Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 17

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 932

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A grievous loss was that which came to Mr. Arnold on the 16th of February, 1889, when his devoted and cherished wife was summoned into eternal rest. She was a woman of gentle refinement and beautiful character, and she had so lived as to gain the esteem and love of a very large circle of acquaintances. She had been for many years a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and hers was the faith that makes faithful. September 3, 1890, Mr. Arnold consummated a second mar- riage, being then united to Mrs. Angel Clark, who presides with gracious dignity over his attractive home. Mrs. Arnold is a member of the Methodist Church, and is active in all good work.

J OHN STUDABAKER .- It is pleas- ing indulgence to write the biogra- phy of a man who has been so prom- inently identified with the material activities of the nation as has John Studa- baker, who stands conspicuously forward as one of the pioneers of Indiana and one whose connection with the growth and sub- stantial upbuilding of the thriving little city of Bluffton has been of such intimate nature and extended over the course of so many years. This nation has brought forth

many heroes, statesmen, financiers and bril- liant men in all spheres of endeavor. Its an- nals teem with the records of good lives and noble deeds. Most of our noblest and best men are self-made, and among the histories of the prominent individuals of this class that of John Studabaker deserves a high place, by reason of his broad sympathies, sterling honor and abiding public-spirit.

He is a man of such well defined and re- markable traits of character that his fifty- seven years of business activity in Bluffton and Wells county have left the impress of his versatile ability upon nearly all the com- mercial and industrial enterprises of the lo- calities in which he has operated; and the name of John Studabaker, wherever known, passes current as a synonym for all that is upright and honorable. Endowed by nature with a sturdy frame, a clear and alert in- tellect, always in good health, with an abundance of exuberant spirits, it is not strange that time and labor have had so little effect upon his vital forces. The power of man's resistance to the corrosion of time and labor is just in proportion to the per- fectness of his physical and mental make-up. Hence the reasonableness of the deduction that nature has dealt kindly with Mr. Stu- dabaker in bestowing upon him her choicest gifts.

He came from Greenville, Ohio, to Bluff- ton in the year 1838, and here engaged in the mercantile business. Since that early date he has been a prominent figure in the county and city, and for many years had a personal acquaintance with nearly every adult person in the county. Mr. Studa- baker is a native of Darke county, Ohio, where he was born on the 15th of August, 1817, being the son of Abraham and Mary (Townsend) Studabaker. The conditions

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of place and period were such as to afford him but limited advantages in the way of securing an education, since in that early day there were but few schools of any im- portance throughout what is now the great State of Ohio. The old log school-house, with its puncheon floor and slab seats, fig- ured as the seat of learning in the locality of his birth, and it may be said that in these rude school-houses have been " graduated " some of the best and strongest men of the nation. The boyhood days of our subject were passed upon the parental farmstead, and when a young man he went to Green- ville, Ohio, where he engaged as a clerk in the dry-goods establishment of Henry Ar- nold, thus gaining his initial experience in practical business affairs and incidentally laying the foundation for his future success.

Mr. Studabaker came to Wells county a single man, but he realized the truth of the scriptural injunction, that it is not well for man to be alone, and he accordingly re- turned to Darke county, Ohio, and there, on the 7th of July, 1839, was united in marriage to Rebecca Angel, daughter of David Angel, one of the leading citizens of that county. With his young bride he re- turned to Bluffton, making his wedding tour on horseback. Of the ten children born to this union only four are now living: Mary Jane, the eldest daughter, was married to Dwight Klinck, in 1863, and to them were born four children. While crossing the At- lantic ocean, in 1875, Mr. Klinck was drowned, and in August, 1876, his widow became the wife of Jacob J. Todd, a promi- nent attorney of Bluffton, concerning whom personal mention is made on other pages of this volume. By this union two children were born. The third daughter of our sub- ject, Jeanette, became the wife of F. T.

Waring, and her death occurred in 1874. She left two children, who were entrusted to the care of her youngest sister, Martha, who, in 1875, also married F. T. Waring. Concerning the son, David E. Studabaker, specific mention is made on another page of this work. John A., the younger son, mar- ried Edna Angel, of Dayton, Ohio, and has one child.

Upon coming to Bluffton Mr. Studabaker began his mercantile operations in a log cabin north of the public square. At that time the Indians were still most largely in evidence, and they were numbered among his best customers. For many years he transported his stock of goods from Cincin- nati by means of wagons, fifteen or twenty days being required to make the round trip. During this time he was agent for the Amer- ican Fur Company, and bought all kinds of furs, having control of the counties of Ad- ams, Jay, Wells and Blackford, and con- ducting extensive and profitable operations in this line of industry which had so im- portant bearing upon the commercial and material progress of the little pioneer com- munities. The country increased rapidly in population, and in 1844 Mr. Studabaker found his previously adequate accommoda- tions were not sufficient to meet the exi- gencies of his business, and he accordingly erected a two-story frame building in which to continue his mercantile enterprise, con- tinuing to utilize these quarters until 1852, when he erected a brick building on the same site where he reared his original cabin.

In 1856 Mr. Studabaker disposed of his dry-goods business and instituted banking operations, under the name of the Exchange Bank. In 1863 this institution was merged into the First National Bank, with our sub-

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ject as president, and in 1868 the First National was discontinued, whereupon Mr. Studabaker associated himself with his brother Peter and his nephew, Hugh Dough- erty, in the organization of the Exchange Bank of John Studabaker & Company. This institution is still in operation under the name of "The Studabaker Bank," and is the leading bank of Wells county, having a distinctive hold upon public favor and con- fidence.

In connection with his banking business Mr. Studabaker has continued in the grain and produce business on an extensive scale. From time to time he has invested his means in farm land, and to-day he is the owner of several fine farms, together with a large amount of town property, both im- proved and unimproved. He has made two or three additions to the city of Bluffton and has given much time and financial en- couragement of marked liberality to public improvement. In an early day he was in- terested with others in the Bluffton & Fort Wayne plank road, and in 1851 was largely concerned with the putting through of the Fort Wayne & Southern Railroad, which was graded through Wells county, but which, by reason of the stringency of the money market, was not completed for a long term of years. In 1869 the project was revived and largely through the energy and well directed efforts of our subject the road was finally completed and put into active operation.

In his political proclivities Mr. Studa- baker was originally an advocate of the principles of the Whig party, whose cause he supported until the organization of the Republican party, when he identified him- self with the latter, continuing his allegiance until the year 1876, when he espoused the

principles of the Greenback party, in which connection he was twice on its State ticket, also becoming a candidate for Congress. His party being in the minority he suffered defeat on each occasion. During his entire life he has been an earnest advocate of tem- perance, and believing that no restriction of. practical order could be applied to the doing away with the obnoxious liquor traffic through the medium of the two dominant national parties, he placed himself stanchly in line as a supporter of the Prohibition party, identi- fying himself therewith in 1884 and casting his vote for St. John for president.

In 1843 Mr. Studabaker became a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and his daily life has shown that his faith is one of earnestness and sincerity-a faith that makes faithful. In the spread of the gospel he has contributed liberally of his means, and he aided to a conspicuous extent in the erection of the fine edifice of the Methodist Church at Bluffton. The ground upon which the church is built was contributed by him. In his younger days he was an active worker in the Sunday-school, but within late years he has felt that his ad- vanced age has incapacitated him for activity in that branch of the Lord's work.

Mrs. Studabaker has been for more than half a century a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She is also an active worker in the cause of the Wo- man's Christian Temperance Union, and a valuable helpmeet to her husband in his labor of love for humanity in fighting the great curse-the saloon evil.

This review of the life of our honored subject is necessarily general in its character. To enter fully into the interesting details of his life, touching the struggles of his early manhood and successes of later days, would

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require almost a volume in itself. Enough has been submitted, however, to prove that he is entitled to a place in the front ranks of the brave, determined, energetic and self- made men of Indiana-those who by pluck, enterprise and unswerving honor have wrought from the sylvan wilderness a State second to none in the grand constellation comprising the Union, and the name of this patriarchal citizen will be revered in Bluff- ton for all time to come, for not soon shall we be permitted to "look upon his like again."

J OHN I. HOOVER, the efficient Postmaster of Wabash, is a citizen whose fidelity to publie duty has never been questioned. A native of Pennsylvania, he was born in Adams coun- ty, on the 19th of April, 1835, and is a son of Samuel and Amelia (Eiker) Hoover, who were also born in the Keystone State. The paternal grandfather was a native of Penn- sylvania, and was of German descent. He engaged in the tanning business throughout his entire life, and died in the State of his nativity at a ripe old age. The maternal grandfather, Joseph Eiker, was likewise of German lineage, and spent his entire life in Pennsylvania, passing away when well ad- vanced in years. He earned a livelihood by operating a grist mill.

In 1854 Samuel Hoover emigrated west- ward to Indiana, and located on treaty land, three miles southest of Wabash, where he purchased eighty acres, and carried on agri- cultural pursuits until his death. By trade, however, he was a tanner. He died at the age of seventy-three, and his wife departed this life some years previous. They were members of the German Reformed Church,

and were worthy people, who commanded the respect of all who knew them. Their family numbered nine children, four sons and five daughters, of whom five are now living, namely: John I .; Barbara, wife of David McConn, now deceased, of Kimball, Kansas; James; Lucy, wife of James Whit- son, a resident of Jonesboro, Indiana; and Samuel.

We now take up the personal history of our subject, and in doing so present to onr readers the life record of one who is both widely and favorably known in this locality. He was reared upon his father's farm in Adams county, Pennsylvania, and early be- came familiar with all the duties connected with agricultural life. In 1854 he came with the family, consisting of father, mother and nine children, to the Hoosier State, the trip being made in a wagon. He continued to work with his father until 1858, when he began business for himself as a farmer, two miles southwest of Wabash. There he car- ried on agricultural pursuits for two years.

In the meantime Mr. Hoover chose as a companion and helpmeet on life's journey Miss Sarah Jane Story, the wedding being celebrated in December, 1859. The lady is a daughter of Caleb and Rebecca Story, and by her marriage has become the mother of five children, three sons and two daughters; but one daughter died in infancy. Albert M., the eldest, married Miss Corrinna Arm- strong, by whom he has three daughters- Marie, Grace and Esther, and is carrying on a machine shop in Wabash. Ollie Ann is the wife of Roscoe Weesner, a resident of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, and they have two children, Beulah and Louise. Eddie Ells- worth died at the age of ten months, and William M. died at the age of nine years.

Upon leaving the farm Mr. Hoover

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served as Constable for a year, and was then employed in the elevator of Mr. Bruner for a year or more, after which he engaged in the tanning business with his father for four years. During the three succeeding years he was a boot and shoe merchant of Wa- bash, and his next venture was in the nur- sery business, selling fruit trees for about five years. For a . similar period he was also engaged in the manufacture of brick, and furnished 200,000 brick used in the construction of the court-house. His next undertaking was as proprietor of a sawmill, and for twelve years he sawed lumber through the winter season and engaged in threshing through the summer months. He is an energetic and wide-awake business man, and has so managed his affairs that he has be- come the possessor of a comfortable compe- tence, which is the just reward of his labors.

In his political views Mr. Hoover is a stalwart Democrat, and on the 27th of April, 1894, he was appointed Postmaster of Wabash, and on the 7th of May took charge of the office, which he has since ably conducted with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of all concerned. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. They have a nice home two miles south of the city, which is the abode of hospitality and good chcer, and Mr. and Mrs. Hoover both have many warm friends throughout the community in which they have so long resided.

A NDREW JACKSON SMITH, M. D. has attained a prominent posi- tion in the ranks of the medical fraternity in northeastern Indiana, and his skill and ability are recognized by his professional brethren, as well as attest-

ed by a liberal share of the public patron- age. He makes his home in Wabash, and the community numbers him among its valued members and ranks him as one well worthy of representation in the history of his adopted county.

Dr. Smith was born in Champaign coun- ty, Ohio, on the 30th of December, 1830, and comes of a family of German origin. The paternal grandfather, Peter Smith, was a native of Strausberg, and having emigrat- ed to America located in Virginia, and sub- sequently removed to Ohio, when it was a frontier settlement, -the home of many more Indians than white men. His death occurred there at the age of seventy-six. He was twice married and had a large fam- ily. David Smith, the Doctor's father, was born in Virginia, and when about seven years of age removed with his parents to the Buckeye State, where he became a farmer. He married Barbara Taylor, and to them were born two sons and two daugh- ters, of whom two are now living, namely: Mary, wife of John Boswell; and Peter, who is located in Champaign county, Ohio. After the death of his first wife he wedded Sarah Houtz, who also was born in the Old Dominion, a daughter of Jacob Houtz, a native of Germany, who became a Virgin- ian farmer and died in middle life. Seven children were in their family,-six sons and a daughter, -of whom four are now living, as follows: Andrew J .; Priscilla, wife of Syl- vanus Ward; Isaac and Irvin. The father of this family served as Justice of the Peace for the long period of twenty-four years, and was a prominent and influential citizen. His death occurred in 1846, at the age of fifty-one, after which his widow became the wife of Christopher Metz; her death oc- burred in 1852,

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Dr. Smith was reared in Champaign county, Ohio, in the usual manner of farmer lads, and provided with good educational advantages, such as would fit him for the practical duties of life. After pursuing his studies in the common schools and in Ox- ford, he engaged in teaching, and when he had followed that profession for some years he turned his attention to the study of med- icine, which he began in 1854 in Wabash county, Indiana, under the direction of Dr. J. L. Dickin, of Somerset, Indiana. After thorough introductory work, in 1856 he en- tered Rush Medical College of Chicago, and when his course was completed began prac- tice in Wabash, where he continued until 1862. In that year, prompted by a spirit of patriotism, he offered his services to the Government and became Assistant Surgeon in the Second Indiana Cavalry, continuing at the front for two years. On the expira- tion of that period he returned to Wabash, where he has since successfully prosecuted his chosen profession. In 1871 he was graduated at the Chicago Medical College, and has since continued his studies alone, being a man of deep research and an ear- nest thinker who applies his knowledge to his daily labors with enviable results.

On the 30th of May, 1851, Dr. Smith was united in marriage with Miss Henrietta Rose, daughter of Warren and Lucy (Hib- bard) Rose. They became the parents of six children,-Geraldine Rose, Alice L., David W., Hazel, Annie L. and one who died in infancy. Alice L. is now the wife of Otto G. Hill, by whom she has two chil- dren, -Miriam and Charles S. Annie L. is the wife of Daniel W. Sayre, who resides near Wabash, and they have one daughter, Henrietta. The mother of this family, who was a consistent member of the Methodist

Church and a most estimable lady, died in March, 1882. The Doctor was again mar- ried April 18, 1889, his second union being with Dr. Louisa F. Jessup, a graduate of the Woman's Medical College of Chicago, who practices with him. They have one son, Asa Jessup Smith.

The Doctor has met with good success, gaining not only an enviable reputation but also acquiring a handsome competence, and to-day he owns some valuable farm property in addition to his home and other real estate in the city. He is a member of the County and State Medical Associations and also the American Medical Association. In politics he is a Prohibitionist, - a warm advocate of the cause of temperance and of all matters that are calculated to benefit humanity. He holds membership in the Methodist Church, and socially is connected with the Odd Fel- lows society; with James H. Emmet Post, No. 6, G. A. R., and is a Royal Arch Mason. Since 1853 he has resided in Wa- bash county, and for thirty-eight years has been a resident of the city which is still his home. An honored pioneer, an able physi- cian, and an upright man, he has the re- spect of all who know him.

0 R. LOUISA F. SMITH is the wife of Dr. A. J. Smith, and ranks equally high with her husband in the medical profession. It has for some years been an established fact that when a woman enters this line of work she proves herself the equal if not the superior of man. She gains the theoretical knowledge that he does and in practice adds the deli- cacy of touch and keener sympathies that belong to womankind.

Dr. Louisa F. Smith was born in Henry

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county, Indiana, near Knightstown, and is a daughter of Morris and Rachel (Hiatt) Jessup, both of whom are natives of this State, the former of English descent and the latter of German lineage. They became the parents of five daughters, the eldest of whom are Louisa F. and her twin sister, Mary V. The others are: Lydia A., Eva- line and Elizabeth, commonly called Lizzie. Mary is the wife of Isaac Furnas. Lydia A. is the wife of Asher Tomlinson, and Eva- line is the wife of Alfred E. Jessup. The father of this family is a farmer and removed to Hamilton county, Indiana, where he and his wife still make their home. He has now laid aside business cares, enjoying a well earned rest, the fruits of his former toil. Both are members of the Society of Friends, and both are Elders in the church.

It may be interesting in this connection to note something more of the ancestry of our subject. The paternal grandfather, Tidamon Jessup, was a native of North Car- olina and a farmer by occupation, who died when about sixty years of age. He had a family of eleven children, all of whom reached mature years and were mar- ried. He too was a member of the Society of Friends, and was a stalwart Abolitionist who helped many a runaway slave on his way to freedom. The maternal grandfather, Henry Hiatt, was a Virginian by birth, and descended from a family of German origin. In his younger years he removed to Ohio, and in his early married life came to Indiana, settling in Henry county, where he followed agricultural pursuits throughout his remain- ing days.

The lady whose name heads this record was reared in Hamilton county, and attend- ed the private subscription school until ten years of age, when she entered Spiceland

Academy. Determining to take up the study of medicine, for which her tastes and abilities seemed to fit her, she began her reading about 1875, and four years later entered the Woman's Medical College of Chicago, from which she was graduated in 1882. During that and the succeeding year she added practical experience to her theoretical knowl- edge by acting as house physician in the Woman's Hospital. In November, 1883, she came to Wabash, Indiana, opened an office and was soon greeted with a good patronage, which has steadily increased until she is now enjoying a large and lucrative practice.

On the 18th of April, 1889, Miss Jessup became the wife of Dr. A. J. Smith, and they now have one son, Asa Jessup, who was born January 20, 1894. Mrs. Smith is a member of the County and State Medical Societies and has won in her chosen work a success of which she is well deserving. She is a member of the State Suffrage Associa- tion, has been a member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union since its or- ganization, and is a member of the Meth- odist Church. A cultured and refined lady, her genuine worth has won a large circle of friends, whose esteem she richly merits.

ON. JAMES A. FAY (by Judge J. W. Morris) .- The subject of this brief memoir was born on the Ioth day of May, 1813, at North- ampton, in the State of New York. His early education was such as could be obtained at the best institutions of learning in his native State. These advantages were im- proved by close application and continuous study; so that, when he attained his ma- jority, he had read much, was familiar with

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the literature of the times and a thoroughly cultivated gentleman.

After leaving school, Mr. Fay joined an engineering party and came West for his health, which had become somewhat im- paired. He spent some time with his party, camping out and roughing it over the coun- try, whereby he regained his health. He spent some time in Indiana, and finally took a school in Centerville, then the county seat of Wayne county. Here he became ac- quainted with Hon. John S. Newman, one of the best men and among the ablest lawyers of the State, with whom he studied law. With Mr. Newman he mastered thoroughly the elements of the law, making himself familiar with Coke, Blackstone, Chitty, Starkie and other elementary writers. It was before he applied for admission to the bar that he acquired that accurate and crit- ical knowledge of the principles of the law which in more mature years gave his opin- ions, with his associates at the bar, almost the force and weight of authority.

After his admission to the bar, at the instance of the late Caleb B. Smith,-then and during his life one of the ablest and most distinguished lawyers and politicians of the State,-he removed to Conners- ville, Fayette county, Indiana, and com- menced the practice of the law, as a partner of Mr. Smith. As a lawyer he took his place as the equal of such men as Smith, Parker and others, members of the Con- nersville bar, and among the leading law- yers of the State.

Judge Fay left Connersville in 1856, with the view of returning to his native State and making it his permanent home. Friends in Indiana induced him to change this pur- pose, and, through their solicitations, he came to Fort Wayne in 1858, where he

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Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 17

Author: Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 932

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 932