USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Past and present of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 17
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Frederick Henry Erb, Jr., son of this French couple, was born at Lafay- ette, Indiana, August 16, 1856, and inherited the genius of his father for sports and marksmanship. When only eight years old he was sent to Lex- ington, Kentucky, as a rider of running horses. He became famous as a jockey and before he was eighteen years old had bestrode many celebrities of the turf, including such winners as Rambler, Prairie Boy, Silver Tail, Bull of the Woods and Gypsy. His talent for marksmanship gave him even greater fame than that achieved as the successful rider of thoroughbreds. So early as the age of twelve he was regarded as a phenomenon with a gun and while riding the circuit of running horses his father often backed him in live pigeon matches in which he scored signal victories. He challenged the re-
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doubtable Captain Bogardus, in March, 1880, at that time the champion all- around shot of the world. The match came off at St. Joseph, Missouri, and attracted national attention in sporting circles. Bogardus killed eighty-three birds to Erb's ninety-three, the latter being given the benefit of two yards, or twenty-eight to Bogardus' thirty. They met again at Lafayette on Jan- uary 14, 1888, when Bogardus retired after shooting ninety-three, with seven dead birds out of bounds. Erb lost six dead out of bounds, and the nineteenth bird flew away hard hit. He killed his last sixty-four straight, which caused Captain Bogardus to give him credit for making the best run ever made by any man in the world. He declared enthusiastically that his rival was the best shot he ever saw. April 7, 1888, Mr. Erb gave more remarkable evidence of his skill in a three-days shoot at flying targets, sixteen yards rise, he standing eighteen yards from the traps. He hit the first hundred straight, and ninety-six out of the second hundred. Next day he scored ninety-seven and ninety-nine, the third day ninety-eight out of one hundred, or four hundred and ninety out of a possible five hundred in three days. May 28, 1881, at St. Louis, Missouri, in a match with Capt. W. T. Mitchell with wild pigeons, five ground traps, thirty yards rise, Erb killed ninety-three to Mitchell's eighty-five. June 20, 1885, at an exhibition witnessed by ten thousand spectators. Mr. Erb broke forty-eight balls out of fifty thrown into the air, using a Colt's lightning rifle. He also did a lot of fancy shooting, hitting various kinds of small coins and performing every imaginable feat possible to a rifle. He then stepped up to the score to break ninety-six clay piegons out of one hundred, of which he broke one hundred straight, using only one barrel of a Colt's twelve-bore. He has taught marksmanship to many prominent men, doctors, lawyers and statesmen, coming from all parts of the United States to get the benefit of his instruction.
Mr. Erb also enjoys a national reputation as a trainer of hunting dogs. He has autograph letters from President Roosevelt, Secretary Cortelyou, Buf- falo Bill, and many others expressing appreciation for the training he had given their dogs. He has trained dogs for Presidents Cleveland and Harrison and most of the celebrated sporting men of the country. His ideas on this subject are strictly his own, reached as the result of many years of close ob- servation and experience, all his methods being based upon kindly and humane considerations. He has patented a very successful device to be used in teach- ing dogs to retrieve from land or water, and be obedient in the field. He challenges the world to equal this ingenious device. He has also been the patentee of several sporting devices which have met with favor and success, among which may be mentioned the feather artificial target, which was sold to
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English capitalists where it was manufactured. Another well known article throughout the country patented by him is the Erb dog collar, which has ac- quired an extensive manufacture and sale. Mr. Erb is the author of a book entitled, "How to Train Dogs and Cats; Hints on Shooting and Hunting Game." This book is wonderfully clear and concise and, being the result of both inherited talent and years of experience, is of great value. Perhaps, however, Mr. Erb will longest be remembered as the inventor of the famous "Erb, Jr., Dog and Cat Food." Its preparation was a secret for twenty-five years, the ingredients being selected as the result of observing animals in the natural state, seeking the medicines suitable for their ailments. The animal will eat it of its own accord, and it is so clean that even human beings need not hesitate to use it. It was made public in January, 1906, and the public. are invited to visit his factory and observe the processes of its preparation. "Field and Fancy," the leading dog paper of the world, gives the food high praise, and Bart I. Ruddle, manager of pet animal shows, conducted by the Wisconsin Humane Society, and many others find the Erb food unexcelled for pet stock. In 1909 Mr. Erb gave up training dogs to build a factory in West Lafayette for the manufacture of this food.
Mr. Erb married Adelaide, daughter of Eugene Schaufert, of St. Joseph, Missouri, who was a native of Germany, and said to have built the first vinegar factory west of the Mississippi river. Mr. and Mrs. Erb's only living son enjoys the title of Fred Erb III. He is interested in agricultural pursuits, especially the raising of fine stock. He married Jennie, daughter of John Saxe, an old-time canal boat trader, who accumulated a considerable fortune in that line before the days of railroads. Fred Erb III and his wife are the parents of a son, who bears the title of Fred Erb IV.
JAMES B. SHAW.
The well-known justice of the peace at Lafayette, Indiana, whose name introduces this biographical memoir is a descendant of good. old Scotch-Irish stock, his ancestors having been prominent in the New England states during the colonial days, his grandfather and great-grandfather having fought in the Revolutionary war. His father, William H. Shaw, was born in Gorham, Maine, September 1, 1811, and his mother, whose maiden name was Cornelia Mudge, was born in Wayne county, New York, September 13, 1821. Her mother's uncle, General Tellison, was on the staff of the great
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Washington during the Revolutionary war. His father's brothers were sailors and her father was a merchant during most of his life. To the parents of James B. Shaw six children were born, four boys and two girls, James B., the oldest. Mrs. Jessie G. Solomon, the youngest, who is living at Elgin, Illinois, the wife of Moses Solomon, was born December 13, 1856, and she was married in 1882; no children have been born to them. She and the subject of this review are the only living members of the family of Mr. and Mrs. William H. Shaw. Frank Shaw, who was born August 5, 1853, married Jennie Kauffman in 1875, in Remington, Jasper county, Indiana, and they became the parents of one child, a son named R. W. Shaw, who lives in Chicago.
James B. Shaw was born May 28, 1842, in Delphi, Carroll county, Indiana, in which place he began his early education, studying in the pub- lic schools until 1858 when he entered Wabash College at Crawfordsville where he prosecuted his studies until 1861 when the war between the states began, which prompted him to leave his studies and his home and enlist on September 6, 1861, as a private in Company D, Tenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infanty, under Col. Mahlon D. Manson of Crawfordsville, and Capt. Joseph F. Taylor of Benton county. On July 16, 1862, he was pro- moted to hospital steward, faithfully serving as such until mustered out September 16, 1864. He was present at some famous engagements while under Sherman in the Atlanta campaign and on the march to the sea, in- cluding Chickamauga, Corinth, Perryville, Tullahoma, Missionary Ridge, Buzzard Roost, Resaca, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, seeing one hundred and twenty days of continuous fighting on the Atlanta campaign alone. He returned to Remington, Indiana, then went to Watseka, Illinois, where he entered the telegraphic service on the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw Railroad, later the Pittsburg. Chicago & St. Louis, also the Chicago & Eastern Illi- nois and the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, faithfully serving these various roads in a most acceptable manner for a period of twenty-one years. In 1886 Mr. Shaw was elected justice of the peace and so faithfully and well has he performed the duties of the office that he has been retained up to- the present time. During his long term of twenty-three years he has shown that he is an able, impartial and judicious exponent of the law and few of his decisions have met with reversal at the hands of a higher tribunal. He has been a loyal Republican all his life, having first cast his vote for- President Abraham Lincoln in 1864. He was reared in the Presbyterian faith, to which his parents were strict adherents. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Post No. 475, and the Union Veteran Legion,
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Camp No. 122. He is also a Mason, belonging to the lodge at Kentland, Indiana. But in all these he perhaps takes the greatest interest in the Grand Army, having first joined the Lafayette Post, No. 3. on December 2, 1879. having filled all the offices in the same, having in 1894 been elected senior vice commander of the Department of Indiana. He is past colonel of En- campment No. 122, Union Veteran Legion. He probably knows more sol- diers than any man in the state, and he is familiar with the history of every regiment and battery organized in the state. He and Comrade Aiken in 1883 first began to place flags on the graves of twenty-eight Confederate soldiers at Greenbush cemetery, and on the graves of twenty-two Union men there, and they have continued this practice ever since, not missing a single Decoration day. He receives a pension, and he has a very comfortable home at 1006 Elliott avenue, Lafayette.
Mr. Shaw is a well preserved man considering his past life of mingled hardship and toil, being stoutly built. He has decided tastes and senti- ments, is thoroughly patriotic and he is well fitted for the work of justice of the peace, being a man of force, yet companionable and a very interest- ing talker, having a good memory.
URBAN A. LYLE, M. D.
Dr. Urban A. Lyle, who is one of the younger representatives of the medical profession practicing in the city of Lafayette, was born January 28, 1878, at Salem, Ohio. His parents were Thomas and Lucy M. (Mamyum) Lyle. The father was born in England, of English parents, and the mother was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and was descended from an old southern family of much respectability. Her father was a prominent planter and before the war a slaveholder. In the Civil war days, Gen. Robert E. Lee used to make his headquarters, whenever convenient, at her father's house. Her father and her two brothers were in the Confederate army, the father dying while in the service and one son died of yellow fever.
Thomas Lyle was a prominent physician and surgeon. At one time he was an instructor in a college at Toronto, Canada. Subsequently he grad- uated from the Toronto School of Medicine and practiced medicine in that Canadian city for a time. After coming to the United States, he studied and graduated in theology, becoming pastor of the Disciples church at Salem, Ohio. During his pastorate there, he was instrumental in building a church
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edifice. He also practiced medicine at the same time he was serving as pas- tor. Later he graduated from the Physio-Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio, after which he devoted his time to medicine alone. He is still prac- ticing medicine at Salem, Ohio, where he is regarded as an excellent and highly trustworthy physician. He was appointed professor of materia medica in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago. He was the father of four children: James M., Charles H., Eugene G., and Urban A., of this memoir.
The Doctor attended the high school at Salem, Ohio, and having chosen the profession followed by his father, he entered upon a course of medicine at the Physio-Medical College at Indianapolis, graduating in 1903. In 1904, he graduated at the Electro-Therapeutic College of Lima, Ohio. He then located in practice at Lafayette where he is gaining a lucrative and highly successful practice among good families of the city. He has the advantage of being thoroughly posted in the latest, up-to-date methods of combatting diseases. His office is among the best equipped in Lafayette, and includes an X-ray machine and other electrical apparatuses. In medical societies, he is counted among the membership of the Tippecanoe County Medical Society and the American Medical Association. At present he is a member of the Lafayette board of health.
Politically, he of whom this sketch is written is a believer in the prin- ciples as shown in the platform of the Republican party, of which body he is an active, intelligent member. In civic society matters, the Doctor affiliates with the Masonic fraternity; the Eagles, Modern Woodmen, Moose and Knights of Pythias orders, belonging to the regimental staff of the last named fraternity.
Doctor Lyle married, September 14, 1902, Estella M. Turney, daughter of Dr. S. R. Turney, of Brownstown, Illinois. Mrs. Lyle is an accomplished musician-one of a high order-having graduated in music at the Paso Conservatory of Music, Lebanon, Illinois, and the School of Music at St. Louis, Missouri, besides the Metropolitan School of Music at Indianapolis.
PARKER A. BYERS.
Everybody in Lafayette and thousands from other parts of the country have long known Parker A. Byers, and it would be safe to say that all who know him entertain for him a feeling of admiration akin to love. The reason
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for this is his gentle manners, his genial address and accommodating dispo- sition, united with a bright mind and rare talents as a conversationalist. For more than thirty years his place of business in the "Star City" has been head- quarters for all the choice spirits. Few visitors coming to Lafayette fail to call and see Parker. There they meet others, and it is a rare cvening that an intelligent and fun-loving crowd can not be found in the hospitable halls of Mr. Byers. He is a native of Indiana and a fine sample of the Hoosier at his best. A son of Stephen A. and Mary (Brookbank) Byers, he was born at Delphi, Indiana, in 1852, and spent a happy boyhood in the "old swimmin' holes," the green pastures and other boyish resorts in and around the capital of Carroll county. Of course he attended school between times and there is a tradition that in all sports of an innocent nature, all athletic games and invigorating pastimes young Byers could ever be found as a leader. In 1868, when about sixteen years old, he located at Lafayette and for the next four years had charge of Comstock's billiard hall. He became an expert at the game, was gradually recognized as a professional and before he was hardly of age had a national reputation as a billiard player. He it was who played the first match game at Indianapolis in 1873. with the celebrated Schafer, the occasion being one of vast interest to billiardists and heralded in sporting cir- cles all over the country. When twenty years old, which was in 1872, Mr. Byers went into business for himself at the corner of Fifth and Columbia streets, moving later to the Bramble House, where he remained until 1877, when he located permanently on Fourth street. For thirty-two years he has occupied this place, making it the most popular resort of the kind in Lafay- ette. Mr. Byers' literary tastes suggested the establishment of a reading room, which for years has been a favorite meeting place for those desiring to consult the daily papers or latest magazines. There is also a library of well selected books, and the rooms are made inviting in every respect. He is president of the Merchants' Electric Lighting Association.
In 1874, Mr. Byers married Sarah J. Shaffer, of Lafayette, and his home is the abode of hospitality and kindly greeting to all who call. Mr. Byers may properly lay claim to the title "perfect gentleman," being indeed one of nature's noblemen. In personal appearance he is tall and well built, with dark eyes, pleasant manner, always cheerful, and possessed of a fine sense of humor that makes him a charming companion. He is a man of high character, kind and honorable in his dealings, generous, sociable and well informed. He is a member of the Episcopal church and the Improved Order of Red Men, and practically counts his friends by the number of his acquaintances at home or abroad, as "none know him but to love him, none name him but to praise."
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ALEXANDER HAMILTON CROUSE.
The founder of this well-known Tippecanoe county family was of Ger- man origin. George Crouse came across the Atlantic long before the Revolu- tionary war and settled in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. He left a son named Henry, who was born July 6, 1768, and married a Miss Hevison, whose birth date is recorded as February 15, 1766. The date of the births of their children are thus given in the old family Bible: Catherine, May 20, 1792; Leah, March 6, 1794; Henry, August 1, 1796; Maria, July 15, 1798; Simon, July 25, 1802; John, April 15, 1805; David, September 18, 1808; Elizabeth, October 15, 1810; Daniel, November 20, 1814. About 1820, the father of this family removed to Germantown, Ohio, and cleared a farm in that locality. In 1830 he settled in Marion county, Indiana, where he pur- chased and cleared a section of land, including the site afterward selected for the Indiana Asylum for the Insane, west of Indianapolis. He died in the prime of life, as the result of injuries from a falling tree. His son, John W., who was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, came with his father on his removal to Butler county, Ohio. March 17, 1825, he was married to Eliza Christman, in Preble county, Ohio, the ceremony being performed by Bishop Kumler, a well-known ecclesiastic of that day. She was born in Preble county, Ohio, June 5, 1805, her parents being Daniel and Madalina (Ogo) Christman. They were both natives of Guilford county, North Car- olina, the father being born March 27, 1793, and the mother, December 8, 1776. They had five children, John, Eliza, Solomon, Jacob and Daniel. The family were early pioneers of Preble county and highly respected as citizens. Daniel entered land and became prosperous as a farmer, at one time owning about three hundred acres. He was a member of the United Brethren church, straightforward and honorable in his business dealings, and died on his Ohio homestead when eighty years of age. After his marriage, John W. Crouse located near Liberty, Union county, Indiana, where he purchased land and a sawmill. In the fall of 1828 he removed to Tippecanoe county and located on land in Wayne township two miles from the present Crouse homestead. Besides the quarter section entered from the government, he bought one hun- dred and forty-two acres and there remained until his death, September 13. 1844. He cleared off the timber and turned the first furrows on the prairie land, developing three hundred acres of rich soil, the greater part of which he brought to a high state of cultivation. He and his wife were members of the United Brethren church, in which he served as class leader and held
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other offices. He was a very zealous member, contributing liberally to build and support the work of the denomination. At one time lie was a Whig candidate for state senator. He was loyal as a citizen, practical as a farmer, straightforward in business and in every way reliable. His wife died March 26, 1883, aged seventy-eight years. During her long widowhood of nearly forty years, she depended on her son Alexander to manage her business affairs. Her children were as follows: Mary A., born October 5, 1826; Alexander H .. October 23. 1828; Daniel Franklin, June 11. 1837, died July II. 1866; Mary A. married James W. Stewart and died March 23, 1874.
Alexander Hamilton Crouse was born in Union county, Indiana, Oc- tober 23, 1828, and was but six months old when brought by his parents to Tippecanoe county. His early life and training was passed in the pioneer period and he never lost the coloring of character and sturdy qualities ac- quired in those days of heroic hardship. What little education he got was in a log school house. He knew all about the soft side of puncheon seats and helped put the ten-foot backlog into the yawning fireplace. At inter- vals, between his sixth and fifteenth year, this pioneer boy attended this rude school, going occasionally to a school of a little better grade near O'Dell Corner. His father early began to teach him practical business methods and when still a boy he knew how to bargain for cattle, his father giving him the money and showing him the points of good stock. He was an unusually bright farm boy and when only nine years old cultivated thirty-five acres of corn. At the age of sixteen, the death of his father left the manage- ment of the farm on his shoulders. In time he became quite prosperous as a cattle dealer and amassed wealth.
June 24, 1894, Mr. Crouse was married in Hardin county, Kentucky, to Miss Tee P. Humphrey, a member of a distinguished family of the state. More than twelve hundred people attended the ceremony, which was per- formed by the bride's brother, Rev. Felix Humphrey. Mr. and Mrs. Crouse gave a reception on returning to their Indiana home, which was attended by over six hundred friends and neighbors of the family. Mrs. Crouse was born in Hardin county, Kentucky, March 25. 1872, her parents being Thomas and Armanda (Royalty) Humphrey. Her paternal grandparents were Samuel and Drusilla (Haywood) Humphrey. The paternal great- grandfather, Samuel Humphrey, Sr., came from Virginia and became a pioneer of Kentucky, where he made his home among the Indians and the wild and romantic scenery of that famous region. Mrs. Drusilla Humphrey. grandmother of Mrs. Crouse, was the daughter of a prominent official of Hardin county, who had Indian blood in his veins, and more remote ment-
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bers of the family served as chiefs of the Shawnee Indians. It is claimed that a vast amount of the land in Kentucky belongs to this branch of the family. The children of Samuel and Drusilla Humphrey were Sallie. John, Lydia, Samuel, William, Wesley, Thomas, Rachel, and Mahala, the last dying in early womanhood. The father, who was a substantial citizen of Hardin county, died at his home there in middle life. His son, Thomas Humphrey, who became the father of Mrs. Crouse, was born in Hardin county, March 12, 1827, followed farming and when about twenty years of age married Armanda Royalty, who was born in Hardin county, July 1, 1832, her parents being Daniel and Annie (Saunders) Royalty. Her father, who was born in Washington county, Kentucky, was a son of David Royalty, one of the pioneers of Kentucky. Annie Saunders was a daughter of Thomas and Sally Saunders, the father serving through the Revolutionary war under General Washington. He was a very strong man and weighed two hundred sixty pounds when he entered the army, but received a wound in battle which made him a cripple for life. His parents lived near one of the battle fields and the window-panes were shattered by the firing. After leaving the army, Mr. Royalty took up his residence in Washington county and there spent the remainder of his days. His children were Annie, Isaac, Rebecca, Hannah and several daughters whose names are forgotten. Dan- iel Royalty was a shoemaker but owned land in Hardin county, of which he was one of the substantial citizens. He removed to that locality soon after his marriage and lived there until his death. His children were Sarah, Thomas, Jane, Rebecca, Catherine, Mary A., and Armanda. After their mar- riage. Thomas Humphrey and wife located at the headwaters of Mill creek, where he purchased a farm and spent the rest of his life in its cultivation. His children were Felix, Thomas, Missouri, John W., Isaac F. and Wyatt W. (twins), Mary, Christian D. and Tee P. The father died December 22, 1894, aged sixty-seven. He was a member of the Baptist church and had served as clerk and moderator. In business he was industrious, energetic and trustworthy, kind and affectionate to his family and a first-class citizen in all respects. His widow makes her home with Mrs. Crouse, and, like the latter and the rest of her children, is a devoted member of the Baptist church. The Humphreys are one of the oldest and most influential of Kentucky families. Rev. Felix Humphrey, brother of Mrs. Crouse, was educated at Garnettsville, Meade county, Kentucky, and is now an ordained minister of the Baptist church.
Alexander H. Crouse was in many ways one of the most notable citi- zens of Tippecanoe county. He was especially well known as a farmer,
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