Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 61

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

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Mr. Barze is a native of Belmont coun- ty, Ohio. His father, the Rev. James L. Barze, has resided in that county since his fourteenth year. He was engaged in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church until failing health compelled him to retire and he has since lived the quiet life of a farmer, his farm being located in Somerset township. James L. Barze and his wife, whose maiden name was Minerva E. Hobbs and who was likewise born in Belmont

John G. Janle.

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county, Ohio, are the parents of two sons, namely: B. F., whose name graces this article; and William L., superintendent of the schools of Powhatan, Ohio. The latter married Miss Hattie Delting and they have one child, Roland D.

B. F. Barze was born December 3, 1859; received his education in the public schools of Belmont county and at Hopedale College; and was engaged in farming in his native county until he was twenty-five years of age. In 1886 he turned his attention to banking, becoming associated with the bank- ing firm of E. J. Hoge & Company of Som- erton, Ohio, and continuing with them until 1892. In the fall of that year he came to Gas City, Indiana, that being the first year of the city's existence, and on his arrival here accepted the position of bookkeeper in the First National Bank. May 2, 1894, he was elected cashier, the position he is now so ably filling; and in this connection we wish to refer briefly to this banking insti- tution.

The First National Bank of Gas City was organized in 1892, with M. B. Wilson as president and C. E. Pritchard as cashier. Its present officers are as follows: J. M. Maring, of Muncie, Indiana, president; L. C. Boyd, vice president; B. F. Barze, cashier; and J. M. Maring. L. C. Boyd, W. A. Gorby, George S. Harris and T. K. Shel- don, directors. The bank has a capital stock of $50,000, a surplus of $5,600, and does a general banking business. Mr. Barze gives his whole time and attention to its in- terests.

He was married in 1881 to Miss Joseph- ine Nichol, a native of Belmont county, Ohio, who was educated in the Somerton schools. She is a daughter of John Nichol, deceased, a native of Virginia, but for many

years a resident of Belmont county, Ohio, where he figured prominently as a politician in the Democratic ranks. Mr. and Mrs. Barze have one child, Virginia L.

He and his family are identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which they are active workers. He has for the past two years served as Sabbath-school superin- tendent, and he is also a Trustee of the Church. In his political views he is an in- dependent.

J OHN DEAM HALE occupies a most prominent position in the business circles of Decatur, Indiana. In America "labor is king," and the sovereignty which her liberty-loving people acknowledge is that of business. The men of influence in this enlightened age are the enterprising, progressive representatives of commercial interests. Every community owes its upbuilding and whatever pre- eminence it has attained to the intelligent and well directed efforts of its capable busi- ness men. To this class belongs the gentle- man whose name introduces this review, and who has been the promoter of various enterprises which have largely advanced the material welfare of the city.

Mr. Hale is a native of Bluffton, Wells county, Indiana, born December 27, 1842. He is a son of Bowen Hale, one of Wells county's prominent pioneers, whose sketch appears on a preceding page. The first fourteen years of his life were spent in his native city, and he was then initiated into the duties and labors of farm life, the family locating on a tract of land near Bluffton. There he remained until eighteen years of age, and during a part of each year attend- ed the public schools of Bluffton, acquiring

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a good practical English education, which fitted him for life's responsible duties.

Mr. Hale was a young man of only nine- teen years when he responded to the coun- try's call for troops, joining the " boys in blue " on the 15th of August, 1862. He was assigned to Company B, One Hundred and First Indiana Infantry, under Captain Peter Studabaker, and his regiment became a part of Tyrrell's brigade, Jackson's division, Army of the Ohio, but was afterward transferred to the Second Brigade, Third Division, under General George H. Thomas, Fourteenth Army Corps, -the Army of the Cumberland. Ever faithful to his duty he participated in all the engagements of the Army of the Cumberland, until November 25, 1863, when he was severely wounded at the battle of Missionary Ridge, a ball passing through his left side and perforating his left lung. From four until nine o'clock P. M. he lay on the battle-field, when he was found by comrades who were searching for the dead and wounded. Sent to the hospital at Chat- tanooga, he lay there unconscious for some weeks, and continued there until the Ist of February, when he was granted a sixty-days' furlough, and taken home by his father, who had heard that he was dead and had come to the hospital on the 15th of Janu- ary for the purpose of taking back his re- mains. But the brave soldier boy had yet many years of usefulness before him.

After sufficiently recovering from his wound, he rejoined his regiment at Marietta, Georgia, and participated in the battle of Peach Tree creek, the siege of Atlanta, the battle of Jonesboro, and was with Sherman on his march to the sea, and through the Carolinas. He also followed the old flag at the last battle, that at Bentonville, and par- ticipated in the grand review at Washing-

ton, where the victorious army was reviewed by the President, -forming the most brill- iant military pageant ever seen in the New World. At Indianapolis, June 24, 1865, he was honorably discharged by general order of the War Department, for the South had surrendered and his services were no longer needed.

Mr. Hale now returned to his father's farm in Wells county, and through the sum- mer months engaged in its cultivation, while in the winter season he followed school- teaching, until October, 1867. At that date he became identified with the business in- terests of Bluffton, and in 1868 entered the dry-goods trade, in connection with A. Deam, under the firm name of A. Deam & Company, the partnership continuing until January, 1872, when Mr. Hale withdrew, and removed to Geneva, Adams county. Formning a partnership with his brother, S. W. Hale, he embarked in the grain business, and was successfully engaged in that under- taking for a number of years, under the firm style of S. W. Hale & Brother. Gene- va was a new town and he took a very im- portant part in its upbuilding and develop- ment, and served as the first station and express agent, acting in that capacity from the ist of March, 1872, until the Ist of May, 1876, when he resigned in favor of his brother. He was a promoter of all that pertained to the welfare and upbuilding of the city, and Geneva owes to him a debt of gratitude for what he did in her behalf.

In 1888 Mr. Hale established himself in business in Decatur as a dealer in grain, seeds, wool, salt and coal. He has built up an extensive trade, receiving from the pub- lie a liberal and extensive patronage. He also has two elevators, one on the Chicago & Erie Railroad, and the other on the

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Clover Leaf Railroad in Decatur. On com- ing to this city, he at once entered the ranks of the leading business men, for he posses- ses the enterprising and progressive spirit which justly entitles him to that position. He was president and one of the organizers of the Trenton Mining Company at Decatur, and served as one of its directors until the business was sold. This company supplied the city of Decatur with its gas-works and appliances, and great credit is due to Mr. Hale, who assisted in the management, and in bringing the enterprise to its successful completion. He was one of the organizers and is a stockholder of the Citizens' Tele- phone Company of Decatur, and is a direct- or of the Decatur National Bank. Mr. Hale is a man of resolute purpose and un- faltering determination, and the qualities which have won him his success are steady application, energy and straightforward dealing.

On the 8th of September, 1869, in Cam- den, Schuyler county, Illinois, was celebra- ted the marriage of Mr. Hale and Miss Caroline Holmes, who was born in Hartford township, Adams county, Indiana. When a little maiden of six summers, she was taken by her parents to Wells county, where her girlhood was passed, and at the time of her marriage was successfully en- gaged in school-teaching in Camden. She is a lady of culture and refinement who pre- sides with gracious hospitality over their pleasant home. Five children bless the union : Ethelyn, who is a graduate of the State Normal School of Terre Haute, In- diana; Olive Leone, now the wife of John S. Peterson, of Decatur; Sarah Blanche; Gene- vieve and Lucile. Mr. and Mrs. Hale have supplied their children with excellent edu- cational privileges, thus fitting them for life's

responsible duties, and the family is one of prominence in the community.

The parents are active and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and socially Mr. Hale is connected with the Independent Order of Red Men, with Deca- tur Lodge, No. 571, F. & A. M., in which he is Past Master, and of the Order of the Eastern Star. His political support is un- swervingly given the Democratic party, and on its ticket he was elected in 1882 to the office of Clerk of the Circuit Court, wherein he so acceptably discharged his duties that he was re-elected in 1886, serving in all for four years. In every relation of life his ca- reer has been marked with the same loyalty and fidelity which he manifested in the years of the Civil war, as he gallantly followed the stars and stripes until victory crowned the Union arms.

a APTAIN E. Y. STURGIS. - The name which is borne by the subject of this review is one that has been identified with American history for several generations, and is one which has gained and granted honor as one generation succeeded another. Back to stanch old Irish stock does Captain Sturgis trace his lineage, and that in his character abide those sterling qualities which have ever marked the true type of the Irish nation is manifest when we come to consider the more salient points in his life history, which has been one marked by consecutive indus- try, invincible spirit, sturdy loyalty and un- wavering honor, -all of which have event- uated most naturally in securing him a posi- tion in the respect and esteem of his fellow men and the tenure of offices of public trust

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and responsibility. For nearly a half cen- tury he has been identified with the interests of Wells county, has been prominent in the affairs of the section, and has contributed a due quota to the advancement of the city of Bluffton and the material interests of the community. To such a one there is partic- ular propriety in according recognition in this publication.

A native of the Buckeye State, Captain Sturgis was born at Dalton, Wayne county, on the 25th of April, 1836, being the son of Thomas and Elizabeth ( Brasier) Sturgis, the former of whom was a native of county Ar- magh, Ireland, and the latter of Chambers- burg, Pennsylvania. The father was a son of Rev. William Sturgis, who likewise was a native of the Emerald Isle, whence he emigrated with his family to the United States when Thomas was a boy of ten years. The family took up their abode at Shippens- burg, Pennsylvania, and there Thomas Stur- gis remained until he had attained mature years, receiving a common-school education, and profiting also by the advantages of a home in which refinement and culture were ever in evidence. At the age of eighteen years he began learning the hatter's trade, and to this he devoted his attention until his removal from the Buckeye State to Indiana. His marriage to Elizabeth Brasier was consummated, in Pennsylvania, on the 5th of August, 1826, she having been the daughter of Rev. Jacob Brasier, a prominent clergyman of the United Brethren Church. Their removal to Ohio occurred in 1834, and of their eleven children all are living with one exception, one having passed away in infancy. Of the others we offer a brief record as follows: Charlotte, wife of W. T. F. White, of Bluffton; William, a resident of Moniteau county, Missouri; Joseph, who

still retains his residence in Dalton, Ohio; Elizabeth, wife of John D. Whitaker, of Miller county, Missouri, recently removed to Wells county, Indiana; Elmore Y., the immediate subject of this sketch; Lemuel D., a resident of Wells county, Indiana; Catharine, wife of Jonathan Markley, of Wells county; Thomas, a resident of Bluff- ton; John E., also of this place; and Mary, wife of Andrew J. Shoemaker, of Geneva, Indiana. The mother of our subject was summoned into eternal rest on the 5th of February, 1882, and he who had been her loved companion for so many years did not long survive her, his demise occurring on the 24th of the succeeding month.

Elmore Y. Sturgis passed his boyhood and youth in his native county and was enabled to attend the district schools until he had attained the age of fourteen years, thus securing a basis for that broad practical education which has come to him by close association with men and affairs. At the early age noted he entered the employ of C. C. Parsons, County Auditor of Wayne county, and later became an assistant in the office of Benjamin Eason, who was the in- cumbent as County Clerk. While thus retained in a minor official position our sub- ject came in contact with the most eminent men of the county, among these being John McSweeney, who was recognized as one of the ablest criminal lawyers in that section of the Union. The boy had an alert and receptive mind, and such was his desire for knowledge that he could not have failed to have profited by the advantages afforded in those early days, and there can be no doubt that his future life was in a measure deter- mined by the influence thus brought to bear in the formative stage of his character. He was still an employee in the office of the

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County Clerk at the time when his parents removed to Bluffton, Indiana, whither he accompanied them, being at the time seven- teen years of age. We have referred to the fact that he was ambitious to acquire useful knowledge, and in addition to drawing largely from the sources noted he also de- voted himself assiduously to reading and private study, with the result that he finally was enabled to assume the dignity of a teacher in the district schools. It is inter- esting to recall the fact that he taught his first term in Lancaster township, this county. He then taught for a few months in Williams county, Ohio, and thereafter returned to Bluffton and was engaged as instructor in the schools near his home. So successful was he in his pedagogic efforts that he continued his labors in this line, having been engaged in teaching near Steu- benville, Jefferson county, Ohio, for the period of three years. While residing there he found an opportunity to enter the work of preparing himself for that profession which he had long wished to pursue as his voca- tion in life. He commenced reading law in the office of Judge J. P. C. Trainor, of Steu- benville, but having contracted a severe cold, which gave promonition of consump- tion, he was advised by physicians to seek less sedentary employment, and thus he abandoned the study of law, being reluctant thus to resign his ambitions in that line, but realizing that the matter of health was to be considered as paramount in importance to everything else.

While still residing in Steubenville Mr. Sturgis was united in marriage to Miss Mary S. McKimmy, of Salem, Ohio, and her un- timely death occurred in the fall of 1861. She left an infant daughter, Tida May, who is now the wife of Albert Sowards, of

Wells county. Soon after his marriage our subject returned to Wells county with his young bride, and resumed school teaching in Bluffton. He continued to be thus em- ployed during the fall and winter of 1860, and in the spring of the succeeding year he purchased a farm of forty acres, lying con- tiguous to his father's homestead in this county, and devoted himself to its cultiva- tion until there came to him the sad bereave- ment noted. But his mind had cognizance of a supreme duty as the dark cloud of civil war spread its pall over the national horizon and with the loyalty of a deeply patriotic nature he responded to his country's call to arms, enlisting as a private in Company A, Forty-seventh Regiment of Indiana Volun- teer Infantry, under Captain John A. Mc- Laughlin and Colonel James R. Slack, Sep- tember 25, 1861. His promotion was rapid, and he rose in turn to the offices of Sergeant, Orderly Sergeant, and First Lieutenant, be- coming Captain of his company October 19, 1862. He participated in all the engage- ments of his regiment in its operations along the Mississippi river and up the Ar- kansas and Red rivers, and was wounded at the battle of Champion Hill, May 16, 1863. Captain Sturgis was mustered out of the service and was honorably discharged on the 31st day of December, 1864. It is worthy of mention here to state that of Captain Sturgis' five brothers four entered the service of their country, -William and Joseph in Ohio regiments, the former at- taining the rank of Captain and was wounded in the battle of Resaca, Georgia; Thomas and John enlisted in companies made up in Bluffton, -Thomas in the Thirty-fourth In- diana and John in the Forty-seventh. All passed through the fires of many battles: though wounded their lives were spared and

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they all returned home after the war and became useful citizens.

After receiving his discharge Captain Sturgis returned to his home and devoted his attention to the arts of peace, resuming his farming operations and continuing to be thus concerned until 1879, when he was elected to the office of County Auditor, serving in that capacity for a term of four years, and so faithfully and capably admin- istering the affairs of the office as to gain the endorsement of all classes, irrespective of party lines. At the expiration of his term of office his friends urged upon him the expediency of assuming control of the Bluff- ton Banner, the organ of the Democratic contingent in Wells county, and thongh without experience in journalistic work, he yielded to the importunities of his party friends and purchased an interest in the paper, which he made a true exponent of local interests and a potent factor in direct- ing political affairs in the county. He clearly proved his fidelity to his political party, and his ability in the management of the Banner was of that high order which his friends had confidently expected him to display when they suggested his assuming control of the publication. His zealous en- deavors secured to him recognition and he was thrice honored by being chosen as chairman of the Wells County Democratic Central Committee, in which his executive ability was clearly shown and the party in- terests so conserved that success attended. In 1884, when Cleveland made his first run for the Presidency, Captain Sturgis managed the campaign in Wells county, and during the campaign of 1894, when the party met with such signal disaster throughout the State and nation, he was still able to gain a complete victory for the party ticket in his

county and district, thus showing his capac- ity for handling multitudinous details and for applying the right force at the right moment. In August, 1884, the Captain be- came the sole proprietor and manager of the Banner, and continued its publication successfully until May 4, 1891, when he disposed of the property to the firm of Al- len & Ormsby.

On the 4th of October, 1865, Captain Sturgis consummated a second marriage, being then united to Miss Matilda J. Mark- ley, who was born in this county September 2, 1848, being the youngest daughter of John and Malinda(Wilson) Markley, who were among the early pioneers in Wells county. Of the children of this marriage we offer record as follows: Charles E., born Sep- tember 15, 1867, is a graduate of De Pauw University and is now engaged in the prac- tice of law in Bluffton, being a member of the popular law firm of Sharpe & Sturgis, and a young man of distinctive ability; Lin- nie B., born August 27, 1869, a graduate of the Bluffton high school; Morna S., Au- gust 17, 1873; Will C., born October 9, 1877, graduated with honors in the Bluffton high school, as a member of the class of 1893, and is now attending the School of Pharmacy in Purdue University, La Fayette, Indiana; and Ray, born April 6, 1880. The children are all living with the exception of Morna, who died January 23, 1894, after having been a patient sufferer for many months. When she was a child she became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and hers was the faith that makes faithful and her life was one of that beauti- ful order which is so eminently fitted for translation into the rea'm of immortality.

In his fraternal relations Captain Stur- gis is identified with Bluffton Lodge and

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Chapter of Free and Accepted Masons, with Fort Wayne Commandery of the Knights Templar, now dimitted to his home Com- mandery at Bluffton, and is connected with the Consistory at Indianapolis, having thus attained the thirty-second degree of the Scot- tish Rite. He is prominent in Masonic cir- cles and is thoroughly informed upon the history and literature of the noble order. He is also a member of the Knights of Honor and of the Order of the Eastern Star, with which latter Mrs. Sturgis is also identi- fied. As perpetuating the sacred memories of the late war the Captain is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, being identified with Lew Daily Post, of Bluffton. While still engaged in farming he was a member of the Patrons of Husbandry.

The Captain is widely known throughout the county and such has been the scrupulous honor and integrity which have character- ized his career during the long years of his residence here that he enjoys a notable popularity and the esteem and confidence of his fellow men.

UZERNE HENRY COOK, M. D. -The true measure of individual success is determined by what one has accomplished, and, as taken in contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, there is a particular interest attaching to the career of the subject of this review, since he is a native son of the place where he has passed his entire life and so directed his ability and efforts as to gain a position of high relative prestige in profes- sional ranks and a recognition as one of the representative citizens of Bluffton.

Dr. Cook was born in Bluffton, Wells county, Indiana, on the 6th of December, 1856, being the son of Henry Cook, who was a native of Germany, whence he emi- grated to America when a young man, and after having lived for short intervals at vari- ous places in Ohio and Indiana, finally came to Bluffton, in 1850, and here took up his permanent abode. On his arrival here he secured employment in the mercantile es- tablishment of John Studabaker, a position which he retained for several years, after which he engaged in business for himself, opening a hardware store and continuing operations in this line for a period of seven- teen years. In this place he met, wooed and won his bride, Eliza A. Deaver, to whom he was united in marriage in the year 1852. In his religious adherency Henry Cook was a Lutheran, and fraternally he was a Master Mason. He was a man of utmost integrity and held the confidence and esteem of the community in which so many years of his life had been passed. He was a fine scholar, speaking several languages. His death oc- curred in 1879, at which time he had at- tained the age of sixty-three years. His venerable widow survives him, and still re- tains her residence in Bluffton, being a de- voted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Luzerne H. Cook, the immediate subject of this review, grew to manhood in his na- tive city, pursuing his educational discipline in the excellent public schools up to the time when he attained his eighteenth year. Upon leaving school in 1872, he en- tered upon an active business career un- til in 1880, when he prepared to enter upon that course of study which should fit him for the practice of medicine, -a profes- sion for which he had a decided predilection

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and which he had long wished to adopt as his vocation in life. He began the study of medicine under the preceptorage of Dr. C. T. Melshimer, and subsequently attended three regular courses at the Medical College of Ohio, in Cincinnati, graduating at that institution as a member of the class of 1885, and receiving third honors in a class of seven- ty-five students. In March of the same year Dr. Cook entered vigorously upon the prac- tice of his profession in Bluffton, and here he has since continued, gaining distinctive recognition for his high professional attain- ments and retaining a representative prac- tice throughout the city and its environs. The Doctor is thoroughly en rapport with his profession, and by careful study and in- dividual research keeps fully in line with the advances made in the science of which he is a devotee. In 1887 he took a post-graduate course in the New York School of Medicine, and availed himself of a second course of lectures in that institution in 1891. Making a specialty of surgery, he has succeeded re- markably in that line, performing a number of wonderful operations. He is a member of the Wells County Medical Society and also of the Indiana State Medical Society, in the affairs of each of which he maintains a lively and well informed interest.

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Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 61

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