, who is the wife of John A. Kim- berly, of Neenah, Wisconsin; Roswell W., who is engaged in busi- ness in California, and who served during the Civil war as a mem- ber of the Ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry; Mary Cornelia, who is the wife of Hon. John C. Nelson, of Logansport, this state; and Alice, widow of Charles S. Knight, of Fort Wayne.
On December 13, 1903, James Cheney was summoned to close his eyes on earthly seenes and take un his work in the Mystic Ro- vond, his death occurring at his attractive and commodious home on Spy Run avenue, the fashionable section of Fort Wayne's resi- dential district, he having there passed his declining years in practical retirement, although he continued to exercise a general supervision of his financial interests until the last.
Of the numerous laudable paragraphs appearing at the time
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of his death, we quote the following from a Fort Wayne paper: "James Cheney's career was a remarkable one in many ways. He fought his way by inherent ability to a place among the foremost financiers of America. Quiet and unobtrusive always, he was bet- ter known in the financial circles of Wall street than in the affairs of his own city. Though a leading factor in some of the largest movements of modern times, his was an unassuming nature. A man of few words, he acted rather than talked, and even his most intimate friends hardly appreciated the tremendous part played by this modest gentleman in the financial world, Mr. Cheney was a man of keen business insight and was a born financier yet he never departed from the path of absolute rectitude and honesty. In all his long and useful life two qualities, integrity and love of justice, were especially noticeable."
We quote from another article appearing in the local press at that time: "Judge James Cheney, pioneer banker and capital- ist, easily the wealthiest citizen of Fort Wayne and for many years the confidant of America's greatest financiers, died at 11 o'clock Sunday morning at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Charles S. Knight, on Spy Run avenue. There will be funeral services at the residence Wednesday morning and later the re- mains will be taken to Logansport for interment. The veteran financier would have been eighty-six years of age had he survived until Tuesday, and the end came calmly and peacefully, as had been the closing years of his remarkable career. Never during his long life had the venerable man suffered from any illness of a serious nature, but three months ago or more he became afraid the end was near. But there was improvement and apparently Mr. Cheney had entirely recovered. It was noted, however, that he was very weak from the infirmities of age, and for several days he was less active than formerly, and on Thursday last Judge Cheney dozed in his chair longer than had been his custom. When aroused by his daughter, the venerable financier complained of feeling drowsy. This continued, and during the succeeding duy .. the aged man sank calmly and peacefully into the eternal sleep. There was apparently no pain, and the long career was ended in the residence where the latter thirty years of his life had been spent. With him when he breathed his last were a number of his children and grandchildren."
"Judge Cheney's career was a remarkable one in many ways.
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Though born in obscurity, he fought his way by his inherent abil- ity to a place among the foremost financiers of America. In his active career he was a power in Wall street, and the close friend and associate of Jay Gould and Cyrus W. Field, the masterful genius who conceived and executed the idea of connecting two worlds by telegraph. Mr. Cheney gave substantial aid and en- couragement in the laying of the Atlantic cable, and was a prom- inent factor in the construction of the great Wabash railroad system as well as many other enterprises which have aided in the development of the Mississippi valley region. A man of keen business acumen, he was successful to a marked degree, and re- tained the management of his large interests to the last. The closing years of his life, however, have been spent in quiet retire- ment in the beautiful home on Spy Run avenue, where, save for occasional trips into the city, he employed his time in chatting with friends, reading or walking about the grounds, sometimes aiding the gardeners or doing such other light work as pleased his fancy. He was very well known to the other residents of the city."
The following is taken from a Logansport paper: "The late James Cheney, who was born in 1817, was the last of the 'Seven- teen Club,' which consisted of Logansport men born in that year. Tomorrow afternoon, on a special train, the remains of Mr. Cheney, who died Sunday afternoon in Fort Wayne, will be brought to this city for burial. No services will be held in this city other than a short ceremony at the grave in Mount Hope.
"The death of Mr. Cheney brings back to the minds of the elder residents the history of his residence in this city. Justice Kloenne, judge of the police court, today told a reporter of the organization of the 'Club of 1817,' of which the late Mr. Cheney was a member. He stated that years ago seven residents of this county, who were born in 1817, formed a club known as the 'Club of 1817.' The members of this club are all dead except Justice Kloenne. John Davis, Samuel Panabaker. A. E. Taylor. Anthony Smith, James Cheney, Joseph Uhl and Justice Kloenne composed the roster of the famous club. The club met once a year during its early periods, but later, as the members died, its meetings were postponed into general meetings as the members visited Logansport. Mr. Cheney often spoke of the organization, and the members were remembered with fitting tributes when they passed away. James Cheney was the youngest member of the club.
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"Mr. Cheney was the wealthiest man in Fort Wayne, and the obsequies, which will be held in that city tomorrow morning, will likely be the largest ever held in that city."
Mr. Cheney's success in life was such as would command re- spect and admiration anywhere. His results were not accidents, as all of his operations were managed with far-seeing shrewdness. . He had the genius of hard work and the instinctive knowledge of men which guided him so safely in his choice of business asso- ciates. Most orderly, exact and just in all of his business deal- ings, he required the same methods in others. He managed to make money as dry goods merchant, contractor, miller, banker and as a stockholder in many industrial enterprises. Absolutely independent in thought and action, he would charge no usurious rate of interest, yet neither would he give except to a cause which commended itself to his best judgment. Firm and unbending in his duty, his strict integrity made him always just and honorable in all his dealings. His own diligence and fidelity in the many positions of trust he held made him quick to appreciate these qualities in others. In private life he was the most companion- able of men. Whatever the subject of conversation, his comments were never shallow, but always thoughtful and keen. His long, busy life gave him many opportunities of observing state and national affairs. His pleasant narration of these experiences made him a most entertaining talker, while he was noted for the dignity and polish of his manners. Although he had been reared a Congregationalist, he leaned to the Quaker belief, especially admiring the absence of display in their manner of life and their - simplicity of thought. Mrs. Cheney was a stanch Presbyterian and Mr. Cheney was one of the chief benefactors of the First Pres- byterian church of Fort Wayne.
That a man of so broad a nature should feel a deep interest in matters of public polity was a foregone conclusion, and in his earlier years Mr. Cheney took an active part in political affairs in Ohio, while he never wavered in his allegiance and fealty to the Democratic party. He was in the best sense of the word a repre- sentative type of that strong American manhood which ever com- mands respect by reason of innate ability of a high order, sound sense and correct conduct, and, measured by the accepted stand- ard of excellence, his career, though strenuous, was eminently honorable and useful, and his life fraught with great good to his fellows and to the world.
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CHARLES STEWART KNIGHT.
In all the ages the desire to be remembered after one's brief span of life is finished has been one of the most important factors of human existence, and with many individuals has been the mo- tive of all endeavor and enterprise. To the majority, however, this ambition, laudable in itself, is not the main-spring of conduct, but is more often found in the heart of a devoted friend, who wishes to perpetuate the memory of the one who had departed ยท into the Silent Land. Monuments and shrines of various kinds are erected and serve their place, but time crumbles even the hardest granite and marble, and the printed page on which is recounted the life and deeds of loved ones is the most enduring tribute, especially as this is so easily copied from age to age. We are glad to be able to place before the readers of this work, which records the histories of many of the representative and distin- guished citizens and families of Indiana, a few of the salient facts which have been gleaned in regard to the life of the subject of this memoir, who for a period of twenty-eight years was actively and prominently identified with the business and industrial life of Fort Wayne. He was progressive in all that the term implies and, while laboring for the advancement of his individual inter- ests, never lost sight of his duties to the public at large. Mr. Knight's genial temperament, courteous manners and broad- minded principles rendered him a favorite with all, and the circle of his friends was almost co-extensive with the circle of his ac- quaintances.
Charles Stewart Knight was born in Columbus, Ohio, on November 24, 1846, the scion of a sterling old Buckeye family, being the son of Willard and Elizabeth Knight. After receiving a good education Mr. Knight took up railroading, and in his early . business career he was connected with the Panhandle railroad as trainman, having removed from Ohio, where his boyhood was spent, to Logansport, Indiana, in 1868. He mastered the ins and outs of the department of railroad work to which he was assigned and was one of the most trusted and most reliable employes of that road. IIe remained at Logansport until 1881, having gotten
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a good start in life in the meantime and in that year he removed to the eity of Fort Wayne as manager of the Fort Wayne Gas Com- pany. Later he became associated with the Fort Wayne Eleetrie Company in 1886, which company was then under the manage- ment of the late R. T. McDonald, and is now the Fort Wayne Electric Works. His rise in this line of endeavor was steady and rapid, and in due course of time Mr. Knight became vice-presi- dent and sales manager of the last named company, in which ca- pacities he discharged his duties in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself and to the eminent satisfaction of all con- cerned-in fact, the pronounced success of this concern has been due in no small measure to Mr. Knight's close application and the exercise of his rare soundness of judgment and business diseern- ment.
Seeking larger fields for the exercise of his talents, Mr. Knight removed to Chicago in the year 1898 to become general manager of the Siemens & Halske Electric Company, where he met with equal success. During the last few years he had devoted his attention to the engineering and mining business, his efforts being rewarded by large financial returns, and he long occupied a conspicuous position in the particular arena of activity to which his energies were devoted.
The domestic life of Mr. Knight began in the year 1870, when he was united in marriage with Alice Cheney, an estimable lady who has long been a favorite in Fort Wayne society. She is the daughter of James and Nancy B. (Evans) Cheney, the father a native of Vermont and the mother of Ohio, who spent the major part of their lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, being among the in- fluential and well known families of this city for many years. They are both now deceased. A complete sketch of these parents is to be found on another page of this volume.
Mrs. Alice Knight is the youngest of a family of four chil- dren, the others being Helen Cheney, who married John A. Kim- berly, of Neenah, Wisconsin; Roswell W. Cheney, who is cugague in business in California, and who was a soldier in the Ninth In- diana Volunteer Infantry during the war between the states; Mary Cornelia, who married Hon. John C. Nelson, of Logansport, Indiana.
Six children blessed the union of Charles S. Knight and wife, named as follows: Mrs. Fred Peters, Mrs. Allen Hamilton, and
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Mary and Alice Knight, all of Fort Wayne, and Willard and Cheney Knight, both of St. Louis. These children all received good educational training and are well situated in life.
The late Charles S. Knight was called to his reward, after four weeks' serious illness, at his pleasant and modernly-appointed home at No. 1640 Spy Run avenue, Fort Wayne, opposite Lawton Park. His loss was keenly felt by the entire city, whose interests he had so long had at heart, and where he had been a favorite in all eireles for over a quarter of a century.
In addition to having been prominently identified with busi- ness and industrial life here, Mr. Knight was a prominent Mason, having attained the thirty-second degree; he was a member of the Ancient Arabie Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; he was also a member of the Fort Wayne Lodge, Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks, and he stood high in fraternal eireles in this part of the state.
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