Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 98

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

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MEMORIAL RECORD OF

out the highest grade of work, and the trade of the company not only comes from all parts of this country but also from Glasgow, Scot- land, London, Paris, and various other points in Europe. That the enterprise has grown to extensive proportions is not the result of chance, but is the reward of far-sighted deal- ing, executive ability and discrimination.

In the township of his birth, Mr. Nickey was united in marriage with a daughter of Francis Mossman, a native of Whitley coun- ty, Indiana, born in 1848. They became the parents of six children, four of whom are now living. Samuel Mossman, the eld- est, named for his grandfather, the pioneer of Allen county, was born at the old home- stead in Lake township, on the 9th day of September, 1868. Upon his father's farm he spent the days of his childhood, acquir- ing his primary education in the district schools, and subsequently attended the Meth- odist Episcopal College of Fort Wayne. His labors here, however, were interrupted, for at the age of eighteen he was called back to the home farm to assist his father in buying stock. From his earliest child- hood he was familiar with this business, and became an excellent judge of stock, which enabled him to buy and sell to advantage. The family still own an extensive stock farm, one of the best in Allen county. After assisting his father for two years, Samuel M. Nickey came to Auburn, and in company with V. P. Perrine bonght out the interest of Oscar Gandy, in the sawmill at Auburn, which at that time was conducted under the firm style of the Gandy & Nickey Com- pany. His father had for some time pre- vious owned a half interest in this mill, and at the end of three years, or in September, 1891, Samuel Nickey bought out Mr. Per- rine's interest, and the business has since

been conducted by his father and himself, under the firm name of Nickey & Sons. The business is now entirely in the posses- sion of the family. Samuel now has the active management of the Auburn mill and the daily output indicates the pros- perous business he is conducting. On the Ist of September, 1892, he married Miss Grace D., daughter of Lewis F. Medsker, an honored pioneer of Whitley county, Indiana, of which county the lady is a na- tive. Mr. Nickey is a thirty-second degree Mason, and is very prominent in the fra- ternity, very few gentlemen of his age hav- . ing attained the high rank which he has now reached.

The second child of the Nickey family is Maxillia, now the wife of E. L. McClen- nan, an esteemed resident of Columbia City, Indiana. William E., who has charge of the Princeton mill, is the third in order of birth. Alice E. completes the family: she is now attending school and makes her home with her parents.

The firm of Nickey & Sons own large tracts of timber and farming lands, and the senior member is a director of the Auburn Carriage & Buggy Company. In politics the father and sons are stalwart Republic- ans, unswerving in their allegiance to the party and its principles and are firm believ- ers in sound money.

The principal distinction between the suc- cessful business man and the unsuccessful one is that the former has had the mental pene- tration to see his opportunity and the nerve and skill to grasp and handle it, while the latter has not. Prosperity does not come as the result of fortunate circumstances. The noblest gift of genius is the power to work, and to him who has this possession all things are possible. Mr. Nickey and

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his sons are men of this character, and to- day they enjoy the reward of their pains- taking and conscientious work.

ILLIAM H. LANE, M. D .- The sturdy German element in our na- tional commonwealth has been one of the most important in furthering the substantial and normal advancement of the country, for this is an element signally appreciative of practical values and also of the higher intellectuality which transcends all provincial confines. Well may any per- son take pride in tracing his lineage to such a source, and the subject of this review is enabled to do this. He is one of the able medical practitioners of the State of Indi- ana, retaining his residence at Angola, Steuben county, where he is held in the highest estimation, not only by reason of his professional attainments, but as a man of distinctive honor.

Dr. Lane is the son of William Lane, a native of Germany. In his early manhood he came to America, determined to avail himself of the superior advantages here afforded for successful individual effort. His advent in the United States was made in the early part of the present century, and for a few years he retained his residence in Balti- more, Maryland, after which he removed to Cumberland, the same State, where he re- mained for a number of years, and then turned his face Westward and eventually located at Nashville, Illinois, where he was subsequently given official preferment as Sheriff of the county. He is a man of marked ability, and has been active in the political affairs of the section of the State in which he resides, and is still an influential citizen of Nashville. At the outbreak of the

war of the Rebellion he tendered his serv- ices, with ardent loyalty, to his adopted country, enlisting as a member of the For- ty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and subsequently becoming a member of the Tenth Missouri, in which latter regiment he held a Captain's commission. Our subject's mother, nce Rebecca Beckham, was born in Washington county, Illinois, her ancestors having been identified with American history for many generations. By her marriage to William Lane she became the mother of two sons and three daughters, of whom four still survive.

William H. Lane, the immediate subject of this review, was the eldest of the chil- dren, and he was born in Illinois, on the 5th of October, 1856. His early educational discipline was secured in the excellent Ger- man schools in Nashville, and the incidental valne of this practical knowledge of the Ger- man tongue is one which cannot be lightly estimated, while it is a recognized fact that the German schools in America have pat- terned after the effective system in vogue in the Fatherland, and are essentially thorough in their work. At the age of sixteen years Dr. Lane left the German schools and en- tered the Illinois Academy, where he con- tinued his studies for two years, after which he matriculatedin Duquoin Seminary, located in Duquoin, Perry county, and remained there one year. He then returned to Nash- ville, and having determined to make the profession of medicine and surgery his voca- tion in life, he began his course of technical study in the office of V. B. Barcroft, M. D., where he continued his reading for the period of one year and then entered the office of Dr. Trott, under whose preceptorage he remained for an additional year. He had gained by this time a very thorough and

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practical knowledge of the science of medi- cine, but was not content to hold short of the best advantages which he could secure in a professional way, and accordingly he entered the celebrated Rush Medical Col- lege, in Chicago, completing the course of study and graduating as a member of the class of 1889.

Within the summer of the year preced- ing his graduation he had come to Angola to visit and attend Dr. H. D. Wood, who was at that time ill, and he remained here and assisted Dr. Wood in his practice until the time came when it was necessary for him to return to his studies at Rush Col- lege. After his graduation he returned to Angola and here entered into a professional association with Dr. Wood, this connection being maintained for two years, after which the partnership was dissolved and our sub- ject established himself in practice individ- ually. He has since continued here, and has built up a representative practice ex- tending throughout the territory contiguous to the thriving little city of his home. By his manifest ability in a professional way and by his care and fidelity to the interests of those to whom he ministers he has gained the confidence and respect of the local pub- lic and enjoys a distinctive popularity in the community. As a successful young prac- titioner he has secured a signal prestige, and is recognized as keeping fully in touch with the advances made in the theory and practice of medicine, being a close student and one who ever strives to profit by his reading, and also by original research and investigation. He is an earnest worker in his profession, and always ready to respond to the calls made upon his time and atten- tion. The Doctor is identified with the Steuben County Medical Society, the Indi-

ana State Medical Society, the Tri-State Medical Society and the American Medical Society, taking an active and intelligent in- terest in all that pertains to the work of these associations. In his fraternal rela- tions he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The Doctor has official position as secretary of the County Board of Health.

On the 26th of February, 1890, Dr. Lane was united in marriage to Miss Miller Gates, daughter of Lawrence Gates, a dis- tinguished veteran of the late war of the Re- bellion, and one of the pioneer residents of this section of Indiana. Dr. and Mrs. Lane are the parents of two children.

3 OSEPH KETCHUM EDGERTON. -For almost fifty years Mr. Edger- ton was connected with Fort Wayne and the history of Indiana, and what he did for the State can never be estimated. No resident of Fort Wayne has labored more to advance the material interests of the city or was more actively connected with the upbuilding of the State. His political ca- reer and his extensive business interests com- bined to make him prominent, and probably no one was better known throughout north- ern Indiana than he.

A native of Vermont, he was born in Ver- gennes, on the 16th of February, 1818, and was the third son of Bela and Phebe (Ketch- um) Edgerton, descending from ancestry that located in America in Colonial days. His maternal grandfather, Joseph Ketchum, was a merchant and iron-master of Platts- burg, New York, and died in the Empire State in September, 1794. On the paternal side he was of the fifth generation in direct descent from Richard Egerton (for the name

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was thus spelled in England), who belonged to the sturdy band of English Puritans that followed the leadership of Major John Mason, the hero of the Pequod war, and re- moved from Saybrook to Mohican, -after- ward Norwich, Connecticut, -and on the 6th of June, 1659, was one of the company of thirty-five who purchased from Uncas and other sachems of the Mohican tribe of Indians, a tract of land nine miles square, embracing the present site of the city of Norwich, Connecticut. Another of the English settlers and proprietors was William Hyde, one of whose descendants, in 1744, became the wife of Elisha Edgerton, grandson of Richard. The late Chancellor Walworth of New York, who was a descendant of William Hyde, devoted his leisure hours in his later years to compiling a genealogical record of the Hyde family, and on one occasion, in writing to Mr. Edgerton of this work, he said, "I find that fifty-two Senators and members of the House of Representatives were either descendants of our ancestor, William Hyde, of Norwich, or married wives who were descendants." Colonel Elisha Edgerton represented his district in the Connecticut Legislature in 1803 and was a member of the constitutional convention of that State in 1818.

he determined to seek a home in the West and removed to Hicksville, Ohio, where he engaged in farming for many years. At length he laid aside all business cares, and, living retired, spent the last years of his life in the home of his eldest son, Alfred P. Edgerton, of Fort Wayne, where he passed away on the 10th of September, 1874. His genuine nobility, his superior mental powers and his unquestioned loyalty made him a fit candidate for political honors and won him the respect of all with whom he came in contact.

In taking up the personal history of Jo- seph K. Edgerton we present to our readers the life record of one who bore worthily the name of his honored ancestors and added to it new luster by a career that is deserving of all emulation. From childhood to old age his was an upright and honorable life, de- voted to principle, unwavering in the sup- port of all that he believed to be right. He was educated in the common schools of Clinton county, New York, and at the Plattsburg Academy, and at the age of six- teen entered the law office of William Swet- land, one of the most prominent legal practi- tioners of his day, and mentioned by his cotemporaries at the bar as "the great law- yer of northern New York." The following year he went to New York city and pursued his legal studies in the office of Dudley Sel- den and James Mowatt, soon being en- trusted with a large amount of the firm's legal business. In 1839 he was admitted to the bar and at once began practice in New York in connection with George B. Kissam under the firm name of Edgerton & Kissam, the connection continuing until 1844.

It will be seen that the family has long been prominent in the history of the country, taking an active part in public affairs and in the promotion of the general welfare. The father of our subject, Bela Edgerton, was born September 28, 1787, and was gradu- ated at Middlebury College in 1809. He studied for the bar and became a successful lawyer and magistrate of Clinton county, New York, and his abilities and prominence In the meantime Mr. Edgerton was mar- ried. In 1839 he wedded Miss Hannah made him the people's choice for legislative honors in 1827, 1828 and 1829. In 1839 . Maria Spies, the third daughter of William 46

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and Elizabeth (Chatterton) Spies, of New York. They began their domestic life in New York, and in 1844 removed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where they spent their remaining days, their mutual love and con- fidence increasing as the years rolled by, - years that had their trials as well as pleas- ures; years of mingled joy and sorrow, of adversity and prosperity; but, through all, these two hearts that had been united in the springtime of life remained true and faithful. Eight children were born to them, seven of whom are now living, and a brief record of them is as follows: Frances is the wife of George Nelson, of Piqua, Ohio, who was a Captain in the Twelfth Indiana Volunteers and served throughout the rebellion. Helen, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, is the widow of Lieutenant Commander Henry B. Rumsey, of the United States Navy, a graduate of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, who served with distinction through the war and lost his life a few years ago in the heroic rescuing of a child from the burning Richmond Hotel at Buffalo, New York. Edward C., now superintendent of the estate property at Woodburn, Indiana, is a graduate of West Point and served as a Lieutenant of the Fifth Cavalry on the frontier. Clara lives at home with her mother. Joseph K., Jr., died in infancy. Clement W. is now the administrator of his father's large estate, the business and duties of which position occupy his entire time. Grace is the wife of Cap- tain Edward R. Morris, Assistant Surgeon in the United States Army, now stationed at Fort Spokane, Washington. Josephine is the wife of Lieutenant William F. Martin, United States Army, a graduate of West Point, now on duty at Fort McPherson, near Atlanta, Georgia.

As stated Mr. Edgerton came to Fort

Wayne, and the history of his after life lies as an open book before the people of this locality. He had visited the West the pre- vious year in the interest of a New York client and was so impressed with this city that he resolved to make it his future home. He became an occupant of the office of ex- Governor Bigger, and the following year, 1845, formed a law partnership with that gentleman, which was terminated in 1846 by the governor's death. Mr. Edgerton soon established a profitable business as a land and collection agent, and from July, 1850, until July, 1851, was associated in practice with Charles Case. Mr. Edgerton was thorough and painstaking in everything he undertook, and at the bar this charac- teristic was very evident in the careful prep- aration of his cases. A forcible, earnest speaker, logical and convincing, he won a reputation as a successful lawyer and the highest honors at the bar would probably have been his had he continued the prosecu- tion of his profession.

With the railroad history of the State the name of Joseph K. Edgerton is inseparably connected, and the gratitude of the public is due him for his valuable services. He was one of the first to interest himself in the prog- ress of the Ohio & Indiana and Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroads, and on his own account and on behalf of clients he made large sub- scriptions in the form of lands, including large tracts in La Grange county, owned by the New York house of Grinnell, Minturn & Company. In 1854 he became a director of the Fort Wayne &. Chicago road, and in November, 1855, was elected its president. In January of the following year he became a director of the Ohio & Indiana road, and his connection with these companies com- menced at the most critical time in their

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existence. Their future prosperity was in completion of the entire line inade certain. a large measure due to the carrying out of a plan which he proposed for the consolida- tion of these roads. He negotiated the pre- liminary contract and final articles, and thus sprung into existence the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad. Becoming vice president of the new company he thus served until his appointment as receiver in December, 1859. He had also been trans- fer and financial agent of the company from 1857 with his office in New York, and from February until December, 1859, was the legal adviser of the company with his office in Fort Wayne. The Pennsylvania road at this time was making strenuous efforts to ac- quire possession of the new road, and the outcome of this led to Mr. Edgerton's resig- nation of the receivership. The road soon thereafter ceased all efforts to maintain its independence. The reorganization and sale that followed, at great expense, put the road forever out of the hands of those who had struggled for its success in early days. This however, did not end Mr. Edgerton's experi- ence with railroads. His excellent mana- gerial ability and his powers of controlling and capably guiding affairs was recognized by the directors of the Grand Rapids & In- diana Railroad Company, who solicited him to become president of the road. This he consented to do, and entered upon another hard struggle to establish what is now one of the great thoroughfares of the country.

Speaking of his career in connection with these modern highways of traffic, the Lig- onier Banner said of him: "And it stands to his everlasting credit that in his opera- tions in railroad matters, as well as in other enterprises, he never sought to overreach his fellow men, but always dealt with them honestly and honorably. Had he been less scrupulous, or had he adopted the peculiar methods of modern operators, he would long since have been counted among the million- aires of the country. The well earned confidence and the esteem of his fellow men doubtless afforded him greater satisfaction than he could possibly have hoped to find in the control of mere lucre."

A man so prominently identified with the growth and upbuilding of Indiana as Mr. Edgerton, and one who was always out- spoken in his convictions on public questions of the day, could not be entirely separated from political life. He was never a politi- cian in the modern sense of the term. Party was to him less than principle, and pure government more than the emoluments of public office. In his earlier days he was a supporter of the Whig party and by his bal- lot sustained its men and measures until 1853. The previous year he was an inde- pendent candidate for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the district of Allen and Adams counties, but the district being strongly Democratic he failed of election. In the years that followed, prior to the Civil war, he was a close student of events, and in Oc- tober, 1860, he made his first political speech in Indiana, supporting Stephen A. Douglas for the presidency. This address was printed and widely circulated, and gave Mr. Edger- ton prominence as an advocate of the Demo-

He resigned the position on the removal of the railroad offices to Grand Rapids, after five years' efficient service. It was under his able administration that the road was extended to Fort Wayne, and by the con- struction of the 200 miles of road from this city to Paris, Michigan, the land grant had been saved and fully protected, and the , cratic doctrine of popular sovereignty. In

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August, 1862, he received the Democratic nomination for Congress, and although the Republican majority at the previous election had been 3,000, he was elected by a major- ity of 436. In the house he was a leader of the Democracy, and on the expiration of his term was nominated for re-election; but at this time the Republican candidate was suc- cessful, and after 1865 he took no very act- ive part in political affairs.

From that time on Mr. Edgerton devoted his time and energies largely to his business interests, which were varied and extensive. He belonged to that type of American citi- zens, progressive and enterprising, who pro- mote the public good while advancing indi- vidual prosperity. He was a very large land-owner in Allen county, and in 1866, on a wide tract, he established the Woodburn Lumber and Stave mills, but the following year the plant was destroyed by fire, causing heavy loss. In 1871 he was instrumental in establishing the Fort Wayne Steel Plow Works and became sole owner of the busi- ness in 1875, one of the leading industries in this part of the State, furnishing the mar- ket with a number of excellent agricultural implements, including the Fargo harrow, the Pioneer new-ground plow (a meritorious invention of his son, C. W. Edgerton), and the Osborn fanning-mill. Mr. Edger- ton was a man of excellent judgment, sagacity, and unlimited perseverance, and these characteristics combined to make the enterprises with which he was connected greatly advantageous to the city and county. Through all he followed a business policy that many to-day might well emulate. He was systematic and methodical, and withal was thoroughly honest. His word was as reliable as his bond. He thus won the un- qualified confidence of the public and mer-

ited in every particular the high regard in which he was held. On the organization of the Fort Wayne Medical College, in 1878, he was made president of the board of trus- tees and was the author of the law of Indiana, of 1879, to provide means of ob- taining subjects for scientific dissection.

Mr. Edgerton passed the seventy-fifth milestone on life's journey and departed this life on the 25th of August, 1893. Earth's pilgrimage was ended, but his work lives on and his memory will exert an influence for good as long as those that knew him are yet in life. His motives were always of the purest, his voice was often heard in a plea for right and justice and his integrity was beyond question. Public and private career were alike above reproach. In his com- mercial dealings he was the soul of honor and would rather have lost his right arm then defraud any man out of a single dollar. He had the courage of his convictions and in the discussion of political matters was fearless in defence of what he believed to be right. He gave no measure his support until he found it worthy of advocacy, and then he defended it with all the eloquence of an orator who believes firmly in the words he utters. He was a marvelous logician and forcible in argument. He possessed supe- rior mental powers, was a man of broad general information and made frequent and valuable contributions to the press, his writings being unsurpassed in force and dic- tion by those of any writer. His life was of the purest, noblest type, dignified, high- minded and honorable, and when death called him expressions of deep regret were heard on all sides, from the humble, the great, the rich and poor, the young and old. For many years he was a Vestryman of Trinity Episcopal Church of Fort Wayne,

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and the spirit of the Christian religion seemed the key-note of his life, -love, love of honor, of justice, of right, love of his fellow man and his Maker.

It seems that we cannot more fittingly close this tribute to his memory than by quoting from the last words which he penned to his wife, showing his deep love for his family and attitude toward his God. Writ- ing at the close of the seventy-fifth anni- versary of his birth he said: "And I will ask Him, too, in this solemn hour, that His love and blessing may ever rest upon my wife, my children, each one of them, and upon their children. O, God, be to them and each one of them father, protector, guide. Preserve, defend and prosper them as Thou seest the need of each in all their ways of life may be, and in the end of life bring each of us to eternal rest and joy with Thee.

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Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 98

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