USA > Indiana > Memorial record of northeastern Indiana > Part 44
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99
Frank T. Waring passed his youth in his native city, taking advantage of the op- portunities afforded by the public schools until he had reached the age of eighteen years, when he entered the Bartlett Busi- ness College, at Cincinnati, where he com- pleted a thorough course of study in practi- cal business methods and forms. Returning from college to Greenville, he there secured employment in the drug store of William Schmidt, retaining this clerical incumbency for two years, after which he purchased a half interest in the business, which was thereafter continued under the firm name of Schmidt & Waring. In February, 1865, he sold his interest to his partner and then en- listed in the One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry for one year's serv- ice as Hospital Steward, which position he retained until the following October, being mustered out on the 25th of that month.
On receiving his discharge from the serv- ice of the Union Mr. Waring returned to Greenville, where he was employed for a few months in the same drug store in which he had formerly had an individual interest. In 1867 he accompanied his father to Co- lumbus, Mississippi, and became interested with him in the purchase of the cotton plantation, but he continued his residence
421
NORTHEASTERN INDIANA.
in the South only until 1870, which year stands as the date of his advent in Bluffton, with whose business interests he has since been conspicuously identified. On the 1st of December, 1869, Mr. Waring led to the marriage altar Miss Jeanette Studabaker, daughter of John Studabaker, who was a prominent banker and honored pioneer of Wells county; and of this union were born three children: John L., who graduated at the Bluffton high school and then entered De Pauw University, which institution he left shortly before completing the prescribed course, being now the efficient incumbent as assistant cashier in the Studabaker Bank, at Bluffton; Mattie, who is still at the paternal home; and Bryon, who died in infancy. Mrs. Waring was summoned into eternal rest in April, 1874, and on the 23d of September, 1875, our subject consummated a second mar- riage, being then united to Miss Martha J. Studabaker, a sister of his first wife.
Upon removing to Bluffton Mr. Waring entered the employ of his father-in-law as manager of the grain elevator at this place, and in 1871 he became a member of the firm conducting this important enterprise, which represented the buying, selling and shipping of grain and the packing of pork for the metropolitan markets. Until 1874 the business was continued under the firm name of Waring, Sale & Company, and upon the retirement of Mr. Sale, in the year noted, the title of Waring, Studabaker & Company was adopted. In 1886 our subject dispos- ed of his interests in Bluffton and once more located at Columbus, Mississippi; but he remained there only one year and then returned to Bluffton, where, in July, 1887, he effected the purchase of the jewelry es- tablishment of James Studabaker, and in this line of enterprise has since continued.
The store is the most extensive of the sort in the county, is metropolitan in its equipment and accessories, and in addition to the fine stock of goods carried in the specific jewel- ry line Mr. Waring has also supplemented the business by the handling of books, sta- tionery, toys, etc., and controls a large and representative trade, ramifying into all sec- tions of the county.
In his fraternal associations Mr. Waring has advanced to the supreme degrees in the noble order of Freemasonry, having taken the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, and being a member of the command- ery of Knights Templar at Bluffton. He has been identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1875. He and Mrs. Waring are members of the Daughters of Rebekah, and he also belongs to the G. A. R. They are both devoted adherents of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and take an active and commendable interest in all religious and benevolent work, lending both influence and tangible support.
In politics our subject is arrayed in sup- port of the Democratic party, but at the time when the Greenback party was making its supreme effort to advance the cause of the people of the nation Mr. Waring identi- fied himself with the organization and through his active interest and efficient work in the cause gained distinctive prominence. In 1880 he was the Greenback candidate for Secretary of State, and, though anticipating defeat, made a brilliant run against great odds, receiving more votes than any other candidate on his ticket, even including the gubernatorial aspirant. In 1884 Mr. War- ing became a candidate, on the same ticket, for State Treasurer, and on this occasion also he ran ahead of his ticket, though fail- ing of election. Such was his earnest de-
122
MEMORIAL RECORD OF
votion to the cause of the Greenback party that, in 1880, he effected the purchase of the Greenback Times, which he edited and published for four years, advancing its cir- culation from 400 to more than 1, 200 copies and making it a potent factor in giving the people an intelligent conception of the aims, object and policy of the party. The Times was a weekly publication and had marked influence in moulding public opinion in Wells county and throughout all localities into which its circulation extended.
At this point it would be almost tauto- logical to enter into any series of statements as showing our subject to be a man of broad intelligence and genuine public spirit, for these have been shadowed forth between the lines of this review. Strong in his in- dividuality he never lacks the courage of his convictions, but there is as a dominating element in this individuality a lively human sympathy and an abiding charity, which, as taken in connection with the sterling integ- rity and honor of his character, have natur- ally gained to Mr .. Waring the respect and the confidence of inen.
OBERT MELROSE, track master or supervisor of the Michigan di- vision of the Big Four Railroad from Treaty, Indiana, to Benton Harbor, Michigan, 120 miles, was born in Sprouston, on the river Tweed, Scotland, eight miles from the English border, March 24, 1828. His parents, David and Jane (Landless) Melrose, spent their entire lives in that country. There were three sons and a daughter born to them, namely: Robert; James, of New Zealand; Ellen, wife of a soldier in the British army, now living in Scotland; and Richard, a resident of Nash-
ville, Tennessee. The father of this family was a laborer in early life and afterward en- gaged in merchandising, his death occurring in 1881, at the age of seventy-five years. His wife survived him about two years, and both were members of the Presbyterian Church. The paternal grandfather of our subject, Richard Melrose, also spent his en- tire life in Scotland, and as a means of live- lihood followed teaching. He had a large family and died at the advanced age of eighty years. A consistent Christian man, he would in no way desecrate the Lord's day, and often walked ten miles to church. The maternal grandfather, Ninian Landless, was born and died in Scotland, passing away at the advanced age of more than eighty years. He was a robust man and re- tained his wonderful vitality up to his death.
Robert Melrose spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his native land, ac- quired a good common-school education and remained at home until his marriage. In 1847 he wedded Miss Agnes Atkinson, daughter of William and Margaret Atkinson, and they became the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters. David is married, and resides at Silver Lake, Indi- ana, and has three children, -Robert, David and Agnes. Ellen is the wife of George Prescott and has four children. George married a lady of Battle Creek, Michigan, and now resides in San Bernar- dino, California. They have one child, George. Robert is married and resides in Battle Creek, Michigan, and is a railroad engineer. Jane, William and Jane, the second of that name, are all deceased. The mother of this family died in October, 1881, in the faith of the Presbyterian Church, of which she was a consistent member. Her daughter Jane died in March
423
NORTHEASTERN INDIANA.
of the same year. In August, 1882, Mr. Melrose married for his second wife Mrs. Catherine (Jenkins) Maddox, widow of David Maddox and a daughter of Israel Jenkins.
In 1852 Mr. Melrose left his native land, crossing the Atlantic to Canada. He spent seventeen years at different places in that country, living first at Kingston, then at Coburg, and later at Hamilton, all the time engaged in railroading. In 1866 he came to Wabash, and for a few days worked on the section, after which he was given charge of a gang of men. He served as road-mas- ter on the Grand Trunk Railroad for four years, then entered the employ of the Cin- cinnati, Wabash & Michigan Railroad, now called the Big Four. After a few days his merits won recognition by an appointment to the position of track-master, which he has held continuously since, covering a pe- riod of nineteen consecutive years. This is a record not often equaled in length of serv- ice and certainly not excelled in fidelity to duty and faithfulness to his employer's in- terest.
In his political views, Mr. Melrose is a Democrat, and is a pleasant, genial gentle- man, possessing the best traits of the Scot- tish nation. His friends are legion, and all who know him esteem him highly for his ster- ling worth and strict integrity.
HOMAS N. HUGHES .-- The sub- ject of this review is a man who has made his own way in the world and has attained to that measure of success which stands to his high credit and honor. His life has been one of earnest effort, and he has given that best evidence of his sterling patriotism-has borne arms in his country's defense and
aided in maintaining their supremacy in many a hard-fought battle. He holds to-day dis- tinctive official preferment as Sheriff of Whitley county, Indiana, and for these rea- sons and on the score of his recognition as one of the representative men of the county, it is most consistent that we accord him con- sideration in this volume.
Mr. Hughes was born in the old Buckeye State, having gained his first view of the world when he opened infantile eyes on January 12, 1837, in Knox county, Ohio. His parents were Nathan and Isabel (Grimes) Hughes, both of whom were natives of Greene county, Pennsylvania, being of Welsh descent. The paternal grandfather of our subject came from Wales and settled in Pennsylvania, where he reared his chil- dren and where he passed the residue of his days. Nathan Hughes was a stone-mason by trade, and in this line of work he was engaged until the hour of his untimely death. He came from his native State to Knox county, Ohio, where he died in 1839, being at the time but twenty-seven years of age. He left surviving him a widow and three sons : William G., David H., and Thomas N. The mother is now deceased, dying in October, 1869, at the age of sixty-one years.
Our subject, Thomas N., was the young- est of the three children, and, being deprived of a father's care while he was yet an infant, his boyhood days were not attended by the advantages which would undoubtedly have been his had his parent been spared. He was reared in Knox county, where he re- mained until he had attained the age of fif- teen years, his scholastic discipline having been that afforded by a desultory attendance at the district schools. Growing up on a farm he early learned to be of use, being
42.4
MEMORIAL RECORD OF
compelled by circumstances to work very hard while still a mere boy. When about sixteen years of age he came to Noble coun- ty, Indiana, and apprenticed himself to learn the blacksmith's trade, which he mastered in due time, devoting himself to the same until the hour when a crisis in the affairs of the nation demanded the active support of her patriotic men. At the outbreak of the late war of the Rebellion Mr. Hughes was running a smithy of his own at Noblesville, but he was not slow to heed the call of duty and to resign the clanging anvil and the forge for the musket, and to pass from the uneventful routine of peaceful pursuits to the stirring scenes of desperate conflict. In the fall of 1861 he enlisted in Company F, Thir- tieth Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infan- try, this regiment having been the first or- ganized in the Tenth district, and his com- pany the first in Noble county. He was mustered into the Union service on Septem- ber 24, 1861, and served three years, partici- pating in many of the principal engagements of the war, but never having received a wound. He endured great hardships, how- ever, and was ever at his post and ready to do his duty and to do it well. Mr. Hughes was mustered out, at Indianapolis, January 19, 1865, as one of the brave boys in blue whom the nation may well delight to honor in these later days, when the ranks are being rapidly decimated by the one invincible foe, death.
After the close of the war Mr. Hughes located at Churubusco, Whitley county, where he engaged in lumbering and in oper- ating a sawmill. He conducted this enter- prise successfully for a number of years, in- cidentally gaining the respect and confidence of the people of the county. He was elect- ed Sheriff of the county in November, 1894,
and his administration of this important office has been one of such discrimination and fidelity as to gain him the commenda- tion of the public, without regard to polit- ical affiliations. He is also identified with the agricultural interests of the county, own- ing a well improved farm in Cleveland town- ship. In his political adherency Mr. Hughes is prominently identified with the local ranks of the Republican party, and has been a very active worker in the cause. Fraternally he is a member of William Cuppie Post, No. 195, G. A. R., of Columbia City.
The marriage of our subject was consum- mated in 1867, when he was united to Miss Clara Cleland, a native of this county, and they have become the parents of four daugh- ters, namely : Effie M., Artie, Gertrude, and Fannie. Mrs. Hughes is a devoted member of the Baptist Church.
I ILLIAM MCKENDREE PAGE, superintendent of the Ohio Oil Company of Montpelier, Indiana, was born in Chautauqua county, New York, March 15, 1854, and is a son of Robert J. and Mary (Peck) Page. His primary education was obtained in the pub- lic schools of his native county, supplement- ed by two terms' attendance at the State Normal at Fredonia, New York. When sixteen years of age, he began teaching in a country school and was thus employed through two winters.
In 1872 Mr. Page went to Venango county, Pennsylvania, and engaged work at an oil-pumping station. He began operat- ing in the Bradford field in 1876, with head- quarters at Bradford, Pennsylvania, and in 1886 he changed his base of operations to Lima, Ohio, being one of the organizers of
425
NORTHEASTERN INDIANA.
the Ohio Oil Company at that place. For two years business was carried on under that name, but in 1888 the company sold out to the Standard Oil Company, although the name of the Ohio Oil Company was re- tained for the branch of the business in this locality, and Mr. Page was solicited to act as superintendent. He accepted the offer and remained in Lima for a number of years, after which he came to Montpelier, Indiana, and has had charge of the interests of the Ohio Oil Company here since 1889. He has made a thorough study of the busi- ness, and his understanding of it enables him to successfully conduct it. He has been connected with various interests which have largely promoted the material welfare of the community. He is interested in the Farmers' Deposit Bank and the Columbia Building Company, and hardly an enter- prise for the improvement of Montpelier during his residence here does not acknowl- edge its indebtedness to him for assistance.
On the 19th of September, 1878, Mr. Page married Miss Ella Mary Downing, and to them have been born the following chil- dren: Leila Maud, born August 8, 1879; Verna Leona, born May 13, 1882; and Charles Edgar, born August 25, 1890. The political support of Mr. Page is given the Democracy.
0 AVID SCHRADER, as his name suggests, is of German origin. His father, Martin Schrader, was born in Germany in 1808, and when young emigrated to America and settled in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Subse- quently he was there married to Miss Fannie Koontz, a native of Lancaster county, born in 1816, daughter of Isaac Koontz. In
1846 they came west to Indiana, and set- tled in Columbia City, where he was en- gaged in selling goods for some years, he being one of the first merchants of that place. Later he moved upon a farm in Columbia township, Whitley county, it being without any improvements whatever at the time he came into possession of it, and with the assistance of his sons he cleared away the timber and developed a good farm. This is the farm which is now occupied by Michael E. Lawrence. Mr. Martin Schrader was a man of prominence and usefulness in his community, was a leading Republican and was at one time the candidate of his party for State Representa- tive. He died in 1864, and his good wife, after surviving him a number of years, passed away in 1882. They were the parents of sixteen children, of whom the following are living: John, Jacob, Mrs. Elizabeth Mowrey, Mrs. Mary Schumaker, Isom, Henry, David, William, and Mrs. Melinda Miller.
David Schrader, with whose name we introduce this article, was born March I, 1853, at the old homestead in Columbia township, and there spent the first seven years of his life. Then he lived for about seven years with Mr. John Mowrey in Jeff- erson township, this county, and his educa- tional advantages were limited to the public schools. At the age of sixteen he went to McLean county, Illinois, where he worked as a farm hand for five years. In 1874 we find him in Salt Lake City. From there he made the trip on horseback to Idaho and Montana, and at Helena he was employed in sawmill work. The following summer he crossed the mountains and spent some time in the mines, but resumed sawmilling and was thus occupied a year.
426
MEMORIAL RECORD OF
In 1876 he went East, attended the Cen- tennial at Philadelphia, and again took up his abode in McLean county, Illinois, where he was engaged in farm work two years.
In 1881 Mr. Schrader was married to Miss Ella Donley, a native of Whitley county, Indiana. Her father was a Union soldier and was killed while in the service of his country. After their marriage they settled down on the old Schrader homestead, where they resided until 1884. Since that date they have occupied their present farm, comprising ninety-two acres on section 7, Jefferson township, Whitley county. This is an excellent farm, all well improved and devoted to general farming and stock-rais- ing. Mr. Schrader takes a just pride in keeping good graded stock.
He and his wife have five children: Velma, Alma, Mand, Blanche and Imogene. They are identified with the Christian Church, and, in politics, he is with the Re- publican party.
S ILAS BRIGGS, who is successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits on section 3, Union township, has for forty-three years resided on the place which is still his home. He was born on the 30th of August, 1826, in Ross coun- ty, Ohio, and is the third living child of Samuel and Agnes (Shepard) Briggs. On the paternal side the ancestry is German. Both parents were born in Virginia and the mother was a daughter of John Shepard, who served as a soldier in the war of 1812. The father of our subject was also a defender of his country in that struggle. Removing to the Buckeye State in early life, he was married there and secured a tract of wild land from which he developed a good farm
in the midst of the forest, making agricul- tural pursuits his life work. By his ballot he supported the men and measures of Democ- racy. He took quite an active interest in public affairs and was a faithful worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which he and his estimable wife held membership. His death occurred on the old home farm in 1841, and his wife preceded him to her final rest, passing away in 1839. Their family numbered nine children, six sons and three daughters, of whom three sons and one daughter are now living.
The early boyhood days of Silas Briggs were quietly passed in the usual manner of farmer lads. When thirteen years of age he was left an orphan by the death of his father, at which he hired out to an aunt to do farm work for $6 a month. He attended the district school for three months during the year for three years, but though his educational privileges were thus limited he has obtained a good practical business knowledge, and through reading, observation and contact with the world has become a well informed man. After leaving the serv- ice of his aunt he engaged to Mr. D. Shobe to drive cattle, and went on foot from Ross county, Ohio, to Philadelphia on foot. In 1848 he came to Whitley county and pur- chased the farm upon which he now resides. It was then wild woods, not a furrow hay- ing been turned or an improvement made. From here he went to Sangamon county, Illinois, where he herded cattle and drove them to Ohio and on to Lancaster, Penn- sylvania, a distance of 900 miles, being ninety days upon the road. He afterward drove another herd from Madison county, Ohio, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, nearly 600 iniles, and later took ninety head of mules from southern Indiana to Ohio.
6. Regels.
429
NORTHEASTERN INDIANA.
In 1851 Mr. Briggs married Miss Re- becca Nickey, a native of Whitley county, Indiana, born in 1836, and a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Gradlers) Nickey, and among the first white children born in Whitley county. The father came to this county in 1836, settling in Smith township, when Indians were far more numerous in this locality than white settlers. The young couple began their domestic life upon the farm which has since been their home, and Mr. Briggs at once began to clear away the timber, cutting away the trees until the sun- shine poured down upon acre after acre of cleared land. Crops were planted and in course of time abundant harvests were gath- ered, and to-day the farm of Mr. Briggs is one of the finest in Whitley county. In 1869 he erected a good brick residence, and all the other improvements have been made by him and stand as monuments to his thrift and enterprise. He now owns 600 acres, the greater part of which is un- der a high state of cultivation; and in con- nection with general farming he is success- . fully engaged in sheep-raising, making a specialty of the Shropshire breed.
Mr. and Mrs. Briggs are the parents of nine living children, as follows: Dessie J., wife of Philip Rouch, of Union township, Whitley county; Elizabeth, wife of James A. Mossman, of the same township, by whom she has two children; Della, wife of Filmore Welshimer, of Union township, and the mother of two children; Edward, a farmer of Union township, who married Lou Clark and has two children; Stephen, of the same township, who married Belle Clark and has one child; Charles, Frank, Fred and Jesse, -all still under the parental roof. The children have been provided with good educational privileges and their 21
home training has been such as to fit them for the practical and responsible duties of life.
In his political views Mr. Briggs is a Democrat and has served as Road Super- visor, but has refused all other offices, pre- ferring to give his time and attention to his business interests in which he has met with signal and well merited success.
C. ROGERS, secretary of the Al- len County Loan and Savings As- sociation, Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a self-made man and one whose life is worthy of emulation. He furnishes a fitting illustration of what may be accom- plished under physical difficulties and with limited means, and we here take pleasure in presenting the following brief sketch of his life:
Coming from Irish ancestry on his father's side, and English on his mother's, he was born April 17, 1823, in Camden county, New Jersey, and is said to have been the most delicate and difficult to raise of all the children born in this family, but now, at seventy-two years, is the only one of the family living; his father, mother, two brothers and their wives, a sister and her husband, and the children that did not live to marry, -all are gone. The least pron- ising, the most lasting. He graduated be- fore twelve in the "three R's" in a small village school, with a moderate taste of bookkeeping and mensuration. His early tastes for employment were in the line of mechanics and machinery, but with strong inclinations for penmanship and bookkeep- ing and mensuration. Activity, restless- ness and athletic exercises with his two broth- ers did a good work in developing and im-
430
MEMORIAL RECORD OF
proving a frail body. At twelve years of age, his mother tried to get him a place in a cabinet-maker's shop, but he was rejected because of his delicate appearance: "would die of consumption in ten years."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.