Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 18

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

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resided until his death, which occurred on the 9th day of April, 1876.

Judge Fay was at once recognized by the bar of Fort Wayne as a lawyer of extensive and varied reading and decided ability, and, through them he soon engaged in the more important litigation in the courts of Allen county.

In 1867 the criminal circuit court of Allen county was established, and, by the unanimous request of the bar, Mr. Fay was, by Governor Baker, appointed Judge of the Court. He discharged the duties of Judge of the Criminal Court to the entire satisfac- tion of all, until the succeeding election. His intelligence, honesty and firmness quali- fied him in an eminent degree for the bench, and had it been left to the bar to select the incumbent he would, doubtless, have been continued on the bench.

On the 20th day of June, 1849, Judge Fay was married to Miss Julia P. Paine, with whom he lived until his death. They had three children, but one of whom, Mrs. P. A. Randall, survived him.

Judge Fay had, a few years before his death, procured for himself and family a beautiful suburban home, adjoining the city on the south. Here he lived in the full en- joyment of domestic happiness, with his family, to whom he was singularly attached and devoted, surrounded by almost every- thing that taste and culture could suggest. He seemed to appreciate life as a gracious bestowment. He loved, as few ever did, his books, his flowers, his trees, his lawns, all of which were choice-selected, arranged and cultivated by his own good sense and refined taste.

We have not space here to say much of Judge Fay. He was, in many respects, quite a remarkable man. He was constitu-

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tionally honest and true. He had a high conception of manhood, and that genuine and noble pride of character which made it absolutely impossible for him to do anything that was little, sordid or disreputable. He possessed, in a pre-eminent degree, that moral courage which, more than any other human attribute, makes the man, -the stead- fast and reliable friend, the true citizen, pa- triot and Christian. He was a man of deep andprofound convictions. Hereached conclu- sions, not hesitatingly, but assuredly. While he listened with real regard and pleasure to the opinions and views of others, always treating them with respect and considera- tion, he still confided in and relied upon his own convictions and conscience. He never jumped at nor reached a conclusion hastily, but when he came to a conclusion nothing but truth could displace it. He loved his friends, he enjoyed keenly the good opinion of those he deemed worthy, but would not give the approval of his own judgment for that of the world.

Intellectually he was direct, incisive and critical. He could not be imposed upon by plausible sophistries. His mind was active, vigorous and almost painfully intense. He did not like to address juries, but when pressed to do it pierced through the facts like successive flashes of lightning. In such instances he was irresistible.

We conclude our notice of Judge Fay with the hope that some one else may write of him more deservingly and at large.

J AMES D. STARBUCK, County Com- missioner of Wabash county, Indi- ana, and one of the most prominent and wealthy farmers of his vicinity, is a representative of a large and highly re-

spected family whose history is traced from Indiana to North Carolina and from there to the island of Nantucket, and it is supposed, while it is not an establised fact, that the remote ancestors of the family came to this country from Wales. It is gratifying to us to present in this connection the following review of his life and ancestry:

James D. Starbuck was born in Wayne county, Indiana, December 23, 1836, one of the family of eleven children of Andrew R. and Avis (Gardner) Starbuck. Andrew R. Starbuck was one of eighteen children, nine sons and nine daughters, and of the en- tire family only one died under the age of sixty years! He was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, June 9, 1807, and lived in his native State until ten years of age, at which time his father and family re- moved to Indiana, settling in what is now Wayne county. That was in 1817. He remained there until 1847, when he removed to Wabash county, locating in the township of Waltz, where the residue of his life was spent, and where he died in 1885 at the age of seventy-nine years. He was a man of strong convictions and great self-reliance, and he was for years an active worker for the abolition of slavery, and always deeply interested in all movements which tended toward the uplifting of humanity. Through- out nearly the whole of his life he was an earnest and active member of the Wesleyan Church. His wife, nec Avis Gardner, was a native of North Carolina also, where she was born in the year 1809, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Starbuck) Gardner. She died at an advanced age.

Edward Starbuck, the grandfather of our subject, was born on Nantucket island, where his boyhood was spent. The family removed from there to North Carolina,

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where he lived for many years, and, as above stated, removed in 1817 to Wayne county, Indiana, being one of the early pioneers of that place, and there passing the closing years of his life and dying at a good old age. The father of eighteen children, he lived to see his descendants number 277. His fa- ther, William Starbuck, was born on Nan- tucket island, and for years he was noted as the captain of one of the whaling vessels sailing from that port. On one oc- casion he introduced himself to General Washington, saying: "1 am William Star- buck, captain of the Nantucket whaler, and this is my son Edward." That son, in his old age, would speak with pride of his recol- lection of that interesting event. Captain Starbuck was well advanced in life when he moved to North Carolina, and his death oc- curred in that State.

Having thus briefly referred to the fore- fathers of our subject, we turn for a sketch of his own life. James D. Starbuck spent the first ten years of his life in Wayne coun- ty, coming thence with his parents to Wa- bash county and taking up his abode in Waltz township, where he remained until he attained his majority.

August 8. 1862, he enlisted in Company A, Eighty-ninth Regiment, Indiana Volun- teer Militia. The first service which he saw was at Munfordville, Kentucky, in which battle he was taken prisoner. His brother, Milton H., was wounded there and subse- quently died from his wounds. James D. was paroled and came home for a time, be- ing sick with typhoid fever. On his return to the army, he was stationed for nearly a year at Memphis, Tennessee, and was sent from there to Sherman on the Meridian trip from Vicksburg and was also on the Red river expedition. The regiment was or-

dered to go with Sherman on the march to the sea, but Price having made a raid into Missouri, they, under Gen. A. J. Smith, were sent in pursuit of him and made a wonderful forced march of 700 miles, averaging twenty miles per day; later were at Nashville, Ten- nessee; and in December, 1864, were in the battle between Hood and Thomas. The regiment was mustered out of the service at Mobile, Alabama, July 19, 1865. Mr. Star- buck was discharged as Sergeant. He par- ticipated in eight regular battles and in sev- eral minor engagements, in all of which he acted the part of a true soldier. He still treasures the rifle which he carried through the arduous campaigns of those years, and which will be handed down to his descend- ants as a memento of the honorable part he played as one of the defenders of his coun- try in her hour of need.

After leaving the service Mr. Starbuck returned to Indiana, and for four years was engaged in farming on the home place in Waltz township. In 1869 he removed to La Gro township, where he has since lived and where he has a fine farm of 195 acres, located on section thirty-two, township twen- ty-eight.

In politics Mr. Starbuck is a Republican of pronounced views and has always taken a deep interest in local matters. In 1888 he was elected County Commissioner, since which time he has served in this capacity, performing his duty with credit to himself and honor to Wabash county.

In 1862, while at home from the ranks, as stated, Mr. Starbuck married Miss Lydia Ann Blose, a native of Wayne county and a daughter of George and Mary (Dwiggins) Blose. The happy union has resulted in the birth of three children, namely: Carrie E., wife of John Fall, Cleveland, Ohio; Lora I.,

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wife of John Duffy, Marion, Indiana; and Avis, at home.

Mr. Starbuck is a member of J. H. Em- mett Post, No. 6, G. A. R., of Wabash, and Ringgold Lodge No. 66, I. O. O. F., of La Gro, and both he and his wife have for a quarter of a century been earnest and active members of the Mount Hope Methodist Episcopal Church, of which a greater por- tion of the time he has been Class-leader.

Such is an epitome of the life of one of Wabash county's war veterans, successful farmers and worthy citizens.

AJOR MEREDITH H. KIDD, attorney at law of Wabash, and Indian Commissioner, has the honor of being a native of the Hoosier State. He was born in Conners- ville, Fayette county, Indiana, January 7, 1829, and comes of a family that in Colonial days was established in Virginia. His pa- ternal grandfather was born there, and as a means of livelihood he followed farming. His wife belonged to the Hampton family of Virginia, and from their native State they removed to Kentucky, where their remain- ing days were passed. They had two chil- dren. The grandfather was a man of great force of character, a prominent and influen- tial citizen of the community in which he made his home.

Edmund I. Kidd, father of our subject, was born in Caroline county, Virginia, and in 1815 came to Indiana, locating in Brook- ville, where he resided three years. His next place of residence was Connersville, where he made his home until 1837. He then moved to Miami county, Indiana, and followed farming until his death. He was a

soldier in the war of 1812, and came with a battalion of Kentucky troops to the relief of Fort Wayne, when it was besieged by the British and Indians. He married Christina De Camp, a native of Vermont and a daugh- ter of Silas De Camp, who was born in New Jersey, of Holland parentage. He was a millwright, and removed to Olean Point, New York, where he and his sons con- structed a flatboat, upon which they loaded their household goods and floated down the river to Cincinnati, in 1816. They then went to Connersville, and Mr. De Camp died in Goshen, Indiana, when about the age of ninety years. He was an industrious man and a skilled mechanic. His wife bore the maiden name of Ruhamy Corey, and descended from Sir Francis Drake.

The father of our subject died in Miami county, Indiana, in 1861, at the age of sixty-seven years, and his wife, who sur- vived him some time, died at the age of eighty-three. Of their seven sons and seven daughters, eight are still living, as follows: Eliza E., widow of Archibald Kennedy; Meredith H .; Mary A., wife of David Todd; Amanda F., wife of William Wallace; Har- riet A., wife of F. M. Jeffrey, of Waynes- ville, Illinois; Maria L., wife of Edward McCammon; Gideon P., and Charles R.

Major Kidd spent the first eight years of his life in his native city, and then lived upon his father's farm in Miami county. He began his education in the country schools, after which he attended Asbury University, at Greencastle, Indiana, and later entered upon the study of law in Peru, this State. In 1850 he was admitted to the bar, and in the spring of 1852 started for California, attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific slope, where he remained for five years, sometimes successful, sometimes not.

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On one occasion he found a piece of gold valued at F1 333! In 1857 he returned to Indiana, and spent a year in reviewing his law, since which time he has successfully engaged in practice.

On the 3d of November, 1857, was cele- brated the marriage of Major Kidd and Miss Millicent Fisher, daughter of Stearns and Susan Ingersol) Fisher. Six children were born in their family, viz. : Rose L., who be- came the wife of E. B. Beer, and resides in Durango, Colorado: she has three children, Thomas, Donald and Stearns; Edmund S., who is a railroad employee living in Sabina, Mexico; Enrica, who died in early child- hood; Leila C., who is the wife of T. A. Nottzger, of Anthony, Kansas, and they have two children,-Millicent and Lee; Alice, the next younger; and Helen M., the wife of Thomas O. Mellvain, who is a rail- road engineer residing in Huntington, Indi- ana. The children were provided with good educational advantages. Rose L. graduated at the Woman's Medical College in 1891, and is now practicing medicine. Helen M. is a graduate of the same school; and Alice is a graduate of the Normal School at Terre Haute. The mother of these children, who was a member of the Baptist Church, died December 19, 1881. On the 17th of Oc- tober, 1883, Major Kidd married Miss Har- riet L. Fisher, a sister of his first wife. This worthy couple are members of the Presbyterian Church, and are most highly esteemed people.

Mrs. Kidd's father was an engineer on the construction of the Wabash and Erie Canal, and was afterward for many years its superintendent. A man of prominence, and a leader in political circles, he served as a member of both houses of the Indiana Legislature, and was paymaster of the In-

diana Legion during the war, and one of the most highly respected citizens of Wa- bash county. He had four children who grew to maturity: Sarah, widow of A. P. Ferry; Millicent, deceased; Alfred, who was a Lieutenant of the Seventh Indiana Cav- alry and died while in the army; and Mrs. Harriet Kidd. Mr. Fisher's first wife died in 1843. He departed this life in 1877, when seventy-three years of age, having lived for forty-four years in Indiana. He was a member of the Baptist Church. His father, Jonathan Fisher, a native of Ver- mont, emigrated to Cuyahoga county, Ohio, where his death occurred when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-seven years. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Kidd, John Ingersol, was a native of New Jersey, and died in Trenton.

Prompted by a spirit of patriotism, when his country was engaged in civil war, Mere- dith H. Kidd offered his services to the Government and for nearly two years was a Captain of the Fourteenth Indiana Battery. He was then promoted to the rank of Major of the Eleventh Indiana Cavalry, and during his service participated in the battles of Corinth, Pulaski, Nashville and others of less importance. His horse was shot under him at Nashville, and though several times struck with bullets he was never wounded. At the close of the war he was mustered out, as Lieutenant Colonel, and in March, 1867, was appointed Major of the Tenth United States Cavalry, holding that rank until discharged on his own application, when the army was reduced in 1870. He was ever a faithful soldier, fearless in the . defense of the old flag and the cause it rep- resented, and his meritorious conduct was best indicated by his frequent promotion.

When the war was over, Major Kidd

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returned to Wabash and practiced law until appointed on the commission on which he is now serving, in November, 1893. He served as Prosecuting Attorney in ante-bel- lum days, but resigned on joining the boys in blue. He has had other business inter- ests, having for a few months been the edi- tor and proprietor of the Plain Dealer, a weekly newspaper published in Wabash, and owns a farm in Miami county besides some city property in Wabash. In his political principles he is now a Democrat. His du- ties of citizenship are discharged with the same loyalty that he manifested on Southern battle-fields, and in all the relations of life he is an honorable man and an upright gentle- man.

0 R. ELIJAH MERRIMAN, who is residing in South Whitley, where for a number of years he has suc- cessfully engaged in the practice of the medical profession, winning by his skill and ability an enviable reputation, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, on the 5th of April, 1827, and is a son of Elijah Merri- man, who was born in 1789, not far from Baltimore, Maryland. The grandparents William and Sarah (Gooden) Merriman, were natives of the same State, and the former car- ried the mail during the Revolutionary war. He was a son of William Merriman, Sr., a native of England. The grandfather re- moved from Maryland to Pennsylvania, and settled in Uniontown, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, where he kept a tavern for twenty-five years. He removed thence to Wayne county, Ohio, in 1816, and settled upon a tract of wild land, where he spent his remaining days, his death there occur-

ring in June, 1844, at the ripe old age of eighty-cight. The mother of our subject was in her maidenhood Miss Mary McCoy. She was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1791, and was a daughter of John and Ruth (Gaddis) McCoy, both of whom were natives of Virginia and in an early day removed to Pennsylvania. During the "Whisky Rebellion " in that State, a por- tion of the army sent by President Wash- ington to crush out the insurrection en- camped upon the farm of John McCoy. One brother of Mrs. McCoy was a Colonel in the Revolutionary war, and both the grandpar- ents of our subject died on the farm at Union- town, Pennsylvania.

Mr. and Mrs. Elijah Merriman were married in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and resided there until 1816, when they became residents of Wayne county, Ohio. The grandfather also located there at the same time and gave to each of his eight children eighty acres of land. Upon the farm which they thus secured Elijah Merriman passed the rest of his days, living a quiet and hon- orable life which won the respect of all with whom he came in contact. His death oc- curred April 21, 1834. His wife remained on the old home place and reared her family. In the spring of 1844 the farm was sold, and she went to live with her son John on Apple creek, in Wayne county, Ohio, with whom she continued until her death in 1871. In the family were eleven children, of whom nine grew to maturity, while seven are now living, as follows: Mahala, widow of Luke Johnson, resides in Wayne county, Ohio, and has six children: Sarah became the wife of Jonah Griffith and had ten children, five now living; both parents are deceased, her death occurring when she had reached the advanced age of seventy-nine years and

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four months. James wedded Anna Tracy, now dec_ased, by whom he had nine chil- dren, and resides in Wells county, Indiana. William, who married Elizabeth Knight and had six children, five living, died July 11, 1893, in Bluffton, at the age of seventy- seven years. John, of Idaho, married Har- riet Gaddis and has had ten children, seven of whom are living. Thomas, of Washing- ton township, Whitley county, wedded Martha Moore and has had four children, two of whom are now living. Eliza, widow of John Mouncy, lives in Wells county Indiana, and has had five children, four now living. Huldah married Phineas Tracy, and had seven children; Mr. Tracy died in 1864, leaving three children, one of whom is now living. Hulda is now the widow of Peter Wire. The Doctor is the youngest of the family who grew to mature years. The father was a member of the Christian Church, while his wife held membership in the Baptist Church and both were highly es- teemed people.

Reared on the home farm until fifteen years of age, Dr. Merriman began an appren- ticeship to the carpenter's trade with his brother William, continuing to work for eighteen months. In 1843 he arrived in Whitley county, Indiana, and located on section 27, Washington township, the tract being all wild land. He made his home with his sister, Mrs. Tracy, and took a job of clearing land, clearing thirty aeres for Phineas Tracy, in Washington township. He then returned to Ohio, and although then in his eighteenth year he entered school. During the next nine years he pursued his studies and engaged in teaching, and also took up the study of medicine, which he continued for three years. He pursued his reading un- der the direction of Dr. Alex. Adams, of Ap-

ple Creek, Wayne county, Ohio, and subse- quently graduated at the Fort Wayne Med- ical College, and also attended a course of lectures at the Michigan State University, at Ann Arbor.

In 1853 the Doctor came again to Whitley county, and located in South Whitley, where in the month of September he began the practice of his chosen profession. He has since made this place his home and is now its oldest physician in years of continuous la- bor here. He has been a close student, a man of deep research and interested in everything that will perfect him in his profession. His skill and ability are widely recognized, and he has long enjoyed a large and lucrative practice.

In 1856 Dr. Merriman was united in marriage with Miss Rebecca Parrett, who was born in Washington county, Ohio, in February, 1836, a daughter of John D. and Nancy (Kern) Parrett, who came to this county in 1836 and settled where South Whitley now stands. Both are deceased. Of their five children who grew to maturity three are yet living. Mary became the wife of Samuel Brown, and to them were born three children; the parents have passed away; Catherine is the wife of Jeremiah G. Miller, of South Whitley, and they have three children; Mrs. Merriman is the next younger; Benjamin H. is deceased; Philip, who is living in South Whitley, married Clara Davis and has one child. The Doctor and his wife are the parents of five children living, and have lost two: Williametta is the wife of Dr. P. L. Robison, of Bluffton, Indiana, and has two children, -Homer E. and Nellie; John Everett, of South Whitley, married Margaret Sickafoos and their chil- dren are Fermer E., Garth, Harmon and May; Mary is the wife of Harry Glassley, of

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South Whitley, and their children are Rus- sell and Louise; Nellie is the wife of W. P. Sheibley of the same place, by whom she has two children,-Lowell Clement and Mary; and Lowell Mason completes the family and is at home. The parents are members of the Baptist Church, for which the Doctor served as Trustee for ten years, and from the organization of the Sunday-school he has been devoted to its work, serving as Superintendent for a long period. He is a member of the Odd Fellows society, and of the Grand Lodge of the same, and has filled all the chairs in the subordinate lodge. At this writing he is president of the South Whitley School Board and he does all in his power to promote the cause of education. He was one of the committee to build the second story upon the first schoolhouse of this place, which was erected twenty-seven years ago.

In his political views the Doctor has been a stalwart Republican from the organ- ization of the party, and his first vote was cast as a Free-Soiler, supporting Martin Van Buren. He has five times been elected Township Trustee, has served as Road Supervisor in Cleveland township at an early day and was Justice of the Peace in that township for eight years. Every trust reposed in him has been faithfully performed, and as an official his record is above re- proach. His life has been well-spent, in his work he has been quite successful, and in addition to his home in South Whitley he owns a good farm in Cleveland township. He has witnessed almost the entire growth of this county, and in the work of progress and upbuilding has ever borne his part as a loyal citizen, and as such we present him to the readers of this volume, many of whom know and esteem him highly. 9

ANIEL SMITH LEYMAN, M. D., one of the most advanced and pro- gressive practitioners in northern Indiana, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, December 30, 1825. His parents, Jacob and Naomi (Fort) Leyman, were natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania respectively, and of German descent. The father died at the age of seventy-six years, from the effects of a hurt received in a run- away. The paternal grandfather, John Leyman, was the first member of the family to emigrate to America. Jacob Leyman and wife were the parents of a family of eight children: Jackson, Jacob, Joshua, John Adams, Levi Adam, Daniel Smith, the sub- ject of this sketch; Andrew, died while serv- ing as assistant surgeon during the late Civil war; and Mary, who died at the age of four- teen years.

Dr. Leyman passed an uneventful youth upon his father's farm, where he shared in the labor of its cultivation. At the age of seventeen years he began the study of medi- cine, and after attending one course of lec- tures in Cleveland, Ohio, he began the prac- tice of his profession in his native county. He came to Huntington, Indiana, in May, 1851, and soon took rank among the lead- ing physicians of the county. From 1884 until 1893 he was engaged in the drug busi- ness, which he conducted in connection with his practice. A wide experience in the treat- ment of that dread disease, diphtheria, in which the results were too often disastrous, set the Doctor to work upon a remedy which has proved highly satisfactory. A careful study of the disease revealed the fact that the patient was suffering always from blood poisoning, and with this fact to work upon he compounded a medicine which goes to the root of the disease and not to one of its

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Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 18

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