Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 70

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

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and was well known here. He was bitten by a mad-dog, and, although he took every precaution to prevent hydrophobia, going to Chicago for treatment, it was of no avail, and he died of that dread disease, June 21, 1893. His widow survives. They had five children, of whom three are living, viz .: George E., who is engaged in the insurance business in Marion; William F., whose name heads this article; and Lillie M., wife of Charles Haworth, of Jonesboro. The par- ents were for many years members of the Methodist Protestant Church, but Mrs. Young is now identified with the Seventh- Day Adventists.

William F. Young may be termed a self- made man. He began life on his own re- sponsibility about the time he entered his 'teens, working at whatever tasks he could find. Although his educational advantages were not of the best and although his work not infrequently kept him away from school, he early acquired sufficient knowledge to enable him to teach, and for nine years he spent his winters in teaching school. For a short time he was engaged in the insurance business at Marion, with his brother George E., doing business under the name of Young's Insurance Agency, with his office in the Kiley Block, and representing a number of the most substantial companies of this country.

In public affairs Mr. Young has always taken a commendable interest, co-operating with the Republican party, by which he has several times been elected to fill local office. He has served both as Clerk and Treasurer of the Town Board, and is now closing his fifth year as Trustee of Mill township. From a Gas City paper, dated July 10, 1895, we clip the following complimentary notice of

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"Will Young, than whom there is no better known in Mill township, will relin- quish his office of Township Trustee in less than a month, his term having almost ex- pired. His tenure of office has extended over the most prosperous five years ever known in Mill township's history, and things have changed wonderfully in that time. When Mr. Young took the helm the term of yearly school lasted not more than six months. He brought the limit up to eight months per year and that has been the length of the term for some time. Previous to the past five years but one new schoolhouse had been built in Mill township within twenty years. During Mr. Young's service as Trus- tee he has built four new district school buildings and equipped them with modern furniture and appliances, and has brought the public-school system of the township to a standard not excelled anywhere in the county, and Grant county is about the fore - most county in the State in her public schools as well as in everything else. The county commissioners have not built a mile of gravel road in Mill township in the past five years, yet during that time they have accepted seven miles of gravel road which has been built under the supervision of the township trustee. The plan which Mr. Young has pursued in this is to have a cer- tain amount of road completed each year by the voters in working out their road tax. Instead of patching temporarily here and there as a makeshift, as is done almost every- where by road-workers, Mr. Young has con- fined the work to gravel-road work, adding on a section each year until he has com- pleted seven miles. During his time of of- fice Mr. Young has proven himself a good business man and careful guardian of the in- terests under his charge, and he has won

for himself a popularity which will be long remembered all over the township."

Mr. Young was married January 29, 1887, to Miss Phœbe C. Adams, a native of Huntington county, Indiana, born in 1866, daughter of John Adams, now a resident of Jonesboro. They have two children, -Elva and Justin.

Fraternally, he is connected with the I. O. O. F., both lodge and encampment, and is Past Grand of the former, -Jonesboro Lodge, No. 82; is Chancellor Commander of the Jonesboro Lodge, No. 102, K. of P .; and is a member of the Junior Order of Ameri- can Mechanics. In his religious views he is in harmony with the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is a prominent and act- ive member, at this writing being a Trustee of the church.

EV. SAMUEL HINES SWAIM, deceased, was for almost a half a century an esteemed and honored resident of Huntington county. He was numbered among its pioneers and his name is inseparably connected with its edu- cational, religious and business history. His life is largely devoted to his fellow men, do- ing all in his power to uplift humanity. His was a noble, upright life, containing few mistakes, and to his family he left the price- less record of an untarnished name, which is rather to be chosen than great riches.

Mr. Swaim was born in Randolph coun- ty, North Carolina, on the 25th of October, 1820, and traces his ancestry back to the early settlement of the Colonies, when in 1638 the Swedes and Fins located in Del- aware and New Jersey. The name Swaim is of Swedish origin. The great-grandfather of our subject, John Swaim, was a native of

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Randolph county, North Carolina, and mar- ried Elizabeth Vicory, who died in 1833, at an advanced age. Among their children was Christopher Columbus Swaim, who was born in Randolph county, on the 24th of December, 1774. Having arrived at years of maturity he married Sallie Hines, and re- moved with his family to Huntington coun- ty, Indiana, where his death occurred in 1851.

The father of our subject, Simeon W. Swaim, was also born in Randolph county, the date of that event being March 18, 1799. His wife bore the maiden name of Nancy Irwin, and their marriage was cel- ebrated December 21, 1819. Her father, Samuel Irwin, was a native of Guilford county, North Carolina, and his mother, who bore the maiden name of Mary Means, was born in Ireland in 1726. She reached an extreme old age, passing away in Guil- ford county, North Carolina, in 1829, at the age of 103 years. In the State of his na- tivity, Samuel Irwin spent the days of his boyhood and youth and was married there to Elizabeth Worthington, who was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, in 1760, and died in Huntington county, In- diana, in 1848, at the age of eighty-eight years. She descended from English an- cestry and her father was John Worthington.

In 1833 Simeon W. Swaim left the State which had long been the home of his family. removing to Preble county, Ohio, where he lived for three years. The year 1836 wit- nessed his arrival in Huntington county, Indiana. It was then a frontier region, wild and unsettled. The greater part of the land was still in the possession of the Govern- ment and many of the now thriving towns and villages had not yet sprung into exist- ence. Mr. Swaim laid claim to two tracts,

one of eighty and another of forty acres, and received the patents for the same, dated May 30, 1837, and signed by Martin Van Buren. The old farm has never left the possession of the family, and the original deeds, given almost sixty years ago, are in possession of the descendants of the hon- ored pioneer. He at once began the devel- opment of his property, and as acre after acre was cleared, plowed and planted it gradually assumed the appearance of a richly cultivated ' farm and became a valuable piece of property. The father died in Huntington county, Indiana, in May, 1847, and his wife, who was born February 27, 1799, died in September, 1865, in her seventy-sixth year. They tried to fit their children for the practical and responsible duties of life by careful home training and the best educational advantages that they could afford. The members of their family were Samuel Hines, Mary Ann, Elizabeth, Christopher Columbus, Cynthia, Albany and Ruth Caroline.

The Rev. Mr. Swaim, whose name heads this review, lived in his native State until thirteen years of age. The Southern States, divided largely into extensive plantations which were cultivated by slaves, did not afford the best school privileges; but before leaving North Carolina Mr. Swaim had com- pleted Webster's Easy Standard of Pronun- ciation, the Introductory English Reader, Columbian Orator, Pike's Arithmetic and some lessons in the New Testament. During his fourteenth year he went with his parents to Preble county, Ohio, and after that his educational privileges were very meager, for his labors were needed on the home farm. He aided in the arduous task of developing a new farm, and with the family shared in all the experiences and hardships of pioneer

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life. It was the era of development in Huntington county, and he bore his part in the work of progress and upbuilding.

He chose as a companion and helpmeet on life's journey Miss Elizabeth Pence Back, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, on the 28th of November, 1821, and is a daughter of Aaron and Margaret E. L. Back. Her father was born in Madison county, Virginia, June 18, 1785, and served his country as a soldier during the war of 1812. He lived to the ripe old age of eighty- three years, five months and twenty-five days, and died suddenly on the Ist of De- cember, 1868. His wife was born in Rock- bridge county, Virginia, on the 16th of De- cember, 1788, and was called to the home beyond this life January 12, 1851, at the age of sixty-three years and twenty-seven days. They were laid to rest in Goode cemetery, near Warren, Indiana, and many friends mourned the loss of these worthy people.

Throughout his entire life Mr. Swaim of this review carried on agricultural pursuits, and for many years was prominently identi- fied with the educational interests of the community. He accepted a position as teacher in 1844 and afterward taught for at least twenty terms, numbering among his scholars many who have now become well known in commercial and professional cir- cles. He was a careful instructor and was always deeply allied to the interests and requirements of education. When new branches were introduced into the school in which he had had no training and in conse- quence forced him to retire froin the profes- sion, hestated that he was glad thestandard of education was being raised, even though it took from him his employment, and he hoped that the work of advancement would

be carried on still further along this line. He was a broad-minded, progressive man, ever active in promoting the public welfare. He then gave his time and attention entirely to farming, and the neat and thrifty appear- ance of his place indicated his careful super- vision and close application to his duties.

Mr. and Mrs. Swaim reared a family of seven children, who in the early days added life and brightness to the home and in later years have tenderly cared for their parents. William Franklin, born March 16, 1843, is an honored resident of Huntington county. Mahala Margaret, born July 11, 1845, be- came the wife of Lemuel Colbert, and died February 27, 1869. Harriet Ann Back, born December 11, 1847, is the wife of Aaron Sutton, a resident of Warren, Indi- ana. Simeon Aaron, born April 23, 1850, died April 25, 1861. Mary Albany, born March 2, 1853, is the wife of Loran B. Miner, of Demorest, Georgia, and they have had two sons and four daughters, of whom four are yet living. Elizabeth Adaline, born February 18, 1854, is the wife of Joshua C. Thurston, who operates the old homestead farm, and their children are William and Cle- land Swaim. David Samuel, born February 10, 1858, married Miss Caroline Adsit, and after her death wedded Laura Bechtol, his home being now in San Diego, California.

For fifty-nine years the Rev. Mr. Swaim lived in Salamonie township, Huntington county, and during that time never failed to vote at an election. In his early life he was a supporter of the Democracy, but on the organization of the Republican party joined its ranks, and was identified with its inter- ests until 1882, when, believing the question of temperance to be the most important is- sue before the people, he identified himself with the Prohibition party, with which he

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continued his connection until his death. He served as County Surveyor from 1852 until 1854, but was never a politician in the sense of office-seeking.

Mr. Swaim was a man of deeply relig- ious nature and through a long life was an earnest worker in the Master's vineyard. In 1840, when in his twentieth year, he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and ever afterward followed in the footsteps of the man of Galilee, living a blameless Christian life. In May, 1847, he was licensed as a local preacher, and made a Deacon of the Church in September, 1855, and in September, 1859, he was made an Elder. He then became a close student of the church history and literature as well as the Bible, and was often seen in the pulpit, where with earnest counsel and exhortation he endeavored to persuade others to enter the straight and narrow path that leads to life everlasting. He was often called upon to officiate at weddings and funerals. One of the little girls whom he had taught in the public schools on attaining to womanhood was married by him, and he also solemnized the weddings of her son and daughter. Other incidents of a similar character occurred during his long and useful life here.

a faithful companion and helpmeet and whose life is alike exemplary, is now living in Warren, where she has many friends.

0 R. WILLIAM B. LYONS has been for many years a prominent citizen of Huntington county, and in his practice throughout the sur- rounding country he has endeared himself to more than one generation. He was born in Newcastle county, Delaware, September 2, 1818, the son of Ira E. and Mary (McDonald) Lyons, natives of the State of Delaware, of Irish and Scotch descent respectively. The mother died when he was a child of six years and the father died in Perry county, Ohio, in May, 1855. He was a farmer by occupation, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. The Doctor accompanied his parents to Perry county, Ohio, whither they removed in the autumn of 1834, and assisted in clearing the fron- tier farm and bravely shared the privations and hardships that fell to the lot of the hardy pioneer. As master in the primitive log school-house he taught the children of the neighboring settlers during the short days of the winter, and in the evening de- voted himself to the study of medicine. In May, 1851, he came to Huntington, Indi- ana, where he has since resided. In 1850 he attended a course of lectures in Cincin- nati, Ohio, and in the spring of 1865 he was graduated with the degree of M. D. at Rush Medical College, Chicago. He also has a degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Indianapolis.

Mr. Swaim also faithfully performed his duties of citizenship, and was a close stu- dent of current events which shape the his- tory of the nation. He took an active part in establishing schools in this locality and was pre-eminently a public-spirited man, devoted to the general welfare and upbuild- ing of his resident community. He was one of nature's noblemen, ever faithful to his duties of public and private life, and when Dr. Lyons was married March 24, 1842, to Mary A. Ream, the mother of his three children: George F., who was a practicing death called him, on the 16th of April, 1895, his loss was mourned throughout the com- munity. His widow, who was ever to him . physician, died at the age of thirty-two

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years; Ira A. E. is also a physician, and a resident of Salt Lake City; he married a Miss Hall; William B., a young man of much more than ordinary promise, died at the age of twenty-two years. The Doctor is a member of the Masonic order, having attained the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite; he is also a member of the chapter and commandery. Dr. Lyons is a man of quick and ready sympathy, well adapted by nature and education for the profession in which he has met with gratify- ing success.

ON. SAMUEL FRANKLIN DAY, a leader in the business and social circles of Huntington, and espe- cially prominent as an advocate of the cause of education and its advancement, Mr. Day is inseparably connected with the history of northeastern Indiana.

Springfield branch of the family; John, the progenitor of the extensive Hartford branch of the family; Sarah, and Mary. The eldest sister was married to Nathaniel Gunn, of Hartford, in September, 1658, and after his death was married, November 24, 1664, to Samuel Kellogg, of Hatfield. She was slain with her son, Joseph, by the Indians September 19, 1677. Mary was married October 28, 1659, to Samuel Ely, of Spring- field. He died and she married Thomas Stebbins April 12, 1694. Her third hus- band was John Coleman, of Hatfield, and the marriage took place December 11, 1696. Her death occurred at an advanced age, in Hatfield, in 1725.

The Day family originated in Wales and was originally spelled Dee, but was pro- nounced by the English Day. It was taken from the name of a small river in Wales, and signifies dark, or dingy. The facts con- cerning the history of the family were secured from the genealogical record com- piled by Professor George E. Day, of Yale College, who traces his ancestry back through Gad, Aaron, Josiah, Samuel, Thomas and Thomas to Robert Day, the founder of the family in America.

In April, 1634, Robert Day sailed from Ipswich, England, to Boston, Massachu- setts, on the barque Elizabeth, accompanied by his wife, Mary. He was born about 1604, and she was two years his junior. He located in Newtown, now Cambridge, Thomas Day, the eldest son of Robert, was married October 27, 1659, to Sarah, daughter of Lieutenant Thomas Cooper, who was killed at the time Springfield was burned by the Indians. She died December 21, 1726, and her husband died December 27, 17II. They had seven sons and three daughters, including John Day, the great- great-grandfather of our subject. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Septem- ber 20, 1673, and wedded Mary Smith, of Hadley, Massachusetts, March 10, 1697. , She died February 28, 1742, at the age of Massachusetts, and shortly afterward was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife. He was a resident of Hartford in 1639, for his name is found on a monument in that city erected to the memory of its first set- tlers. He was probably of the company of 100 persons who with their pastor, the Rev. Mr. Hooker, penetrated through the wilder- ness in 1636 and founded the capital city of Connecticut. His second wife was Editha Stebbins, sister of Deacon Edward Steb- bins (Stebbing), of Hartford, and they had four children: Thomas, the ancestor of the : sixty-five. They had ten children, five sons 33

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and five daughters. On the 27th of August, 1743, he married Hannah Kent, of Hadley, Massachusetts, who died November 20, 1752, at the age of seventy-nine. Joseph Day, the great-grandfather of our subject, was born June 24, 1703, and for some years lived in Northfield, Massachusetts, where he married Elizabeth Mattoon, of that town. He died at Fort Edward, August 14, 1758, and his wife died October 13, 1776, aged fifty-eight years. Their children consisted of six sons and five daughters. Jacob Day, the grandfather, was born at West Spring- field, Massachusetts, August 4, 1753, and was married August 20, 1778, to Abigail Leonard, who was born August 3, 1755, and died in Chester, Massachusetts, March 5, 1814. About 1803 he removed from West Springfield to Chester and thence to Moravia, New York, where he died Sep- tember 5, 1816. His family numbered five sons and four daughters.

Jacob Day, the father of our subject, was born May 6, 1791, in Massachusetts, and died May 2, 1872, aged eighty-one years; he was a native of Pennsylvania. He en- listed in the war of 1812 when twenty-one years of age, and served until the end of the war, in 1815. He moved to Portage coun- ty, Ohio, and in 1820 married Mary Spears, who was born in 1791 and died in 1882, aged ninety-two years.

With his family he removed to Ohio in an early day, locating on a farm near Frank- lin Mills now Kent , Portage county, where on the 30th of May, 1827, was born Samuel Franklin Day, the second son of the family. During his boyhood he aided in the work of the home farm and spent the winter season in attendance at the district schools of the neighborhood, where he obtained a fair En- glish education. At the age of fifteen he

started out in life for himself, being employ- ed as a teamster in Franklin Mills for three years, when he accepted a position as boat hand on the cross-cut canal between Cleve- land and Pittsburg, in the employ of Daniel P. Roads and David Tod, afterward gov- ernor of Ohio. In the spring of 1847 he assumed command of Old Bassitt, a boat plying upon that canal, and was thus en- gaged until the fall of 1854, when he took charge of the Cuyahoga House, a hotel of Franklin Mills. In May, 1861, he arrived in Huntington and has since been instru- mental in promoting the business interests of this city. In 1862, in connection with his brother, Robert Jacob Day, he embarked in the livery business, which he continued until 1869. From 1870 until 1875, they were again proprietors of an extensive livery stable and at the latter date the firm dis- solved. Samuel F. Day, however, con- tinued the business until 1887, when, in the month of March, he sold out to Elmer and John Brown. He was then out of the busi- ness until 1889, when he erected his present extensive stables at the corner of Market and Cherry streets. His careful manage- ment has brought to him a handsome and well deserved competence.

On the 21st of September, 1851, was celebrated the marriage which united the destinies of Samuel F. Day and Miss Edatha H. Hotchkiss. She is a native of Oswego, New York, and her parents, Harry and Lida (Noyes) Hotchkiss, were also natives of the Empire State. Eight children have been born of their union: Roland Jacob, born July 19, 1852, died De- cember 5, 1855; Cora Edatha, born Au- gust 29, 1854, married Michael W. Gaynor, and has one child, Edatha M .; Samuel Franklin, born July 26, 1856, is in the em-

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ploy of the Standard Oil Company; he was married January 3, 1895, to Miss Barbara P. Jewett, of Huntington; Clara Augusta, born March 14, 1858, died in infancy; Harry Hotchkiss, born July 1, 1859, died February 19, 1871 ; Clara Augusta, born April 20, 1861, is the wife of William Kettering, and has one son, Robert Frank; Robert Jacob, born September 14, 1863, is a graduate of Cor- nell University, married Bertha A. Cook, and they have one son, Robert Donald, born November 25, 1895; Louisa Cutler, born April 3, 1866, became Mrs. George Daily, and died February 28, 1892.

Mr. Day is an honored and valued mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained to the thirty-second degree, his membership being with Amity Lodge, No. 483, F. & A. M .; Huntington Chapter, No. 27, R. A. M .; Huntington Council, No. 51; Huntington Commandery, No. 35, K. T., and the Indiana Consistory. No citizen more deeply interested in the welfare and upbuilding of Huntington county than Mr. Day, who has ever done his part in advanc- ing the moral, social, educational and mate- rial welfare of the city. He was one of the co-workers who were instrumental in establishing the Orphans' Home of Hunting- ton county, and has been one of its directors from its founding. He was one of the organ- izers of the Huntington County Agricult- ural Society in 1867-8, and has been con- nected with various other enterprises which have proved of great benefit to the commu- nity. He has contributed liberally to the support of charitable and benevolent inter- ests, and has given freely to various churches, believing in the Universalist doctrine, al- though he holds membership with no church organization.

It is conceded throughout this section of

the State that no one has done more for educational interests in Huntington than Mr. Day. He is a Democrat in politics, and on that ticket was elected in May, 1865, as Mayor of Huntington for one year; in May, 1867, he was again elected; in May, 1878, was called to that office for a two- years term; in May, 1884, was once more honored with the highest office in the gift of his fellow-townsmen; was re-elected in 1886 and 1888. In May, 1894, he was once more nominated at the Democratic pri- mary; but, owing to the overwhelming Re- publican majority, he suffered defeat, run- ning, however, far ahead of his ticket. With the reins of city government in hand he succeeded in securing many needed improve- ments and reforms, and his efficient service and ability are attested by his long contin- uance in office. His policy proved his sym- pathy with the best interests of Huntington, and his prolonged administration indicates the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. While in office he succeeded in setting on foot a movement that secured the building of the fine high school. In 1867, while acting as Mayor, he appointed a school board in favor of building a $25,000 school- house. In 1871 he was elected a member of the School Board, and the block on which the building was erected was pur- chased. He met with bitter opposition in this undertaking, but through his influence created public sentiment in its favor and continued his labors until 1871, when a $30,000 appropriation was made. Since that time five school buildings have been erected, two of them la ger than the origi- nal. The high school of Huntington is one of the finest in the State. The school sys- tem of Huntington practically stands as a monument to the enterprise, progressiveness

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Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 70

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