USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Past and present of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 38
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Joseph Moore, the youngest brother, was born December 25, 1797, near Louisville, Kentucky. He married Ann Boyd, and he came to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, in 1830, entering land adjoining that of his brother. His death occurred October 19, 1843. Surviving him were four children and his widow, who died April 7, 1866.
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To Aaron Van Natta's second marriage two daughters and one son were born, namely: Laura, who married Henry Marshall; Margaret, who married Dr. E. S. Baker; John Wilson Van Natta, who died February 24, 1879, when not quite four years of age.
In January, 1889, Mr. Van Natta's health began to fail and he retired from active business. He continued to decline and he was summoned from his earthly labors on July 1, 1889, having won the high esteem of all who knew him for his exemplary, useful and noble life.
On October 2, 1891, Mrs. Van Natta purchased a beautiful home on South Ninth street, Lafayette, whither she soon moved. She now resides with her daughter, Mrs. Doctor Baker. She is a woman of culture, well educated, affable and she has a wide circle of warm friends wherever she has lived.
JAMES BEE WALLACE.
Any compendium of Tippecanoe county's honored dead would be in- complete without due reference to the life and character of the late James Bee Wallace, who was long a prominent citizen here, spending a life of earnest endeavor and usefulness, and because of his genial disposition, ster- ling worth and uprightness he gained and retained to the end a host of friends throughout the county. He was a sturdy representative of the land of heath and heather, the name Wallace having been distinguished in Scotland for many centuries. The birth of James B. Wallace occurred in a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland, November 8, 1843. He was the son of Adam and Rosena Wallace. When James B. was eight years of age he accompanied his parents to America, and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their family con- sisted of seven sons and two daughters, four of the eldest sons having pre- ceded the family to America. Of the sons were James B., of this review, and William, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. While the boys were young, their father died and their opportunities to attend school were limited. James B. went to work at an early age, serving as an apprentice in a plumbing establishment. He learned the business and made it his life work.
At the outbreak of the Civil war, Adam Wallace, although then over sixty years of age, tendered his services to the Union. His son James B .. although then less than eighteen years of age, was a strong, robust lad, and he prevailed upon the military authorities to release his father and take him instead. This they did, but the father, not content to stand idly by while
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his adopted country was in dire peril, re-enlisted and served through the war, from which he emerged broken in health. James B. Wallace enlisted in Company B, Second Missouri Cavalry, on August 16, 1861; this troop was known as Merrill's Horse. He served in that command until July 20, 1865, when he was mustered out with the rank of sergeant, having made an excellent record as a gallant soldier in many arduous campaigns. He was at the battle of Wilson's creek, near Springfield, Missouri, when General Lyon, of the Union army, was killed, and was in many other perilous situ- ations. He rode through the war without receiving a wound and came out with a record that was a credit to any man that served in the Union army.
After being mustered out, Mr. Wallace came to Lafayette, Indiana, and engaged in the plumbing business with his brother, William Wallace, with whom he was continuously associated until his death. He was made general manager of the company, which position he held at the time of his death. They succeeded in building up quite an extensive business and enjoyed an excellent income from the same, very largely owing to the sound business judgment displayed in its management by the subject. In the sketch of Wil- liam Wallace, in this work, the reader will find a full description of this large concern and the history of the same, also an account of the many large public works they handled.
December 28, 1870, James B. Wallace was married to Belle Wilson, of Cincinnati, a sister of Mrs. William Wallace and the representative of an old and influential family. To this union six children were born, of whom one daughter died in infancy. Those living are Jennie, Katherine, Jessie, Grace and George.
In February, 1895, Mr. Wallace was appointed for the short term of one year as a trustee of the State Soldiers' Home by Governor Matthews. being a member of the first board which supervised the construction of the buildings. He served also as its first treasurer. He was re-appointed to this position in February, 1896, for a term of three years, but in November, 1897, he resigned because of failing health. He performed well his duties in this institution and won the approval of all concerned. He was one of the stanchest members of the First Baptist church, and he always had its wel- fare at heart, taking an active interest in church affairs. He is remembered as a man who was industrious and faithful in all the walks of life and he was stanch and true to his friends. He was honorable and upright in all his dealings, and was affectionate and indulgent to his family. It is safe to say that no man was more highly respected by his fellows or more warmly loved by his friends.
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"This good man and just," speaking in terms of holy writ, passed to his reward in the great beyond on April 17, 1903. In the public press it was said at that time that every citizen of Lafayette and vicinity felt that in his death the city had sustained the loss of a man whose influence would be felt for years to come, and whose name would be cherished as one of the best men this city has ever known.
Mr. Wallace was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows from 1868 until his death. He was also a Scottish-rite Mason and a mem- ber of the Improved Order of Red Men. He belonged to the Union Vet- eran Legion and the Grand Army of the Republic.
Mr. Wallace's entire family resides in Lafayette. George is manager of the Wallace Brothers Plumbing & Heating Company, filling the place made vacant by the death of his father, the business being located in the Wallace block, erected by the Wallace brothers. He married Maud Mur- dock, daughter of Fred Murdock, whose sketch is found on another page of this work. He is a modern business man of excellent standing in all circles. having inherited something of the Wallace characteristics of in- tegrity and business acumen. The Wallace family has long been held in high favor in this county, being one of the leading and most influential families of this locality.
ALEXANDER BRINEY.
The ancestors of the late Alexander Briney were good old pioneer stock and the name has been a familiar one in both Fountain and Tippecanoe counties, the subject having been born in the former on May 2, 1845. He is the son of William and Ellen Briney, who spent their lives developing a farm from the primitive conditions of the early days in the Hoosier state. Their family consisted of four children, three sons and one daughter. of whom Alexander was the youngest in order of birth. He had a brother in the Union army during the Civil war.
Alexander Briney spent his youth much like other children of the early days, working on the home farm and attending the district schools. When he reached maturity he married, on January 9, 1868, Frances M. Foster, and this union resulted in the birth of two children, both girls, the oldest dying in infancy. Ida E. Briney was born September 26, 1873. near Attica, Indiana, and after receiving a fairly good education in the county and city schools she married Alfred P. Randolph, September 26, 1895. Mr. Ran-
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dolph was born in Newberg. Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, November 18. 1869. His parents were Alexander and Mary Randolph, the former born in Pennsylvania, the latter in Cass county, Indiana. For seven years prior to his death, Alexander Randolph was bailiff of the superior court. He died May 12, 1909, in Lafayette, Indiana. His widow, Mary Ellen (Sharp) Randolph, lives at 1604 Center street, that city. They were the parents of four sons, William E., deceased; Edward D., an attorney ; J. S. and Alfred P. Hazel Reams, now ten years old, is a relative of the Ran- dolphs and is making her home with Mr. and Mrs. Alfred P. Randolph in Lafayette. Alfred P. and J. S. Randolph are engaged in the coal business, their extensive yards being located at Main street and the Belt railroad. The death of Alexander Briney occurred October 22, 1875, in Attica, Indiana. when thirty years old.
March 27, 1879. Mrs. Alexander Briney was married to Peter Jones at Attica, Indiana. Mr. Jones died March 17. 1904, at the old home farm near Attica. He was a Mason for nearly fifty years. His widow, a woman of many fine personal characteristics and who enjoys the friendship of all who know her, is a member of the Presbyterian church.
LEWIS N. JESTER.
The Jesters were a Pennsylvania family which sent representatives to the west when the pioneer movement was in full tide. The first comers se- cured land in the celebrated Wea bottoms, Tippecanoe county, when it was not worth so much as it is now by something like several thousand per cent. Alexander, a son of the first settler, was a native of Pennsylvania and only a small boy when his parents located in Tippecanoe county. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in a company of the Eighty-sixth Regiment In- diana Volunteer Infantry, died at Somerset, Kentucky, and is buried in the National cemetery at that place. In early manhood he married Rachel Kyle. by whom he had ten children, only six of them now living. These are Samuel D., of Hot Springs, Arkansas; Julius C., with the Taylor Lumber Company of Lafayette: Leander R .. of St. Louis, Missouri: Emma, of Pueblo, Colo- rado; Mary A. E., of Tippecanoe county.
Lewis N. Jester, who makes out the six, was born in Wen township. Tippecanoe county, Indiana, February 1, 1849. He has devoted practically his whole life to farming, is fond of his calling and has made a success of it. He went through the district school, was a student one year at Union
B
LEWIS N. JESTER
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MRS. LEWIS N. JESTER
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Christian College and taught for three years in the common schools of Tippe- canoe county. Aside from this slight diversion, all his time has been de- voted to agricultural pursuits and he has something to show for his life's endeavor. He owns two hundred and nineteen acres of fine land in section 13, Washington township, every foot of which he made by his own hard labor, and in addition he owns one hundred and sixty acres in Morton county, Kan- sas. During the last eight years, Mr. Jester has been interested in fine horses and owns two valuable specimens of Belgian and Percheron.
July 30, 1874, Mr. Jester married Margaretta E. Schnepp, who was born May 17, 1857, and to this union were born four children : Sereno, June 13, 1875; Argo, born July 16, 1878, died July 2, 1880; Eauro, July 28, 1881 ; Otto, born February 19, 1884, died August 23, 1884. The mother died June 19. 1884, and Mr. Jester married, November 26, 1889, Julia B. Maute. Her father, Gotlieb Maute, born in Germany, was married to a Miss Gainor, at Allentown, Pennsylvania, and settled on a farm in Carroll county, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Jester have two children living: Yeauro, born July 9, 1891 ; Elmo (deceased), born in November, 1896, and Roy Verno, born July 29, 1899. Mr. Jester is a member of the Christian church, while his wife affiliates with the Evangelical Lutheran at Colburn. Mr. Jester is a Republican in politics and a member of Delphi Lodge, No. 28, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
FREDERICK MURDOCK.
The history of a county or state as well as that of a nation is chiefly a chronicle of the lives and deeds of those who have conferred honor and dignity upon society. The world judges the character of a community by those of its representative citizens and yields its tribute of admiration and respect to those whose works and actions constitute the record of a locality's prosperity and pride. Among the prominent citizens who were well known in Tippecanoe county during a former generation because of their success in private business affairs as well as the part they played in public life, was Frederick Murdock, late of the city of Lafayette, but whose eminently worthy and interesting career has been terminated by the fate that awaits all human- ity, and he has been transplanted to broader fields and higher planes of action in the great beyond, leaving behind him the untarnished escutcheon of an old and highly honored name and a record of which any community might well be proud.
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The family from which Frederick Murdock descended was conspicuous in the Hoosier state during the early pioneer days. John Murdock, grand- father of the subject, was born in the famous town of Monmouth, New Jersey; he was the son of William Murdock, of Irish descent. When a young man John Murdock migrated to Ohio, where he married Rebecca Little, a daughter of Cornelius Little, who was one of the early settlers of Butler county, Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. John Murdock five children were born, namley : Susan, William T., Catherine, John D. and Rebecca. The mother was acci- dentally drowned, together with her infant child, during a freshet, while at- tempting to ford Mill creek in a two-horse wagon. The father subsequently married Jane Sterling, and they became the parents of ten children, namely : Amanda, James, Ephraim, Jane, Anna, Mary, Martha, Elizabeth, Emily and Ellen.
In 1819 John Murdock came to Indiana and located in Wayne county, where he followed agricultural pursuits until the fall of 1827, when he moved to Tippecanoe county. Being so favorably impressed with the fertile prairie land here, he abandoned his partly improved farm in Wayne county. He leased lands at High Gap, then in Wayne township, and later entered one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government in section 8, Wayne township. This he soon placed under a high state of improvement and established a good home here, where he remained until his death, in 1842, at the age of fifty-seven years. He prospered and became one of the leading citizens of his township.
William T. Murdock, father of Frederick Murdock of this review, and son of John Murdock, was born in Butler county, Ohio, September 18, 1811. He came with his father's family to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, being then eighteen years of age. He remained a member of the family circle until his marriage, June 5. 1834, to Sarah Hoover, a daughter of Frederick and Cath- erine (Yount ) Hoover, both of German parentage, who moved from Guilford county, North Carolina, to Warren county, Ohio, in what historians call "an early day." This family moved to Wayne county, Indiana, in 1807, where Mrs. Murdock ( nee Hoover) was born, August 16, 1811, and subsequently the family came to Tippecanoe county, this state, where Sarah married Mr. Murdock. The Hoovers were members of the society of Friends. Mr. and Mrs. Murdock celebrated their golden wedding on June 5, 1884, at the residence where they resided for over fifty years. The following interesting sketch, read by a member of the family on that occasion, is typical of the times to which it referred: "Within easy sight of this, their well appointed home, just across yonder hill where woodland glade and Wea Plain so
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gracefully meet, there the country beau and Quaker belle met and loved, and were wed. That wedding, however, was not a carnival of dress. The wedding cortege was not by any means 'imposing.' No train of merry at- tendants enlivened the way of the wedding party, but they two, alone, rudely mounted on horseback, constituted the entire company. They sought out a neighboring 'squire, who, with most adhesive ceremony, joined together the two willing souls in wedlock's holy bonds which have held stout and strong for fifty solid years, and the tie seems to have grown better and stouter and stronger with age and wear. They began life in real earnest at the right place-the very beginning. For two years they rented land in Tippecanoe county, this state, and entered one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government, where he cleared and improved in part, when he sold the same and returned to Tippecanoe county and bought eighty acres of land adjoining his father's in Wayne township. From 1833 to 1835, inclusive, with heavy road wagon and plodding ox-team he hauled through mud and bog load after load of corn and oats to the young burg of Chicago, bringing back in exchange load after load of barrel salt which he disposed of at a profit. The honest margins from these transactions he invested in farm lands on the Wea Plains, to which he added from time to time until he finally became the owner of one thousand and ten acres. Their success in life has been satis- factory indeed, having acquired a valuable estate, nor was their success confined to monetary gains alone. They enjoy others of which they may be justly proud,-three sturdy sons and two loving daughters have grown up to respected manhood and womanhood around them. Those living are Frederick, James, William H., Catherine Kirtley and Sarah A. Crockett. It has been their sad lot, however, to bury two other of their loved ones; John dying when seventeen years of age, and the other in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Murdock are not only the oldest but the only pioneer couple who were married in Wayne township, now living, who reside there."
William T. Murdock was not oblivious to the interests and welfare of others, or the public good. He was many times honored by his fellow citizens with nominations to high positions of trust and profit, and without exception, when he was called to fill the place, he never failed to honor the office and to do credit to himself and his friends. For nine successive years he served his county as one of her most worthy and irreproachable commissioners, and one of her very best financiers, succeeding which for eight years he filled the office of trustee, the unsolicited gift of his township, in a manner more economical and profitable to the public school patrons than any administra- tion enjoyed by them for many years, either before or since. The estates
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of the deceased and the sacred moneys of the fatherless and the widowed were placed, wholly unsought, in his faithful and judicious hands for final settlement or safe keeping. No less than fifty-six estates and guardianships were ably administered by him, all satisfactorily adjusted in the courts of equity and law. Thus the confidence placed in him by his friends and ac- quaintances must have been very great. He was always a Democrat.
This good man was called upon to settle his accounts with this world and to close his eyes on earthly scenes, October 2, 1889, at the age of seventy- eight years. His widow survived him until March, 1901, when she passed to her reward at the home of her eldest son, Frederick Murdock, in Lafay- ette, in the ninety-first year of her age, having retained all her faculties until the last. She is remembered as a loving mother and always contributed to the home a remarkable element of brightness and serenity and she trained her family in the most wholesome environment. She was always sprightly in disposition, and those in her presence always felt encouraged and their burdens lightened. Both she and her honored husband were faithful mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church.
It is no wonder that the descendants of such people of worth should distinguish themselves in various walks of life. Of these, their son, Fred- erick Murdock, is deserving of special notice. He was born in Wayne town- ship, Tippecanoe county, Indiana, December 14, 1836, being the oldest son in the family of William T. Murdock and wife. In his childhood he attended the district schools, later the Farmers' Institute at Danville, Illinois, also the State Normal School at Terre Haute, Indiana. He remained on the home farm which he assisted in developing until his marriage, November 7, 1861, to Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of William and Amelia (King) Stewart, both natives of Ohio. The latter was born in Butler county and when a child she accompanied her parents, Henry King and wife, and located in Montgomery county, Indiana, in the days when the wild prairies and great forests were filled with Indians and wild beasts. William Stewart also came from his native state, Ohio, with his parents to Indiana in the pioneer days. Mr. and Mrs. William Stewart settled at Romney, Randolph township, this county, about 1843, where they lived until Mr. Stewart's death, in October, 1854, at the early age of thirty-seven years. His widow re-married and moved to Waynetown, Montgomery county, and lived there until her death, February 4, 1872, aged forty-eight years. She was the mother of six children by her first marriage and three by her second marriage.
To Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Murdock four children were born, namely: Lillie Belle, born December, 1862, and died in Logansport while on a visit
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to her uncles, February 2, 1882, aged nineteen years; Flora was born March 13, 1863, married Walter E. Doolittle, of Lafayette, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work; William F. was born September 11, 1872; Maud, born October 11, 1879.
After his marriage Mr. Murdock located on a farm of one hundred and sixty-eight acres in Benton county, on the Mudpine, and along the road lead- ing to Parish Grove and Oxford. At that time this farm, which was given him by his father, was valued at three thousand dollars. He had no market for his grain and other products and there was no railroad in the county at that time, so he turned his attention principally to stock raising. Being a keen observer and a good judge of livestock, he made a great success of this industry, having cleared the sum of thirty-five hundred dollars on one herd of two-year-olds. But desiring to return to Tippecanoe county, on December 6, 1865, he purchased a farm of two hundred and forty acres of Joseph N. Taylor located in section 5; it was partly improved, and was as rich land as Wayne township afforded. He moved to this place in February, 1866, pay- ing the sum of four thousand dollars cash for the farm, leaving a balance unpaid of eight thousand six hundred dollars, for which he gave his notes payable in one, two and three years at six per cent. interest with mortgage security. He was a man of undaunted determination and courage, and, by close application to his work and the exercise of good judgment, he paid the balance on his new farm in due time, in the meantime disposing of the farm in Benton county. Success attended his every effort, and in 1870 he erected a beautiful and commodious brick residence, which was then considered the best in Wayne township, and he also erected substantial outbuildings and improved his place in many ways, making it one of the model farms of the county at that time. He added one hundred and eighty-three acres to his original purchase. He took a great deal of interest in his fine farm and the manner in which he managed his crops indicated that he was fully abreast of the times in all matters pertaining to agriculture. His fortune was acquired not by the assistance of any outside forces, or by the generosity of relatives or friends, but by prudent management and close application to his individual affairs. Much of his success, however, was due to the sound counsel, sympa- thy and encouragement of his wife, who is a woman of unusual business acumen and foresight, who has ever managed her affairs with great success and in a manner that excited the admiration of her friends and neighbors.
Later in life Mr. Murdock rented all his farming lands except his home place, to which he gave his close attention.
In 1876 Mr. Murdock visited Philadelphia, by way of Washington
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City and Baltimore and returned home by way of New York city, up the Hudson to Albany, thence to Buffalo and Niagara Falls. In 1886 he made a trip through Kansas, accompanied by his aged father and mother, who visited their sisters, Mrs. William L. Brown, of Sterling, and Mrs. Catherine Tullis, of Great Bend. His parents made their home with him for some time, and he did everything possible for their comfort and enjoyment. He re- mained on his farm in .Wayne township until about 1890, when he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres from his brother, William H. Mur- dock. He thus became the owner of eight hundred and forty acres of land, all in Wayne township, owning three-fourths of a section, besides his original two hundred and forty acres on which his son resided for some time. In November, 1896, Mr. Murdock rented out all his farms and moved to Lafay- ette into a new home which he had erected on Owen street, and here he resided until his death, which occurred June 4, 1905. His health had begun to fail in the preceding winter, and he went to St. Petersburg, Florida, in order to reap the benefits of a more temperate climate, and when warm weather came he returned to Lafayette, but he grew worse to the inevitable end.
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