USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Past and present of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 34
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live at home, the latter being the housekeeper; Joseph C. L. is unmarried and lives at home, assisting in the factory; Charles J. is a stationary engi- neer living at home; George V. is living at home and works on the farm; Louis R. is bookkeeper at the Thieme & Wagner Brewery.
The May family owns a very valuable and highly productive farm of two hundred and sixty-six acres near their factory, and they operate the same in a manner that insures a large annual income. No better land is to be found in this favored section of the state. Besides this, their resi- dence at the south end of Fourth street, Lafayette, is a substantial, com- modious and elegantly furnished one, where good cheer and generosity is always found. The members of this family are all hard-working, public- spirited and honest in all their transactions with their fellowmen. They are all members of the St. Boniface Catholic church, and all the boys be- long to the Catholic Order of Foresters; Fred and Michael also belong to the Knights of Columbus. Fred is a member of the Knights of St. Paul. Louis R. is recording secretary of the Foresters. John and his family re- side at the factory at "Three-mile Switch." Fred is assuming. the principal leadership in the conduct of the large business affairs of the family since the death of his father. No happier or mutually helpful family could be found than the Mays, and none stand higher in the estimation of their neighbors and acquaintances in Tippecanoe county.
DANIEL HAWK.
One by one the gallant soldiers who sacrificed so much for posterity in the greatest of polemic struggles, when this country was well-nigh rent asunder during the sixties, have succumbed to the only foe they could not meet, until only a small remnant of the original great host remains. Among those who have wrapped their winding-sheet about them and are now sleep- ing the sleep that no reveille shall wake is Daniel Hawk, long a well-known and highly respected citizen of Tippecanoe county. He was a native of Ohio, having been born in Butler county, October 24, 1833, the son of George and Peggy (Dix) Hawk, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. George Hawk died when his son Daniel was only nine years old, consequently the latter was bound out. But, being misused by his people, he ran away and went to Dayton, Ohio, where he learned the stonecutter's trade. He finally came to Lafayette, Indiana, where he spent his subsequent life, dying April 30, 1906.
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Daniel Hawk was first married to Mary A. Rodifer, of Lafayette. O11 Junt 15, 1836, she first saw the light of day, and her life closed in 1869. They became the parents of two children, Thomas and John D. Hawk. Dan- iel's second marriage was to Phoebe C. Lindsay, on December 21, 1870, by which union three children were born, namely: Georgia, born December 13, 1871, died May 23, 1872; Nora, born April 2, 1873, died July 30, 1874; Jessie, born January 13, 1875, married William Lentz, a hardware merchant in Rossville, Indiana, and they are the parents of two children. Mrs. Phoebe C. Hawk died July 6, 1884. Daniel Hawk's third marriage was solemnized with Alma E. (Mead) Moore, who was born October 12, 1846, the wedding occurring on March 5, 1885, at Paxton, Illinois. Mrs. Hawk is a native of Knox county, Ohio, and the daughter of Spelman and Mary J. (Mitchell) Mead, natives of Ohio, where they lived on a farm. By Mr. Hawk's third marriage two children were born, namely: Lucy Belle Hawk, born April 27, 1888, was educated in the Lafayette schools, graduating from the high school in 1906, and is now in her fourth year in Purdue University, where she made a splendid record in the science department. She is a very bright and affable young lady and is preparing for a career as teacher. Freddie Daniel Hawk was born April 5, 1891, and died January 16, 1894.
Daniel Hawk enlisted in Company E, Tenth Regiment Indiana Vol- unteer Infantry, in 1861, as a private, but was promoted to sergeant and to the signal corps. He was in the service over three years, receiving an hon- orable discharge in April, 1865, having made an excellent soldier. He drew a pension of twenty-four dollars per month, and his widow now draws twelve dollars per month. Mrs. Hawk has a neat and comfortable home at No. 817 North Fifth street, Lafayette, which she owns and which she takes a delight in, and where her many warm friends are often entertained. She is regarded as an excellent neighbor and a genuinely good woman.
MOSES F. WILSON.
Although nearly eighty years have dawned and died since Moses F. Wilson first saw the light of day, he is yet a man of vigor and in possession of all his faculties, possessing a wonderful memory, and those who delight to hear interesting tales of the pioneer days would enjoy listening to his interesting and instructive conversation, for he has seen the development of this part of the Hoosier state from primitive conditions to its present day
MOSES F. WILSON
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opulency-in fact, he has been conspicuous in the progress of the same from his boyhood days. His birth occurred near Jimtown, Marion county, In- diana, September 28, 1830. Near Elmdale he attended the old-time sub- scription schools under the tutorship of his father, who divided his time be- tween farming and teaching school in the country districts, the latter having carried Moses F. to school on his back, the lad having started to school when so small that he found it too difficult to walk to and fro. When sixteen years of age, Moses F. worked for a neighbor on a farm evenings, mornings and on Saturdays in order to defray expenses of board and tuition while he attended school. He became so proficient in arithmetic that he "stalled" his father and other teachers in that branch of learning.
Moses F. Wilson is the son of James and Claricy (Fountain) Wilson, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of the state of New York. They came to Indiana in their youth and were married in Marion county in 1829. This country was a wilderness when they arrived here, but they set to work with a will after their marriage and soon had a comfortable home, although they began life in poor circumstances. James Wilson became sub- ject to the ague, which was so prevalent in those days, which made it neces- sary for his young wife to cut the first trees used in the erection of their first cabin home. They remained in Marion county several years, moving later to Montgomery county, but finally moved to Tippecanoe county, where they resided on a farm until their deaths, having become fairly well situated in life by reason of good management and hard work. The death of Mrs. Wilson occurred in November, 1865, her husband having survived twenty years, joining her in eternal sleep in 1885, and, side by side, they rest in Sugar Grove cemetery, Jackson township. They were the parents of four children, all boys, Moses F. being the oldest in order of birth, his brothers being Thomas and William, both deceased, and Stephen L., who resides in New Richmond, Montgomery county. Prior to his marriage with Claricy Fountain, James Wilson had married a woman who bore him three children, namely : Joseph, David and Mary, all now deceased.
Moses F. Wilson remained on the farm with his parents until his mar- riage in Tippecanoe county, March 30, 1856, to Sarah Matheny, who lived only a year after her wedding, dying February 10, 1857, at the early age of twenty-two years. She is buried in Sugar Grove cemetery. One child, James Thomas, was born to them, who survived a little over seven months. Mr. Wilson was married a second time, his last wife being Mary (Lynch) Doughty, their wedding occurring October 12, 1862. She was the widow
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of Joseph Doughty, who died October 12, 1857, near St. Mary's, Ohio. They were the parents of one child, David, who died when four years old.
Mr. Wilson's second wife was a native of Maryland, the daughter of Lemuel and Mary (Hudson) Lynch, both natives of Maryland, in which state they married, later moving to Indiana, locating in Tippecanoe county. There they both died, the father, who was born in 1794, departing this life in March, 1863, at the age of sixty-nine years. His widow survived him several years, dying in 1882, at the age of seventy-seven years. Prior to her death she was an invalid for nine years. They are buried in Sugar Grove cemetery. They were the parents of eleven children, six of whom grew to maturity, Mrs. Mary Wilson and one brother, Thomas, being the only survivors at this writing. Thomas resides on a farm near Wingate in Montgomery county. Lemuel Lynch, father of Mrs. Wilson, served in the war of 1812, from the state of Maryland, first going to the front for six months as a substitute, then enlisted on his own account.
Mr. Wilson and his present wife began life under none too favorable circumstances, but they each looked to the welfare of the other and, being hard workers and economical, soon had a comfortable living, now owning eighty-two acres of excellent farming land in Jackson township, Tippe- canoe county, having laid by a sufficiency of this world's goods to enable them to retire from the hard labors of their earlier years. They have a very sub- stantial and pleasant home, good orchard, garden, etc., and are spending the golden evening of their long and useful lives in comfort and ease. They are the parents of three children, only two of whom grew to maturity, one dying in infancy; Sarah was born August 21, 1863, and died October 5, 1863; Emma R., born March 20, 1865, has remained single and is living at home with her parents; Arrilda Jane, born March 18. 1868, is the wife of James R. Miller; they reside on the subject's farm and are the parents of five chil- dren, Paul W., Landis F., Edna M., Claricy E. and Alma R. James R. Miller was married before his alliance with his present wife, his first wife being deceased. By her he became the father of three children, Minnie, de- ceased ; Shelly and Albert.
Moses F. Wilson was a member of the Grange in New Richmond, also belonged to the first Horse Thief Detective Association of Tippecanoe and Montgomery counties, being an active participant in its proceedings, and he did some very clever work in recapturing stolen animals. He has long been an active worker in the Republican party; however, he has never aspired to public office. He and his wife were formerly members of the United Breth- ren church, but on account of lack of a place of worship they withdrew
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membership and joined the Methodist Episcopal church at Sugar Grove, where they take an active part in all church work and are liberal supporters of the same. Mr. Wilson has served as steward and trustee of the same, but on account of infirmities attending old age he has withdrawn from hold- ing office in the congregation with which he still worships. He and his wife are highly respected in the congregation and among their neighbors.
DANIEL BURDITT.
Among those who gained worthy prestige in the agricultural and busi- ness circles of Tippecanoe county and who proved loyal and representative citizens was Daniel Burditt, who, after becoming well established and laying by a competency for his family, passed on to his reward in the silent land. He passed his youth much as other boys of this community, working on the old home place and attending the district schools. When twenty years of age he married Nancy Buck, who was born August II, 1835, on the Wea Plains, near the Wabash river, in Tippecanoe county, and she was therefore seventeen years old when married, October 10, 1852. After their marriage they lived on a farm for several years, then moved to Oxford, Indiana, where Mr. Burditt conducted a store with the same success that had characterized his farming, succeeding in building up a liberal patronage and becoming an influential citizen in that vicinity.
The parents of Mrs. Burditt were William and Tabitha ( Bidwell) Buck, the latter dying when Nancy was four years old. William Buck was a native of Ohio, having been born in Scioto county in 1811. He was a farmer by occupation and he came to Indiana when a young man, becoming the owner of a farm on the Wea Plains in Tippecanoe county. His family consisted of eight children. He was twice married, and four children were born to him by each wife, four boys and an equal number of girls. His second wife's maiden name was Ellen Heath, who is also deceased. Both of his marriages occurred in Tippecanoe county.
Mrs. Nancy Burditt, in her girlhood, attended school on the Wea Plains, later attended school in Lafayette and also at Fort Wayne. Her father believed in higher education, and, being a prosperous man. was able to give his children excellent advantages in this respect.
To Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Burditt four children were born, namely : William, born June 6, 1859, was educated in Oxford, Benton county, where
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luis birth occurred. He entered business life as a hardware merchant at which he was successful, but he is now engaged in the real estate business in West Lafayette, having built up a lucrative patronage. He married Anna Ferris, of Oxford, Indiana, on September 12, 1882, and they are the parents of three sons, Byron Lamar Burditt, the evangelist singer, is married to Miss Bryan, of Lafayette, and they are the parents of one son, William Dean Burditt, born October, 1908. Byron Lamar Burditt was in the Moody Institute for five years as a student and teacher. Anna, the oldest child of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Burditt, was born April 24, 1854, married Mahlen Smith, and became the mother of three daughters, all living. Mrs. Anna Smith died August 6, 1893. The names of her children are Hattie, Oma and Ethel. Lizzie Burditt, born June 1, 1856, is deceased, as is also her sister, Hattie, who was born March 10, 1869. Mrs. Daniel Burditt has ten grand- children and four great-grandchildren. Her daughter Lizzie married Edgar Dudding and six children were born to them; those living are Charlie, Ralph, Harry and William, all fine young men with bright futures.
This family all lives in Lafayette, Mrs. Burditt's commodious and neatly kept home being at No. 1416 South street. She is a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church, and is known as a conscientious Christian, a good mother and neighbor.
OLIVER C. GOLDSMITH.
Brought up to regard the truth as sacred and that industry was man's salvation, Oliver C. Goldsmith, at one time a leading building contractor of the middle West, was well equipped to begin the battle of life. He was born in Plymouth, Litchfield county, Connecticut, on July 16, 1834, and was one of twelve children born to his thrifty parents. The Goldsmith family was noted for its health and activity and the fact that every one of them worked. The boys followed in the footsteps of their father and learned the stone business. Oliver C. had no more of an opportunity than did his other brothers and he was educated in the common schools of his native state, going four or five miles three months out of the year to the little red school house. Attaining manhood, the young man followed the bent of his inclinations and went in seriously to learn the stone trade. His father taught him thoroughly the contracting end of the business and when he retired from business a few years ago he was regarded as one of the foremost men engaged in the building industry.
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Looking back through the years, Oliver Goldsmith has erected or as- sisted to erect many of the large bridges of the country. In early years he bridged the Wabash river for tht Peoria, Decatur & Eastern railroad and built the bridge across the same river for the city of Terre Haute, Indiana. He also erected the bridge at Attica, Indiana, and the Main street structure for the Lake Erie & Western railroad at Lafayette, where he now resides. The graceful structure at Logansport owned by the Vandalia railroad and two others owned by the Wabash railroad are monuments of his ability as a builder. His work is also standing in Ohio, a bridge at Sandusky, one each at Defiance and Tremont, Ohio, were erected by him. His other railroad work is noted and he was the contractor who built the Lake Erie & Western railroad from Lafayette to Muncie, Indiana, and was one of a trio that built the road from Lafayette to the state line. He completed the Wheeling, Lake Erie & Western from Toledo to Massillon, Ohio. On one occasion he built a bridge complete, sub-structure and all, with twelve piers, in twenty-two feet of water. It took fifty thousand feet of piling and six thousand cubic yards of masonry and the same number of yards of rip rap. All the material had to be shipped and put in place and he completed the work in one hundred days.
Oliver Goldsmith was well schooled in his profession and the keynote to his success, as he points out himself, was that he kept his business to him- self. He was known as a stern man and one whose word was better than other people's bond. When he was engaged in building a bridge at Toledo, Ohio, Martin L. Peirce was then president of the First National Bank of Lafayette. He furnished the funds for this contract. They were promptly returned, and from these transactions the banker and the contractor grew to be fast friends. The contractor was invited to take part in the affairs of the bank and he became a stockholder and later one of the directors, which posi- tion he still occupies. He is also a stockholder in the National City Bank of Chicago and has large and diversified interests in Jackson, Michigan, and other places. In addition he has stock in the Lafayette Loan and Trust Company.
On April 10, 1865, Mr. Goldsmith married Matilda Smith, of Jackson, Michigan, and there were two children born, George and Oliver, both of whom died in boyhood. His wife passed away in 1894. Although well advanced in years, Oliver Goldsmith has preserved his remarkable health and vitality and exemplifies the adage that hard work never hurt any one. He is over six feet in height and is considered a fine physical specimen of manhood. He has lived in Lafayette for many years, coming there in 1871,
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and after an absence of several years returned again in 1884 and made that city his home. He owns one of the handsomest residences in the city and is considered one of the leading citizens. He says he owes his success in a large measure to the discipline of his father, who made it a point to see that his family obeyed. His mother was a religious woman, and, while Oliver does not belong to any church, he still feels the influence of his mother's teachings. In political faith he is a Republican, though in his early life he was a Democrat, but voted for Abraham Lincoln. All his life he has known activity and was never a man who could stand idleness. He was not a believer in vacations and spent his years in the hardest kind of work. He has a large following among men of finance and his opinion is often sought on matters of this kind. As an example of what the excellencies of labor will bring forth he stands equal to any man in the state.
DUANE D. JACOBS.
Among those who have contributed to the business interests of Lafay- ette, Duane D. Jacobs holds worthy prestige. For many years a leader in mercantile circles and as executive head of one of this city's important financial institutions he exercises a strong influence in business affairs, filling the responsible position of president of the Farmers and Traders' Bank of Lafayette. He is a native of Vernon, Oneida county, New York, where his birth occurred on March 30, 1858. His father, Royal D. Jacobs, was of Scotch-English ancestry, and the mother, Lucinda Farrington, was born of German and Irish antecedents. These parents were married in the state of New York and spent their lives on a farm in Oneida county, where their son Duane was born and reared. Young Jacobs, while yet a mere youth, showed the mettle of which he was made by entering upon an in- dependent career, having severed home ties when only seventeen years old and began working in a general store at Oriskany Falls, and for several years he boarded with his employer and worked from five A. M. to ten P. M., his duties including the sweeping of the storeroom and the per- formance of the almost endless menial tasks which enter into the routine of such an establishment. The merchant, being a close observer as well as a successful business man, soon recognized the excellent qualities of the lad and did all in his power to train him for a successful career. After spend- ing seven years and becoming familiar with every phase of the mercantile
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trade, Mr. Jacobs became a traveling salesman for his employer, and during the two following years represented the latter's flouring mill in various parts of New York, but resigned and entered the employ of Robert Fraser, one of the leading dry goods merchants of Utica. After one year in that city he went to Herkimer county and accepted a clerkship in the Poland Union store, owned by one hundred and fifty farmers, where he continued with his usual success for a period of two years. Severing his connection with the latter establishment. Mr. Jacobs returned to Utica and engaged with the firm of Martin & Miller, the great East Side clothiers, but perceiving a better opening with another house, he resigned his place and entered the services of Owen Brothers, proprietors of the numerous "When stores" throughout the country, taking a position in the branch at Lafayette. In- diana, in 1885. and continuing with the firm until engaging in business for himself four years later.
Mr. Jacobs started the Vernon clothing store on the south side of the square in 1889, and after conducting the establishment upon his own re- sponsibility for three years the business was incorporated and additional room secured. During the ensuing ten years he was president of the Ver- non Clothing Company's store, building up an extensive trade and became known as an enterprising and successful merchant throughout this locality.
In the year 1901 a number of well-to-do farmers and tradesmen or- ganized the Farmers and Traders' Bank of Lafayette, and in their efforts to secure the proper person for president of the institution, the choice fell on Mr. Jacobs, who accepted the position and, disposing of his interests in the clothing business, he at once entered upon the discharge of his official functions, and his relations with the bank since becoming its executive head have been creditable to himself and satisfactory to officials, stockholders and all others concerned. His long experience in the mercantile business peculiarly fitted him for his duties as a financier.
Mr. Jacobs' career shows that he has successfully struggled against many discouragements, and for his present position among the progressive business men of Tippecanoe county he is indebted entirely to his own ef- forts, and his success is such as to command respect of all classes, owing to the fact that he has never departed from the path of rectitude and hon- esty in his strenuous career. One of his dominating traits is his interest in de- serving young men, having aided many in securing a good start. in the business world.
In addition to the institution with which he is officially identified, Mr. Jacobs is a director of the Star City Building and Loan Association, no
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small part of its large success having been due to his judicious counsel in directing its affairs. This has proven to be a great benefit to the city, en- abling many families to build and own their homes and starting them ou the highway of prosperity and happiness. The business of the association is rapidly increasing, having become generally recognized as a legitimate and praiseworthy institution. Mr. Jacobs has been interested in several similar organizations, at least one, all the time since his coming to Lafay- ette, and all of them have met the approval of the public. He is at this time also a member of the commission appointed by Ex-Governor Hanly to build the Southern Indiana Hospital for the Insane, the commission hav- ing the disbursement of over one million dollars for that purpose.
Mr. Jacobs was married in the year 1887 to Marselda Sullins, a native of Boone county, Indiana, who has resided in Tippecanoe county since her childhood. Two sons blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs, namely : Frank Duane, who died at the age of twelve years, and Harry Carson, an intelligent and promising lad, now thirteen years of age.
In his fraternal relations, Mr. Jacobs is a member of Tippecanoe Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, chapter, commandery and Scottish rite; also belongs to the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, be- sides Curran Lodge of the Knights of Pythias. He is a member of the Commercial Club of Lafayette, the Merchants' Association and the Jack- son Club, the last a political organization whose sentiments are indicated by the name. A firm believer in the principles of the Democratic party. Mr. Jacobs is always interested in the success of the same, but he has never sought political office.
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