USA > Indiana > Memorial record of northeastern Indiana > Part 7
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Politically, he was born and reared in the Republican faith, but four years at Yale under the tuition of Prof. Summer taught him to believe the theory of protection to be an economic heresy; and this being the issue between the parties in 1884 he supported Mr. Cleveland, and has since been an active member of the Democratic party. In 1892, immediately after Senator Hill's midwinter convention in New York, which was held on the 22d of February, Mr. Foster, in a strong article published in the Fort Wayne Jour- nal, declared in favor of the nomination of Grover Cleveland. This article attracted widespread attention, and as a result of it Mr. Foster became the leader of the Cleve- land sentiment in northern Indiana, and when the delegates to the national conven- tion of that year were selected he was unan- imously chosen to represent the Twelfth Congressional district in the convention. Though Mr. Foster has always taken an act- ive part in political campaigns, he has never himself been a candidate for political pre- ferment. In June, 1895, he was elected a member of the Fort Wayne School Board, which position he now holds, giving much attention to the duties of the office. The salary of the office, however, he has always donated to the public library.
In June, 1881, Mr. Foster was married
to Margaret Harrison, of Fort Wayne, and their only child, Alice, was born in Decem- ber, 1884.
ROFESSOR W. PAXTON BUR- RIS .- The specific and distinctive office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave the perpetual record of the verdict establishing his character by the con- census of opinion on the part of his fellow men. That great factor, the public, is a discriminating factor, and takes congnizance not of objective exaltation nor yet objective modesty, but delves deeper into the intrin- sic essence of character, strikes the keynote of individuality, and pronounces judicially and unequivocally upon the true worth of the man, invariably distinguishing the clear resonance of the true metal from the jarring dissonance of the baser. Thus in touching upon the life history of the subject of this review the biographist would aim to give ut- terance to no fulsome encomium, to indulge in no extravagant praise, yet would he wish to hold up for consideration those points which have shown the distinction of a true, pure and useful life, -one characterized by indomitable perseverance, broad charity, marked ability, high accomplishments and well earned honors. To do this will be but to reiterate the dictum pronounced upon the man by his fellow men.
There is another element of particular - interest and consistency entering into a re- view of the career of him whose name initiates this review, for his ancestral history has been one of consecutive identification with that of Indiana since the early period when it secured admission to the sisterhood
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of States. Elwood Burris, the father of our subject, was born in Indiana on the 27th of June, 1836. He has devoted his atten- tion to agricultural pursuits, and is a man of high principles and unquestionable honor. He retains his residence at Maple Valley, this State, and is held in the highest esteem in the community. His father, Jacob Bur- ris, was a native of Ohio, where he was born in the year 1801, the son of Daniel Burris, who came to Indiana and located near Ma- ple Valley about the time the Territory as- sumed the dignity of a State. Daniel Burris espoused in marriage Mary Horton, and to them were born sixteen children, namely: Rachel, Stephen, John, Jacob (grandfather of our subject), Martha, Daniel and Mary (twins), Bowater, Abraham, Moses, Horton, Miles, Andy, Lewis, Elias and Rebecca. All except the twins, Daniel and Mary, lived to attain venerable age.
Jacob Burris, grandfather of our subject, was the fourth in order of birth of this large family of children, and upon attaining mature years he was united in marriage to Mary Hiatt. They became the parents of eight children, by name as follows: Lucinda, Rachel, Elwood (father of our subject). Elias, John, Oliver, Arthur, and Henry. In 1860 Elwood Burris was united in marriage to Ruth A. Paxton, whose family name is perpetuated in the middle name of her son, our subject. Ruth Paxton was born in Greensboro, Henry county, Indiana, on the 4th of January, 1844, being the daughter of Rev. James Paxton, M. D., a clergyman of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, a man of strong individuality and ability, and prominent and active as an anti-slavery ad- vocate during the period leading up to and marking the late war of the Rebellion. Ruth (Paxton) Burris entered into eternal
rest on the 15th of April, 1882. By her marriage she became the mother of six chil- dren, of whom we make brief record, as follows: Tabitha, wife of John C. Over- man, of Indianapolis; W. Paxton, the imme- diate subject of this review; Nora, wife of John C. Hill, of Willow; Jacob, a resident of Maple Valley; Mossie, wife of Ulysses Armstrong, of Maple Valley; and Stella.
WV. Paxton Burris was born in Maple Valley, Indiana, on the 15th of November, 1863, and until he had attained the age of fifteen years he devoted his attention to at- tending the common schools, where he ap- plied himself so earnestly and with such signal power of assimilation, that at the early age mentioned he was able to secure a teacher's license. He did not at once turn his attention to this line of effort, along which he has attained to so distinguished success and honor through his later endeav- ors, but until he was nineteen years of age he assisted his father in the cultivation of the homestead farm and in clerking in the general store which his father owned in Maple Valley. After this he put his theo- retical knowledge to practical test by teach- ing for three years in the district schools. In these preliminary pedagogic labors he gave distinctive evidence of that strong, native capacity which he possessed in the way of imparting knowledge, and interest- ing his pupils in their work, -a talent which has been a potent factor in insuring his pro- nounced success in the educational field of broader province.
At the age of twenty-two years Mr. Bur- ris entered the Normal School at Danville, Indiana, where he continued his studies through a two years' course, graduating as a member of the class of 1888. Within the same year he was admitted into the North-
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western Indiana Conference of the Method- ist Episcopal Church, and was stationed.at Pittsboro, where he had assigned to him three different charges. He continued his efforts with success until March 1, 1889, when he resigned for the purpose of entering the College of Liberal Arts in DePauw Uni- versity. In the autumn of the same year he received the appointment as principal of the graded school at Greensboro, Indiana, and at the expiration of the term he returned to the university and resumed his studies. While he was still a student at this institu- tion he was elected instructor in sciences in the high school at Greencastle, Indiana, and to the duties thus implied he devoted his at- tention during the morning hours, while in the afternoon he pursued his individual study in the university. He completed the course of study at DePauw and graduated as a member of the class of 1891, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy.
In the meanwhile Professor Burris had been elected superintendent of the public schools of Bluffton, and to this city he came after his graduation, assuming the important and.exacting duties of his position on the 6th of August, 1891. Possessed of marked executive ability, an indefatigable worker, alert and progressive in attitude, and thor- oughly in love with his profession, it comes but in natural sequence that Professor Burris should have become an important factor not only in connection with the educational work in his prescribed province, but in a field far transcending local limitations. His distinc- tive intellectuality and high mental attain- inents give him a precedence aud prestige among the foremost educators of the State, and his efficiency is shown in a most pro- nounced way through his work in bringing the schools of Bluffton up to the highest
standard. He has instituted many improve- ments, has perfected the system of operation and has left undone nothing that would tend to conserve effective discipline. In his efforts he has had the ready co-operation of a board of education composed of men of ability and broad views, and in this way has been singularly favored, retaining the confi- dence and respect of these educators, who have a recognition of his capacity for man- aging affairs of breadth and for conducting all matters along wise and judicious lines. His annual reports have been documents which should command attention in any por- tion of the field where popular education is considered, and his reviews of work accomp- lished and of improvements to be instituted would prove both lesson and incentive in many quarters outside of the city where he labors.
In November, 1894, Professor Burris was appointed a member of a committee to arrange a course of studies for the schools in the cities and towns of Indiana, with a view to making a more nearly uniform sys- tem and to thus simplify and further effec- tive work. He was elected secretary of this committee, and the committee eventually adopted the Herbartian system of study, of which our subject has been a strong advocate. This system of Herbart has received so much attention and endorsement in educational circles within the past few years that there is scarcely a necessity for outlining the same in this connection, but it may be well to say that the system is one of utmost prac- ticality, its aim being not only to conserve culture, but to make the knowledge gained of the practical nature which is so signally demanded when the youth go forth to take their places in the world, to identify them- selves with its activities and to make them-
Peabody.
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selves useful American citizens. The sys- tem is one of true worth and not of senti- mentality, and is one whose ultimate adop- tion throughout the common schools of our nation is to be devoutly wished. Professor Burris is a member of the Indiana State As- sociation of Superintendents of Schools, and in 1893 he was elected secretary, which office he still holds. He is a member of the Na- tional Herbart Club, and was on the pro- gram at the National Educational Associa- which met in Denver in July, 1895. He is a member of the American Institute of Christian Philosophy, and is an earnest worker in all that conserves the eleva- tion of his fellowmen, mentally, spiritu- ally and morally. His alma mater con- ferred the degree of Master of Arts on on him at the annual commencement in 1894, and he is a candidate in absentia for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Chi- cago University. In his fraternal relations he is identified with the Greek college fra- ternity of Beta Theta Pi and the Masonic order, in which last he has advanced to the Knights Templar degree. In connection with his work in the public schools of Bluff- ton there should not be failure to record the fact that through his efforts the accessories and appliances have been brought up to the most excellent standard, while there has also been established in connection with the high school a public library comprising fully fifteen hundred admirably selected volumes.
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December 28, 1891, were solemnized the nuptials of Professor Burris and Miss Harriet Clearwaters. Mrs. Burris is the daughter of the Rev. James Clearwaters, who is now the incumbent pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church at New Carlisle, Indiana. The only child of this union was born on the 8th of May, 1894, and its life
was spared only until August 23d of the suc- ceeding year. Both Professor and Mrs. Burris are zealous and active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and both are teachers in the Sunday school, main- taining a constant and lively interest in all phases of church work.
S J. PEABODY .- Among the prom- inent and successful men of north- eastern Indiana is numbered the gentleman whose name heads this record, who during the greater part of his manhood has resided in Columbia City, de- voting his time and attention to his business interests and his family, taking no active part in politics and little in public affairs, save to aid all enterprises which are calculated to promote the general welfare or advance the prosperity of the town and county. A quiet and uneventful life, perhaps, but not with- out its points of interest, as is that of every honest man who has done his duty to his country, his neighbor and himself.
Mr. Peabody is a Hoosier by birth, a native of Noble county, born September 29, 1851. His father, John L. Peabody, was born in Pompton, New Jersey, a son of Asa Peabody, and in the place of his na- tivity was reared to manhood, and learned the trade of mechanic, serving seven years as an apprentice and becoming an expert in the business of making mathematical and surveyors' instruments. He also became a practical surveyor, which enabled him upon coming to a new country to perform his own work in that line. He was married in New York to Miss Hannah Ayers, a native of Pompton, New Jersey, and a daughter of Enos and Jane (Debow) Ayers, who were of English and German descent, their respect-
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ive families being numbered among the pio- neers of New Jersey. About the year 1819 the Ayers family emigrated to Huron county, Ohio, which was then a wilderness, and took up their residence in New Haven, where the father began the task of clearing and improving a heavily timbered farm. Making there a good home, it continued his place of abode until his death. Subsequently his widow with their family returned to his old home in New Jersey, for in this frontier region the Indians were still very numerous and were often very troublesome.
After his marriage John L. Peabody re- sided in New York city until May, 1841, when with his family he removed to Huron county, Ohio, and two years later cast in his lot with the early settlers of Noble county, Indiana, where he engaged in farm- ing until the fall of 1851. That year wit- nessed his removal to Arcola, Allen county, where he entered the lumber trade, follow- ing the same in connection with agricultural pursuits until the time of his death, which occurred in Allen county, on the 13th of September, 1865, at the age of fifty-three years. His widow now resides in Columbia City, at an advanced age, but carries her years lightly, retaining the mental and physical vigor of her youth to a remarkable degree. This worthy couple became the parents of eleven children, but only two are now living,-S. J., and J. B., of Fostoria, Ohio.
In Allen county S. J. Peabody was reared to practical life, and the common schools of that locality afforded him his edu- cational privileges. He early manifested marked traits of character which have fol- lowed him through life and have been the means of bringing to him the signal success that has crowned his efforts. He was in-
dustrious, ambitious and persevering, and at the early age of fifteen started out to make his own way in the world. His prosperity seems almost phenomenal, but it has come to him not as the result of propitious cir- cumstances, but as the reward of far-sighted dealing, executive ability and discrimina- tion, -demonstrating to what success one may attain in the " land of the free," where caste and class hamper not genius and talent.
The first position which Mr. Peabody secured was that of engineer and head saw- yer in a sawmill, he having previously become familiar with this business through his fa- ther's connection with the lumber trade. Saving his earnings, he was at length en- abled to engage in business for himself and established a shingle factory in Arcola in 1869, carrying on that enterprise for two years, when in 1871 he removed to Taylor, Whitley county, Indiana, there becoming owner of a sawmill. Subsequently he came to Columbia City and engaged in the gen- eral lumber business, which he has since continued with marked success. His two mills in this place are operated continuously the year around, furnishing employment to a large number of men, and owing to the excellent grade of lumber he manufactures his product finds a ready market in all parts of the United States, as well as in many parts of Europe, and commands the highest prices. Mr. Peabody is also connected with the sawmill in Akron, Indiana, and one in Albion, this State. His lumber interests have constantly increased until he is now at the head of a vast volume of business, and one of the leading lumber dealers in north- ern Indiana. Other enterprises occupy a portion of his time and have been promoted through his efforts. He is a stockholder in the Michigan Peninsular Car Company of
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Detroit; also owns considerable real es- tate, -both city and farm property, -and is the proprietor of the Wilkewood Stock Farm, comprising about 1, 000 acres of land. He now has fifty fine trotting horses, and at one time was the owner of the celebrated stallion, Wilkeswood, which he purchased in Kentucky in 1886, and sold in 1893 for the sum of $10,000. He is an ardent lover of the noble steed, and takes great delight and pride in his horses. He has also done much toward raising the grade of horses in this locality.
Mr. Peabody has been married twice. On the 22d of May, 1875, he led to the marriage altar Miss Hannah B. Swift, a native of Marion, Massachusetts, and a lineal descendant of Peregrine White, the first white child born in this country after the landing of the Pilgrims from the May- flower at Plymouth Rock. They had one child, Genevieve, who died February 20, 1879, and the mother died a few days later. For his second wife, Mr. Peabody chose Mary E. Tobey, an estimable lady, their marriage occurring October 9, 1882. Mrs. Peabody was born in La Grange, Indiana, the youngest daughter of the Rev. Ruben Tobey, who has been for a quarter of a cen- tury a prominent member of the Northern Indiana Conference of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, and now a resident of Rich- mond, . Indiana.
The life of Mr. Peabody has been plain and unassuming, and though he is now the heaviest individual taxpayer in Whitley county, he lives in a quiet, simple way that wins him the respect of all. He has made it his policy to meet all business obligations when due, and has never in his life been sued, nor has he been connected with a lawsuit in any way. His employes have the utmost con-
fidence in him and their trust has never been betrayed. He has for them a kind consideration, recognizes their merits and fidelity, and when the proper time comes re- wards their faithfulness by promotion. He now has in his employ workmen who have been with him for eighteen years. The man who furnishes employment to many, and makes them self-reliant and self-respect- ing citizens, is deserving of all praise. Com- manders of armies are exalted in story and in song, but the leader of large commer- cial interests is no less deserving of grati- tude. One places before his men what, perchance, is the means of death, and the other the means of life. As a citizen Mr. Peabody stands with open purse and ready hand to aid in all matters that pertain to public welfare, to advance all interests which will bring prosperity or educational or moral benefit to the community. He is honored and respected alike by young and old, rich and poor, humble and great.
ON. ELIJAH HACKLEMAN, re- tired farmer, lawyer, surveyor and ex-Senator of Wabash, Indiana, was born in Franklin county, this State, in Little Cedar Grove, near the town of Brookville, October 18, 1817, where for a long period nearly every governor of the State resided and where a number of them were born. Mr. Hackleman knew every governor of the State excepting the first one. His father, Abraham Hackleman, was a na- tive of North Carolina, and his mother, née Margaret Tyner, of South Carolina. They had six sons and four daughters, as follows: Richard; James, a physician; Abner, who was in the Iowa Territorial Legislature as early as 1838, and was captain of the first
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emigrant company to Oregon, consisting of 160 heads of families. Taking a team of oxen with them they turned a furrow as soon as they struck prairie, and Mr. Abner Hackleman was one of the party who laid out the town of Albany, in that far distant country. He was a highly esteemed gentle- man, and died in 1846, in Iowa, from an attack of fever, and his family afterward went to Oregon and settled there perman- ently; one of his sons is now a millionaire. Then, in the family under consideration, came Dr. Jacob T. Hackleman, who in early life went to the Indian agency six miles from the present site of Ottumwa, Iowa; Preston, who was accidentally killed when young; Elijah, our subject. The daughters were: Nancy, who married John Hawkins, late of Iowa; Matilda, who became the wife of Calvin Gant: Mrs. Gant died in an ad- joining county; Polly and Elizabeth, who died young.
Mr. Abraham Hackleman was a stone mason by trade in early life, and afterward a farmer. He left South Carolina in 1802 and located upon a farm a'mile from George- town, Kentucky; in 1804 he came over to Whitewater, prospecting for a future home; in 1806 he sold out in Kentucky and moved to Franklin county, Indiana, opening a farm at Cedar Grove, where he entered land from the Government when Indiana was a Terri- tory and when the boundary line was a mile and a half west of that place. The survey was not allowed to go further West until the treaty of 1818 was signed, and emigra- tion was stopped until that time. Nearly all the prominent men of the early days lived there. Abraham Hackleman resided there till 1821, when he and thousands of others pushed on further west. He sold his farm in Franklin county and moved to the new
purchase, in what is now known as Rush county, made under the treaty of 1818, set- tling three miles east of what is now Rush- ville, with fifty or a hundred families, in the spring of 1821. He lived there many years, and his wife died there in 1845, at the age of sixty- seven years. Mr. Hackleman then made his home with his son Elijah, who moved to Wabash county, in 1849, and lived with him till his death, in 1858, at the age of eighty-three years. They were mem- bers of the Baptist Church. He was a sol- dier in the war of 1812, but never had to go out of the county, living then on the frontier.
Jacob Hackleman, the paternal grand- father of our subject, was a native of Mary- land; and his father, Michael, came from Germany in 1737. Jacob was a farmer by occupation and could scarcely speak En- glish. He was a soldier in the Revolution- ary war, -was in the battle of King's Moun- tain. He died in 1829, at the age of seventy-six years, after having had fourteen children, all of whom lived to bring up fam- ilies of children, the youngest dying at the age of forty years.
Mr. Hackleman's mother's father, Harris Tyner, probably of English ancestry, was a Captain in the Continental army and long a resident of South Carolina; it is supposed that he died in an engagement on the Savan- nah river. He had four sons, who came West and settled in Indiana, and all the Tyners of America are descendants of these brothers.
Hon. Elijah Hackleman, the direct sub- jeet of this biography, was brought up prin- cipally in Rush county, Indiana, but spent two years in the West, when Iowa was called Missouri Territory. He was well ac- quainted with President Lincoln. He re-
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ceived his early schooling in Rush county, and afterward attended a seminary at Con- nersville. Then he studied law under the instruction of Judge Hackleman, a cousin, in Rushville, and continued that study and followed school-teaching for thirteen years; was admitted to the bar in 1843, and prac- ticed his profession as a lawyer in Rushville a short time.
In 1849 he came to Wabash county, lo- | and had one child, Bertha E. Mrs. Myers
cating ten miles southeast of the town of Wabash, where he had owned land ever since 1836. Being elected Surveyor, he surveyed the entire county of Wabash, and made the first map of the same. Next he was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court, in 1859, which office he held until 1867. He was elected Surveyor three times and Clerk twice. From 1867 to 1874 he devoted his attention to his farm, but resided mainly in the city. In 1874 he was elected State Senator, and served two regular and two special sessions, for a time being President pro tem of the Senate. Next he was on his farm again for a few years, but a drouth of five years' continuance made agriculture so unprofitable that he was obliged to quit it, and since then he has lived retired, having a good home in Wabash. He lias disposed of his farms. The only sickness he has ever had was when he had the small pox.
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