USA > Indiana > Memorial record of northeastern Indiana > Part 12
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Indiana is the pulse State of the Union. Through her the great throbbing veins of commerce, which nourish every part of our national body, flow. Her geographical lo- cation and physical features are such that the East and the West traverse her territory in passing to and fro. Her capital is the largest inland railroad center in the world. The center of our country's population is within her borders Her position among her sister States is unique, and her marvelous progress since organization as a Territory calls for a centennial jubilee of such a char- acter as will best enable her sons and daugh- ters to appreciate the heritage of a hundred ycars.
There is no way in which we could more effectively kindle that wholesome State
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pride which must underlie the noble action of her present and future citizenship than by a parade of her achievements and a fresh revelation of her early struggles. The lat- ter are now matters of recorded history to most of us, and a retrospective view of the heroic struggles of our fathers would be an eloquent lesson to partiotism. In their toils, their sufferings, their hardships, their conflicts, momentous questions were at stake and issues vital to the future world. In appearance they were insignificant at times, but in reality, copious and full of benevolent consequences. Acting at the springs of our future greatness, instruments otherwise weak became mighty for good, and our pioneer fathers, obscure to the world, proved to be agents of destiny. They entered an untamed wilderness with vast wastes of forest verdure to make a gar- den for their children, and the hills then silent in their primeval sleep now echo the music of happy homes of industry. Those hardy sons of toil, whose school was the forest, whose trade was barter with savages, whose social life was that of the campfire, whose daily lesson was self-sacrifice, conquered the Territory of Indiana for civi- lization. Such memories as these ought to kindle a burning enthusiasm in every loyal Hoosier breast to join in the proposed observ- ance of our anniversary.
Such an observance would be of more than local consequence. It would be a formal way in which our State could give evidence to the world of her worthiness of a place in the family of States comprising our great republic. Our exhibit would say: "This is our achievement," and of this we need not be ashamed. With an agricultural productivity unsurpassed; monumental man- ufacturing industries; natural resources in- exhaustible, among which are lumber, stone, coal, natural gas and petroleum; a school system which is an object lesson to the world; an intelligent, industrious, patriotic, Christian citizenship; populous cities, with every modern improvement, -in fine, all that constitutes the highest degree of pros- perity and civilization to be found on the
globe, -the people of this great State may be exceedingly glad to make a representative exhibit of the fruit of their labors and say to the world: "Behold the heritage of a hundred years."
Then, let us celebrate the event which has led to such marvelous consequences-an event contemporaneous with the beginning of a century which has seen greater com- mercial development, more extensive manu- facturing enterprise, more valuable invention and discovery, more fruitful agricultural activity, more widespread intelligence, more altruistic feeling, and more application to the agencies that make possible complete living than all the centuries that preceded; and in the observance of this historic event let us show that Indiana has contributed her full share toward achieving this unparalleled progress.
In his fraternal relations our subject is identified with Lew Dailey Post. No. 33, Grand Army of the Republic, and maintains an active interest in all that pertains to the fostering of the associations of the late war, of which he is an honored veteran. It is redundant to state that Mr. Dougherty is a man of marked intellectuality and ability, for the record of his life, even when so briefly narrated as it has been in the preceding paragraphs, makes this fact patent. He has been devoted to the public service and to the improvement of his town and county. Of pleasing and gracious personality, he is beloved by his friends and admired and es- teemed by the community. His generosity, unswerving integrity and pronounced ability have gained to him a distinctive position as one of the truest and best citizens of Bluff- ton. He has traveled extensively and has studied men and affairs with intelligence and interest. His career has been crowned with usefulness and sustained by a genuine popu- lar approval.
On the 25th of October, 1877, Mr.
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Dougherty led to the hymeneal altar Miss Emma Gilliland, the only daughter of Theo- dore F. and Elizabeth (Sheldon) Gilliland, both of whom were natives of the old Em- pire State, and of Scotch-Irish descent. Mrs. Dougherty was born in Sterling, Illi- nois, June 22, 1857. Since her girlhood days she has been a member of the Method- ist Episcopal Church, and is a woman of gentle refinement and true culture. While prominent in all social and religious affairs in the city of her residence, she takes a great interest in all that tends to better the con- dition of society and is a type of true and noble womanhood. Our subject and his wife are the parents of one child, Elizabeth, who was born on the 23d of March, 1885.
0 R. RUFUS FIELDING BLOUNT of Wabash was born at New Paris, Preble county, Ohio, February 12, 1831. His parents, Eli and Me- lissa (Adams) Blount, natives of Kentucky and Tennessee respectively, had five sons and one daughter, three of whom are living, -James Ambrose, Rufus F. and Silas Milton.
Eli Blount, a farmer by occupation, as a pioneer cleared a number of tracts of land, reducing them to cultivation. It was in 1835 that he located in Blackford county, this State, where he lived two years, then moved to Huntington county, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying in the month of February, 1850, at the age of sixty years; his wife survived him several years, dying in 1877, aged seventy-seven years. They were members of the " New-Light " Church until late in life, when they con- nected themselves with the Baptist Church. Mr. Blount was a soldier in the war of 1812, and a prominent man in the community in
which he resided. His father, Cyrus Blount, was a native of Kentucky and a farmer, en- joying a long life and having six or more children. John Adams, the Doctor's ma- ternal grandfather, was a native of Tennes- see and probably of English ancestry, was a teacher in early life and afterward a min- ister of the gospel in the "Christian," or " New-Light, " Church.
Dr. Blount, the subject of this brief bio- graphical outline, was reared principally in Huntington county, this State, on the farm until eighteen years old, receiving his school- ing in the old-fashioned log schoolhouse of the day. After leaving home he engaged in mercantile pursuits and milling at Roanoke, Huntington county: also took up the study of medicine. He remained there eight years, and in the meantime (1858-9) at- tended a course of lectures at Rush Medi- cal College, and during the latter year began practicing at Roanoke. After a year there he moved to Mount Aetna, where he fol- lowed his profession two years. Next, dur- ing the war, he went to the city of Hunting- ton and enlisted in Company F, One Hun- dred and Eighteenth Indiana Volunteer In- fantry. Having aided in recruiting that company he was appointed Assistant Sur- geon, in which capacity he served six months, in Tennessee, during which time the country was "foraged to death," and the Doctor's service was extremely severe.
Returning from the war he continued medical studies at Chicago Medical College at Chicago, graduating in 1865, and since that time he has been practicing his chosen profession in Wabash.
July 2, 1855, is the date of his uniting in matrimony with Miss Matilda Taylor. daughter of Isaac and Margaret Taylor, and they have two children,-Frank M. and
Ef Rourke
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Della Maud. Frank M. is a druggist in Wabash, married Miss Abbie Forney and has one child, Rufus Frank. Della Maud became the wife of M. R. Gardner, a manu- facturer of Wabash, and they have three children living,-Rolland, Marcia and Leah. The Doctor and his wife are members of the Christian (Disciple) Church, of which he is one of the Deacons. He is also a Master Mason, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of J. H. Emmett Post, G. A. R. Politically he is a Republican, of which party he may be considered a " char- ter member," as he cast his first vote for John C. Fremont for President of the United States. The Doctor has a comfortable resi- dence at 18 West St. Clair street.
a DWARD O'ROURKE .- Absolute capability often exists in specific in- stances, but is never brought into the clear light of the utilitarian and practical life. Hope is of the valley, while effort stands upon the mountain top, so that personal advancement comes not to the one who hopes alone, but to the one whose hope and faith are those of action. Thus is determined the full measure of suc- cess to one who has struggled under disad- vantageous circumstances and the prostrate mediocrity to another whose ability has been as great and opportunities wider. Thus we may hold in high regard the results of indi- vidual effort and personal accomplishment, for cause and effect here maintain their functions in full force. The subject of this review is a man of high mental and profes- sional attainments, is one of the leading members of the bar of Fort Wayne and of the State of Indiana, and has advanced to high judicial honors and to a distinguished 6
position in connection with the most noble fraternal order of the world, -that of Ma- sonry. That he should be accorded par- ticular recognition in this compilation can not be gainsayed, for its ultimate province is the consideration of the life histories of the representative men of that section of the great State of Indiana with which he has been so conspicuously identified.
Judge O'Rourke is a native of New Jersey, having been born in Newark, on the 13th of October, 1840. He comes of stanch old Irish stock, his parents having emigrated to America from the Emerald Isle in 1825. His grandfather, Patrick O'Rourke, was a man of marked intelligence and attained to a position of no little promi- nence in his native land, where he was a successful farmer under the tenant system there in vogue. He effected the lease of a farm for the term of ninety-nine years, and upon his death this came into possession, according to the British plan of entailment, of his eldest son. John, whose eldest son, James, is now in possession of the property. The members of the family represented that best type of the Irish nation-the industri- ous, intelligent and honorable class of farm- ers who form the nucleus around which Ireland shall yet evolve to that position which is her just due.
Christopher O'Rourke, father of our subject, was a native of county Kildare, Ireland. as was also Ellen Flanagan, to whom he was united in marriage in 1823. Two years after the consummation of their nnion the young couple bade adieu to their native land, severing the home ties and courageously setting forth to do for them- selves in the New World, where they were assured of wider opportunities. They pro- ceeded from Dublin to Liverpool, where
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they embarked on a sailing vessel bound for New York. Upon their arrival in the United States they took up their abode in New Jersey, where they remained for quite an extended period. Finally the health of Christopher O'Rourke became quite seri- ously impaired, rendering it imperative for him to seek a change of climate. Accord- ingly the family left New Jersey and pro- ceeding Westward, located in Carroll county, Ohio, where the father purchased a farm and once more turned his attention to that line of industry with which his ances- tors had been identified for many gener- ations. The free, out-door life provided the necessary restorative and he eventually regained his wonted vigor. He was a man of marked individuality and capability, as is shown in the fact that he became promi- nently concerned in railroad contracting and building. He constructed the Pittsburg, Wellsville & Cleveland Railroad, and after- ward took a contract for the building of sev- eral miles of the line now known as the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad. After the interim thus utilized he returned to Ohio and resumed farming operations near Mansfield, but he eventually removed to Fort Wayne, and here the residue of his days was passed. He entered into eternal rest in the year 1875, and his devoted wife passed away within six months after his de- mise. Christopher O'Rourke was an edu- cated, cultured man, possessing an extra- ordinary memory. He devoted much of his time to the study and reading of the best literature, being particularly fond of poetry and history, in which lines his fund of knowledge was almost inexhaustible. His educational privileges in his youth were of inferior order, but such an alert mentality could not be hedged in by mere circum-
stance, and his extensive reading and his mature judgment made him a man of broad and comprehensive information. Upon coming to this country he identified himself fully with its manners and institu- tions, setting himself the task of thoroughly informing himself in regard to the history, national characteristics and the popular sen- timents which directed governmental affairs, thoroughly familiarizing himself with ques- tions of national import-the political status of the country and the issues of the day. He never relaxed his vital interest in affairs and his forceful mind exercised its discrimination until the last. His wife was also possessed of quick intellectual powers, and together they made many a grateful in- cursion into the fruitful fields of literature, being devoted companions in the full sense of the term. They won to themselves the friendship of all who had appreciation of their noble characteristics, and when they were called from the scene of their earthly endeavors their loss was sincerely mourned throughout a circle far transcending that of the immediate family.
Edward O'Rourke was yet in infancy when his parents removed to Ohio, and in this section of the Union his entire life has practically been passed. He grew to mature years under the sturdy discipline of the farm, receiving his preliminary education in the common schools. The freedom of the fron- tier life left its impress upon his character in a broad liberality and a strong appreciation of the absolute ethics of life. He gained a wholesome regard for the dignity of honest. toil, and inherited from his parents a taste for study and a love for mental acquire- ments, and this animus was fostered and nurtured in the home which was one in which the most refining influences were
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ever in evidence. In his youth his predilec- tions in this way were manifested in the thoroughness and interest with which he prosecuted his studies and the facility with which he developed original conceptions from his knowledge. His has been an al- most intuitive wisdom, and there has never come to him an ultimate standpoint, for his interest in broadening his mental ken and apprehending the deeper truths of life has been unflagging, the appetite seeming to grow by what it feeds on. Not content in his youth with mastering the rudimentary branches he pursued his investigation into the realm of science and philosophy, devoting special at- tention to the study of higher mathematics and the psychological and metaphysical sub- jects which offer no attractions to the aver- age young man, while his love for history and poetry and the classic productions of all lands has never abated. Apropos of his type of intellectuality, we can not do better than to briefly quote from an article concern- ing him and appearing in the August (1895) number of the Masonic Advocate, published at Indianapolis: "It is said that the boy is father of the man. This is true, and never was it more strikingly illustrated than in the one here sketched. His early love of books and earnest desire for knowledge have grown with his years. His early and constant de- sire to know of the true origin and destiny of man, of his nature and evolution, have constructed, molded and given a distinct character to the man. His belief that a supreme law rules the universe and that all beings tend to a higher life and conscious- ness, has for a long time been in his mind strong and fixed as a firm conviction. His belief in the brotherhood of man is one of the chief articles of his creed." The ana- lytical and profound mentality of Judge
O'Rourke were manifested in his youth, and he was recognized as one of the most cogent and forceful of all those who participated in the debates and discussions of the literary and debating societies which were in high favor in the rural communities in the earlier days. It was, then, but in natural sequence that he should ultimately realize that the legal profession opened up to him a field for usefulness and one in which success was open to the talent. His was never a vacil- lating nature, and his efforts have been ever clearly directed and consecutive. He de- termined to fit himself for the practice of law, and in doing this he did not define a haphazard study and an inefficient knowl- edge, but entered with an idea of reaching the highest point and the greatest prestige rendered accessible by his talents and oppor- tunities. He first came to Fort Wayne in 1859, and during the succeeding year he was a student in the Fort Wayne Methodist Col- lege. In the spring of 1863 he entered the famous Notre Dame University, at South Bend, remaining there one term, after which he entered the French College, at Montreal, Canada, where he continued his studies un- til 1865, taking the classical and mathemat- ical course and incidentally becoming thor- oughly conversant with the French language, which he speaks with fluency. Thus he had established a solid foundation of a broad general information, and he now felt well equipped for entering upon his technical study of the law.
In the fall of 1865 he returned to Fort Wayne and here entered the law office of Worden & Morris, under whose effective preceptorage he remained until his admission to the bar, in 1867. In the fall of that year he was elected to the office of Prosecuting Attor- ney of the criminal court of Allen county,
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proving a most able executive and holding the preferment for five years, his successive re- elections being insured without opposition. On the expiration of his tenure of office he re- sumed the general practice of law and gained to himself noteworthy precedence and a re- presentative clientage. In 1875 he entered into a professional association with Hon. Robert Lowry and Colonel R. S. Robertson, and this partnership maintained until the election of our subject as Judge of the Cir- cuit Court, in 1876. By successive re-elec- tions he has retained this important incum- bency consecutively since that time and has now been on the bench for the period of over eighteen years. This fact is in itself significant, and almost renders a further mention redundant. Such a tenure of high office implies not only ability but the trust and confidence of the public, and the public is ever a discriminating factor, rendering honor where honor is due. He has never been known to sacrifice his ideas of absolute justice to any matter of personal expediency and has maintained the most perfect impar- tiality. We draw again from the Masonic Advocate in reference to his judicial career: " As a judge he has been painstaking and just; fearless and conscientions in the dis- charge of every duty. His sense of justice is strong, and while his heart is as tender as a woman's, still his sympathies are never misplaced. An enemy, as well as a friend, may submit his case safely to his keeping. Whatever he may be off the bench, while discharging his judicial duties he is non-par- tisan. Tyrian and Trojan are the same to him. His powers of reflection, naturally penetrating and comprehensive, have been matured and strengthened by years of ex- perience. His record on the bench stamps him as an upright judge, and in all things
above reproach." Stronger endorsement than the foregoing could hardly be accorded, and in the connection it is needless to say that his power and acumen as a lawyer are exceptional and that he is entitled to a place among the foremost representatives of the legal profession in Indiana. He is a gentle- man of fine culture and elevated tastes, forci- ble in argument and winning as a rhetori- cian, while his oratory before a jury is often eloquent and invariably bears the impression of earnest conviction. Attached to the prin- ciples which underlie our system of govern- ment, the Judge's father inculcated in him a love of country and a loyalty that is as unswerving as the "laws of the Medes and Persians, which change not."
In his political adherency Judge O'Rourke is a Democrat, and has been an active and efficient worker in advancing the interests of his party. Fraternally he has attained to distinctive honors in connection with the Masonic order, and his identification with this noble body and his successive advance- ments are noted in the official organ of In- diana Masonry, the Advocate, from which we have already made excerpts: "Brother O'Rourke was made a Mason in Wayne Lodge, No. 25, Fort Wayne, Indiana, re- ceiving the three degrees in the month of May, 1886. He became at once deeply in- terested in the work, and at the annual election of officers, in December, 1887, was elected Senior Warden. The election in 1888 placed him in the East, which station he filled two terms. At the annual meeting of the Grand Lodge, in 1890, he received the appointment of Junior Grand Deacon; was promoted to Senior Grand Deacon in 1891, and to Junior Grand Warden in 1892. By regular advancements he attained the high distinction of Most Worshipful Grand Master,
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at the annual meeting in May, 1895. He is nowactively engaged in the responsible duties of that exalted station, and will present a good report of services rendered at the end of his official term." The Judge has ad- vanced in Masonry to the thirty-second de- gree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, having taken the several grades in the Fort Wayne and Indianapolis bodies. Judge O'Rourke is a Theosophist, and is President of the Fort Wayne Branch of the Theosophi- cal Society in America. This year (1895) Taylor University conferred the degree of LL. D. on the Judge.
The marriage of Judge O'Rourke was consummated in the year 1871, when he was united to Miss Ada L. Abrams, of Wellsville, Ohio, and in his home life he finds his greatest pleasure, enjoying the companionship of his wife, his friends and his books. He has always been a student, a man of deep research, and over the fields of literature he has widely roamed, imbibing deep draughts from the best works of the authors of both the past and the present. He stands distinctively as one of the leading men of Fort Wayne, and retains the admir- ing friendship of a very large circle of acquaintances.
UGUSTUS CURRY MILLS, pres- ident of the Lawrence National Bank, of North Manchester, Indi- ana, was born in the city which is still his home, on the 14th of February, 1859, and is a son of Joseph and Amanda (Curry) Mills. His paternal grandfather, John Mills, was born in Monmouth county, New Jersey, April 7, 1802, and died in North Manchester, on the 31st of March, 1884. In appearance he was a rugged man, and his
occupation was that of farming, which he successfully followed for some years. In his political views he was first a Whig and afterward a Republican. His father, Joshua Mills, was a native of New York, purchased land in Montgomery county, Ohio, and died in 1848. The maternal grandfather of our subject, James Harvey Curry, was born in Eaton, Ohio, in 1807, and died in the spring of 1880. He married Ann Mumma, of Dutch ancestry, and two of their children reached mature years: John W., who died during the late war; and Mrs. Mills. The great-grandfather, William Curry, was a na- tive of Kentucky, a tanner by trade, and also followed merchandising. He married a Miss Van Ausdal, who came to this country from Holland, and their children were James Harvey, Mrs. Sarah Campbell and Mrs. Maria Smith.
When our subject was a child of only two years, his parents removed to Preble county, Ohio, where the father is still living. He began his education in the public schools, pursuing his studies until 1876, after which he engaged in teaching for some months, and then entered the Ohio State University in 1877 pursuing the scientific course. In the spring of 1878 he visited in Columbia City W. H. Liggett, Sheriff of the county, and while there became acquainted with L. S. J. Hunt, who was principal of the high school, and who in the summer conducted what was known as the Whitley County Normal, and secured the services of our subject as assistant. In the fall Mr. Mills secured a position as superintendent of a grammar school, of which he continued in charge until the holidays. He then became principal of the high school, serving in that capacity until the following summer, when he took charge of the Normal. In the sum-
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