Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 19

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

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results. It is known as Leyman's Diph- theria and Sore Throat Remedy, and is sold only by the inventor. In 1855 Dr. Ley- man became associated in practice with Dr. Sheets, who was obliged to retire on ac- count of becoming blind. Later Dr. Schaef- fer was one of his partners.

Dr. Leyman was united in marriage February 11, 1847, to Martha Manchester, who died February 11, 1864, the mother of two children, Sarah Ellen, the wife of Harry Stanton, and Edward Manchester, who mar- ried Miss Bacon. The Doctor's second mar- riage was to Amanda M. Mitten, daughter of James Mitten. One child, Lawrence El- gin, has been born to this union.

Politically our subject was formerly a Democrat, but he withdrew his support from that party, and in 1856, on the organization of the Republican party, he cast his in- fluence in their ranks and has since been an ardent supporter of their principles. In 1880 he was chairman of the Republican county central committee, and conducted the Garfield campaign with much discretion and good judgment. In his religious faith he subscribes to the doctrines of the Pres- byterian Church, of which he and his wife are both members. He also belongs to the Masonic order.

IRAM TEWKSBURY is not only one of the most extensive land-own- ers and prominent business men of Blackford county, but is also one of the most esteemed. He has been identi- fied with the history of this section of the State since its pioneer days, has ever borne his part in its development, has aided in its upbuilding, and has so lived as to win the

unqualified confidence of the entire com- munity. He is respected by all who know him for his sterling characteristics, and the history of northeastern Indiana would be in- complete without a record of his life.

Back to England he traces his ancestry. There in the early part of the seventeenth century lived John Tewksbury, who be- longed to that noble band of Puritans that in order to secure religious freedom braved the dangers of an ocean voyage to secure a home in the New World. He landed on the shores of New England in 1625, and about a quarter of a century later removed from Plymouth, Massachusetts, to Sandwich, New Hampshire, where his descendants have resided for two and a half centuries. He married a Miss Brown, who had come to the United States with the heroic little band that had sailed in the Mayflower in 1620.

The paternal grandfather of our subject, John Tewksbury, and the maternal grand- father, Daniel Tewksbury, were brothers. The latter was born in Sandwich, New Hampshire, May 4, 1783, and married Miss Polly Brown, who was born in the same place, Jannary 9, 1781, and descended from the Mayflower family of that name. They were married about the year 1801, and to them were born the following children: Mary, born January 22, 1805, died March 1, 1815; Nancy, mother of our subject; Patty, born May 19, 1809, and died June 13, 1815; Elijah, born March 11, 1811, and died December 20, 1843; Daniel, born March 19, 1813, and died September 18, 1814; Daniel M., born April 7, 1815, and died April 20, 1881; Lyman, born January 17, 1817, and died in December, 1886; Simon, born October 26, 1819, and is living in Clifford, Michigan; Sophia, born June 10,

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1821, and resides in Battle Creek, Michigan; and Asel, who was born February 7, 1823, and died September 14, 1827.

The paternal grandfather of our subject was also a native of Sandwich, New Hamp- shire, and married Hannah Mudgett. Their children were Nathaniel, Nancy, Maria, Ezekiel, Henry, Betsy and Susan. All re- mained in New England save the father of our subject.

The father of our subject, Nathaniel Tewksbury, was also a native of Sandwich, New Hampshire, born August 6, 1799. Hav- ing arrived at years of maturity he married Miss Nancy Tewksbury, on the 24th of Feb- ruary, 1825. The lady was born November 7, 1807, in Sandwich, and there they resided until 1833, when they removed to Summit county, Ohio, where the parents of Mrs. Tewksbury had settled about ten years pre- vious. On the 15th of February, 1841, they started for Indiana, traveling with an ox team and wagon, and camping out along the road wherever night overtook them. They traveled through a wild, unbroken region, having often to cut their way through the forests, and to ford streams which would almost float their wagons. On the 2d day of April they reached Blackford county, and the family were established there in a small cabin, while the father continued on his way to Wells county to erect a log cabin upon a tract of eighty acres of land which he had entered from the Government in 1837 before leaving Ohio. This is the same farm on which our subject resided until October, 1894. The father had to make a clearing in order to erect his cabin, and the trees which he cut down he sawed into logs used in con- struction of the house. In December the little building was ready for occupancy and the family came to their new home. There

was no road near the land, - nothing but an Indian trail which ran from the Godfrey re- serve to within half a mile of the farm. On all sides stretched wild forests or unbroken timber lands, where wild animals were far more numerous than white settlers. Bears and wolves still roamed through these un- improved regions and deer and smaller wild game were to be had in abundance. The family experienced all the hardships and trials of inaking a settlement in a new coun- try, but as the years passed the land was re- claimed from its virgin condition and trans- formed into rich and fertile fields. At first they were obliged to have their milling done at Muncie, but subsequently went to the nearer town of Camden, where there was a corn-crusher. A few years later a good mill was erected on the Salamonie river, and with the advance of civilization the hard- ships of pioneer life disappeared. Wheat was at first hauled to Fort Wayne, it requir- ing about a week to make the trip, and they received from thirty to fifty cents a bushel for that grain, while for salt they would have to pay from $4 to $5 per barrel.

Mr. Tewksbury arrived in Wells county with only $1.50 in cash, an ox team, one cow and his household goods; but as the years went by prosperity blessed his earnest and industrious efforts, and he became the possessor of not only a comfortable home but also quite a handsome competence. He was among the first to give attention to stock-raising in Wells county, and was always interested in this branch of industry, which proved to him a profitable one. True to all the relations of life, both Mr. and Mrs. Tewksbury had the high regard of many friends, and for more than a third of a century were numbered among the esteemed citizens of Wells county. The mother was

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called to the home beyond March 17, 1877, and the father passed away February II, 1878, their remains being interred in Mont- pelier cemetery. They had three children, but our subject is now the only surviving member of the family. James Madison, the eldest, born May 13, 1838, died July 16, 1840; and Henrietta, born July 12, 1842, died August 14, 1847.

Hiram Tewksbury, widely and favorably known in northeastern Indiana, was born in Summit county, Ohio, December 16, 1840, and was therefore less than a year old when the family came to Indiana. Reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life, he gave his attention during his youth to the opera- tion of the fields and other duties of the farm. For more than half a century he lived upon the land which his father secured from the Government, and became the largest individual stock-raiser in Wells coun- ty. He was an enterprising agriculturist, always progressive, and constantly improv- ing upon his own and others' methods. He did much to raise the grade of stock in this locality, and kept abreast with the progress of the times in every particular. He is saga- cious and far-sighted, possesses excellent business and executive ability, and his capa- ble management, energy and enterprise have largely increased his property in extent and value. He is to-day the owner of over 1, 000 acres of land in Wells and Blackford coun- ties, Indiana, and at Grand Traverse, Michi- gan. In Wells county his landed posses- sions aggregate 636 acres; in Blackford coun- ty 431 acres; and in Michigan eighty acres. All of the Indiana land lies in the oil belt, and since the discovery of oil has become very valuable property. His first well was drilled in May, 1890, and yielded a produc- tion of twenty barrels daily. He now has

thirty-one oil-producing wells, and his most extensive yield is over 500 barrels daily. His largest production for any one month yielded him a royalty of $1,800, and his royalty for 1894 was over $12,000. The wells are operated by a number of different companies, the Ohio Oil Company, how- ever, having charge of the largest number. Mr. Tewksbury was for a time connected with Cochran & Company, who drilled five wells on his farm, but subsequently he sold out his interest. His possessions now yield to him a handsome income and he is living retired, enjoying the fruits of his former toil. He was for a time engaged in the hardware business with William and John Cloud, of Montpelier, -- from 1875 until 1877,-and from 1881 until 1883 he was a member of the general mercantile firm of J. T. Hess & Company.

On the 17th of October, 1894, Mr. Tewksbury left the old farm, where his en- tire life had been passed up to that time, and is now making his home in Montpelier. In April, 1863, he wedded Miss Mary Jane Harris, a native of Jay county, Indiana, and a daughter of David and Eliza (Caldwell) Harris. The date of her birth was May 22, 1842, and her death occurred Septem- ber 10, 1877. There were two children of this union: John Marion, who was born August 24, 1864, was married June 22, 1891, to Laura, daughter of Robert and Susan (Hunt) Shields, and is now living near the old homestead; and Elmer, born January 31, 1866, who married Ellen McCoy. Mr. Tewksbury was again married January 22, 1880, his second union being with Mrs. Cecelia Conley, a native of Rochester, New York, and a daughter of Addison and Mary (McConaghy) Nowlin. Three children grace this second union, viz .: Eva, born Novem-

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ber 17, 1880; Joy, born February 19, 1884; and Helen, born November 20, 1887.

In his political views, Mr. Tewksbury has long been a stalwart Republican. His father joined that party on its organization, and when he had attained his majority he also entered its ranks, and has since faith- fully upheld its banner. He has never taken a very active part in politics in the sense of office-seeking, preferring to devote his time and energies to his business pursuits, in which he has met with signal success.

ATRICK O'BRIEN is one of the honored pioneers of Huntington county, and is entitled to that place in history that the present generation so willingly accord those brave souls who made the present advanced civili- zation a possibility. Like many another patriotic citizen of the United States, he claims his nativity in the Emerald Isle, where he was born March 20, 1820, in county Wexford, near the city of Wexford. His parents, William and Mary (Brady) O'Brien, emigrated to America in 1854. The father died February 8, 1865, a little more than four-score years old; the mother lived to the advanced age of ninety-two years. They had a family of eight children: Eliza- beth was married in 1833 and died in Ireland, at the age of twenty years; Catharine died in Ireland, in 1877, at the age of sixty-two years, the wife of Mr. Cody and the mother of a family of children; Ellen, born in 1817, died in March, 1893, seventy-six years old; Patrick is the subject of this sketch; Michael, born in 1822, died at Peru, Indiana, Septem- ber 2, 1854, aged thirty-two years, a vic- tim of the cholera scourge of that year; Mary, born in 1828; Johanna, born in 1831,

the wife of Mr. Nagle, died in 1863; Den- nis, born in 1834, died at Fort Wayne, In- diana, March 22, 1892, leaving a widow, whose maiden name was Nancy Sheridan.

Patrick O'Brien preceded his parents in emigrating to this country seven years, coming in 1849. The first employment he secured was on public works in the State of New York, but the tide of emigration swept too strongly to the West for him to remain long in the Empire State. In the fall of 1850 he came to Huntington county, and the following February he secured a posi- tion as superintendent and civil engineer on the Indianapolis & Peru Railroad, which was then in process of construction. He afterward superintended the construction of the Huntington & Liberty Mills plank road, which was built through Huntington, Whitley and Wabash counties. In the au- tumn of 1852 he was again employed on the Indianapolis & Peru Railroad, his con- nection continuing until the completion of the road in 1853. He then secured a posi- tion as civil engineer on the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad, which did not end until that road was finished, in 1857. Some months thereafter he assisted in the location of the Tiffin, Fort Wayne & Western Railroad, and after superintending the construction of certain portions of this road he returned to Huntington. In 1860 he was superintendent of repairs on the sec- ond division of the Wabash & Erie Canal, a position he held five or six years. He was then commissioned superintendent and pay- master of that division, a place he filled un- til the spring of 1874. In 1873 he was elected Councilman from the First ward.

The citizens of Huntington recognizing Mr. O'Brien's sterling worth, as well as fit- ness for the office, elected him Treasurer of

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the city in the spring of 1874, the race be- ing made without political opposition. In the same manner he was re-elected in the spring of 1876; he was appointed City Civil Engineer in the spring of 1874, and dis- charged the duties of that position with peculiar ability until 1891. In 1877 he pre- pared plans for the construction of the free gravel roads that were built by the commis- sioners in 1877, 1878 and 1879. In his re- ligious faith Mr. O'Brien is a devout adher- ent of the doctrines of the Church of Rome.

J AMES S. COLLINS, a resident of Columbia City and a distinguished and venerable member of the Whitley county bar, is eminently worthy of representation in this volume, and the work inight well be considered incomplete were there a failure to direct specific attention to his life and its accomplishment.

Coming of one of the early pioneer fami- lies of the Hoosier State, and himself to be considered as a pioneer resident of Whitley county, Mr. Collins was born in Wayne county, Indiana, on the 24th of December, 1819, being the son of John and Jane (Hol- man) Collins, the former of whom was a native of Virginia and the latter of Ken- tucky, both being of stanch old English stock. The father of our subject settled in Wayne county very early in the present century, purchasing a tract of wild land from the Government and devoting himself vigorously and successfully to its reclamation. There he continued to abide until 1836, when he removed to Whitley county and settled in Cleveland township, where he purchased a tract of land upon which some slight improve- ment had been made. There the family home was maintained for many years, John

Collins was a member of the State Militia during the war of 1812, and he went forth to aid in preventing an uprising among the Indians, whose insubordination was a feature of that memorable conflict. He was the first Treasurer of Whitley county, becoming the incumbent in this office at a time when there was no cash represented in its exchequer. His son Richard was the first Sheriff of the county, and soon after he became Clerk, Auditor and Recorder, -all of which offices were com- bined so far as their executive was concerned. The father and mother of our subject both died in Columbia City, each having lived to a ripe old age. They became the parents of ten children, only four of whom are living at the present time: Mrs. Sarah Cuppy, James S., Martha and Eliza.

Our subject was reared under the sturdy discipline of the pioneer farm, aiding in the work of clearing 100 acres, and never hav- ing been enabled to attend school for a day after he had attained the age of sixteen years. There had been enkindled in his mind, however, an appreciation of the priv- ileges which were of necessity denied him, and though his mental horizon was circum- scribed, still he spared no effort to gain that knowledge which, in an obscure way, he knew would be so essential to his suc- cess in life. He had a few books and to these he devoted his spare moments at home. The intrinsic capacity of his men- tality was shown very forcibly in the fact that, in the winter of 1843, he boldly waded into the pages of Blackstone's commentaries, with a dictionary beside him as an aid to ascertaining the meaning and pronunciation of the " big words." Such was the power for assimilation that he possessed that we find a most notable victory achieved by the young man within a year's time, since in

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the fall of 1844 he passed an examination and was admitted to practice at the bar. Such accomplishment at so great odds reads almost like a romance in these latter days, when privileges are to be had for the accept- ing, and when the way is made smooth to the feet of the average searcher after know- ledge.

It is a significant circumstance that our honored subject began the practice of his profession in Columbia City, which point has been the scene of his consecutive en- deavors as an attorney at law from that early day to the present time. His title to the rank as the pioneer lawyer of the city is unquestioned, and his name is honored by the members of the bar to-day, as it has been through all the days of the past. The lot of the young lawyer was not one of sybaritic ease or one that yielded much financial re- turn for a long time, but his perseverance and his ability eventually won him merited recognition in the according to him of a representative clientage. In 1860 a dis- tinguishing honor was conferred upon Mr. Collins in his election to the State Legisla- ture,-which preferment was accorded him without the formality of having intimated or suggested to him his candidacy. He was a member during the special term of 1861,- the war legislature,-and his efforts were marked by a lively appreciation of the na- tion's peril and by an earnest effort to sup- port her time-honored institutions. In 1868 the demand for a new railroad was recog- nized by the citizens of Whitley and other counties, and of the company which was organized to bring the project to a focus, Mr. Collins was made president. The cor- poration noted completed what is known as the Eel River Railroad in 1873, and our subject retained the presidency until after

the road has been thus brought to comple- tion. Since that time he has devoted his attention entirely to his profession, although he has withdrawn to a large extent from practice in the courts by reason of the fact that his advanced age renders such service too burdensome. This phase of the work he has relegated almost entirely to his as- sociate in business, Mr. Benjamin E. Gates.

Mr. Collins owns a large tract of land contiguous to the city, and also has some valuable realty within the corporate limits. During all the long years, in which he has been a witness of the advancement of Columbia City from a straggling village to its present flourishing status as a progressive and modern little city, our subject has mani- fested a hearty interest in the affairs of the place and the welfare of the county, and has been a prime mover in every enterprise which has had as its object the benefiting of the community. In political matters he has been a stalwart Republican, and has been an active and zealous worker in the party ranks.

Turning in conclusion to the more purely domestic phases of Mr. Collins' life, we find that in the year 1849 was consummated his marriage to Miss Eliza J. Fleming, a native of Londonderry, Ireland, and the dangh- ter of John and Frances Fleming. The offspring of this most happy union has been four children, namely: Jane H .; Reginald Heber; Sophia, wife of John Wilson Adams; and William J.

Even this brief review will be sufficient to afford an idea as to the accomplishment of our honored subject, who is well worthy the title of a "self-made man," and whose actions have ever stood in evidence of his sterling integrity and of the high principles which have shaped his career. Among the

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people who have known him so long and so well he is passing the golden autumn of his life, secure in their esteem and confidence, and still in the exercise of those functions which have made his a useful life.

0 R. E. L. EBERHARD, a promi- nent physician and surgeon of South Whitley, Indiana, is a Hoosier by birth. He was ushered into life at the old Eberhard homestead in Columbia township, Whitley county, Indi-

friends than Dr. Eberhard's father. Early in life he had the misfortune to lose his right hand while feeding a clover huller, and this loss prevented his participating in the Civil war; but he was strongly in sympathy with the Union cause. Politically, he was a Democrat. His occupation was exclu- sively that of farmer. He cleared up and improved a farm and on this he passed the greater part of his life and died.

We pass now to a review of Dr. Eber- hard's life. He was reared on the home farm and received his early education in the ana, June 23, 1857. George Eberhard, i district schools. Later he attended normal school at Valparaiso. He began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Lawrence of Columbia City, subsequently entered the Medical College of Ohio, and is a graduate of this institution with the class of 1880. In the spring of that same year, on the 15th of March, to be exact, he opened an office in South Whitley and began his professional career, and with the medical profession of this place and its various interests he has since been identified.

Jr., his father, was born in Stark county, Ohio, September 7, 1834, son of George, Sr., and Catharine (Snyder) Eberhard. The senior Mr. Eberhard was one of the early pioneers of Columbia township, this county. The Doctor's mother, nec Barbara Neible, was a native of Germany, born June 20, 1839, daughter of Jacob and Barbara Nei- ble, likewise early settlers of Whitley coun- ty, Indiana, their location being in Cleve- land township: both are deceased. The father of our subject died February 23, Dr. Eberhard was married February 21, 1882, to Miss Mary C. Casner, a native of Ohio, born February 21, 1860, daughter of Frederick Casner, of Ashland county, that State. She was educated in the Wooster College, in Wooster, Ohio, and it was in the college building and on her 22d birthday that she was married. They have one child, Fred, born March 18, 1889. 1888; but the mother is still living and is a resident of Columbia township. They were the parents of twelve children, one of whom died in infancy. The names of the others are as follows: Dr. E. L., Catharine Ster- ner, Franklin, George, Fannie Myers, Dan- iel, Ella Paige, Mary Emery, Melissa, Laura Paige, and Ettie. Mrs. Eberhard is a member of the German Reformed Church, Both the Doctor and his wife are popu- lar in the social circies of South Whitley and are identified with a number of organi- zations. He is a Mason and a Knight of Pythias, and both are members of the Or- der of the Eastern Star and the Pythian Sisters, in which they have served officially. as also was her worthy husband, he for many years serving as an official in the church and also being one of its principal financial supporters. Indeed, he was liberal and generous to a fault. There were few, if any, of the citizens in this community who were more highly respected or had more . The Doctor has been Warden in the Ma-

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sonic Lodge, is Past Chancellor Commander of the K. of P .; Mrs. Eberhard, Past Wor- thy Matron of the O. E. S., has served of- ficially in the Grand Chapter of that order, while she is also Past Grand Secretary for the Pythian Sisters of Indiana. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Politically, the Doctor is a Democrat and a strong advocate of the principles of his party. He takes a deep interest in every- thing pertaining to the welfare of South Whitley: every movement intended to pro- mote the good of the place is sure to re- ceive his hearty support, and he is rated as one of its best citizens. To his profession, however, he gives his chief attention. He is a member of the Whitley County Medical Society and the National Association of Rail- way Surgeons, having read papers before the former organization and also served on im- portant committees of the latter organiza- tion. He is now employed as surgeon of the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Rail- road.

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Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 19

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