USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Past and present of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 46
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George Irving Christie was born at Winchester, Ontario, Canada, June 22, 1881, and as he grew up received all the educational advantages to be obtained from the schools of his native place. Entering Ontario Agri- cultural College at Guelph in 1898, he spent four years in that institution and was rewarded in June, 1902, with the degree of Bachelor of Scientific Agriculture. During his college course he obtained prominence as a judge in agricultural contests at Ottawa, and in the International Livestock Ex- position, as a participant in this great event, attracted the attention of the faculty of the Iowa State College at Ames, and a call was extended to the brilliant young Canadian to accept the position of assistant in the agronomy department of soils and crops. To this movement we are indebted for the acquisition of Professor Christie as part of the educational force of the United States, and it was a fortunate turn in events that eventually added so valuable a man to the working corps of our state technical college .. In 1903 Professor Christie was honored by the Iowa State College with the degree of Bachelor of Scientific Agriculture, and on the Ist of July, 1905, he came to Purdue University. He was placed at the head of the agricultural extension work, which is embraced in what is perhaps the most important department of the institution. Under Professor Christie's energetic man- agement it has grown very rapidly and he now has five assistants under his supervision. He originated the plan of reaching the farmers directly and utilizes twelve lines of railroad in sending out his celebrated "specials" to all parts of the state. Indeed the work accomplished in the last few years is marvelous and bears all the earmarks of original genius. It is estimated that four thousand seven hundred and forty-six miles have been traveled, and that the attendance of people at the meetings has reached the total of nearly eighty-nine thousand, mostly consisting of farmers, their wives, children and help. From the trains have been distributed over one hundred thousand copies of station bulletins, and altogether such a widespread in- terest was awakened among the farmers as to justify predictions of the
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happiest results in stimulating the desire for agricultural knowledge. On the practical side the outcome was such as to greatly benefit the university. Corn clubs, direct results of this meritorious movement, have been organized in forty-five counties of the state, with a total membership of over six thousand. Nor have the benefits stopped here. As a result of the teaching received, farmers greatly increased their corn crops by better seed selection, better cultivation and more careful methods every way. Not only have there been larger yields of the great cereal, but it has been much improved in quality. Young men as well as their parents became intensely interested and showed an eagerness for education along lines of practical agriculture. Ninety-one boys were sent from the farms to Purdue to spend a week at the expense of county corn clubs and all of them returned home as mission- aries, full of zeal, for the spread of their new knowledge.
June 27, 1906, Professor Christie was married to Ethel, daughter of Truman and Erminia (Moore) Carpenter, of Des Moines, Iowa. Erminia Margaret Christie, born August 10, 1908, is the only child born to this union. Professor Christie has no time for "mere society," though not averse to social intercourse on proper occasions, but he keeps in touch with matters in line with his duties by various connections of an official nature. He is secretary of the Indiana Growers' Association, of the Indiana Commission for the National Corn Exposition, the National Association of the Agri- cultural Extension Workers, and vice-president of the National Corn As- sociation.
ALFRED T. WIANCKO.
Scientific agriculture, so noticeable as a feature of progress in the United States during the last few decades, received its first impulse by the passage of the Morrill act, donating funds for the establishment of agri- cultural colleges in the various states. The experiment station, compara- tively modern, but not regarded as an indispensable aid to agriculture, has been the most important outgrowth of these colleges and their chief achieve- ment in the line of practical advancement. Purdue, the famous Indiana university at Lafayette, has taken the lead in this department of applied science and enjoys high rank all over the world for her contributions to agricultural progress. The faculty has absorbed some of the best talent in the field and given the college the benefit of the most finely trained minds and the most thoroughly educated students of the best equipped schools. The
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results have been noteworthy and of incalculable value to the great industry which lies at the base of national prosperity. A comparatively recent ac- quisition to the educational staff is Alfred T. Wiancko, professor of agronomy and head of the department of agronomy, which has eighteen courses of in- struction, dealing with the study of soils, crops, agricultural engineering, farm management, etc. This brilliant young educator is of German origin. His father, Adolphus Wiancko, was a native of Schweidnitz, Silesia, where his father was a manufacturer of felt goods. Shortly after the death of his father he disposed of his interests in this business and emigrated to Canada in 1871, invested in a farm in the province of Ontario, one hundred miles north of Toronto, and carried on agriculture after the American plan. He married Meta Hildebrandt, a native of Newmarkt, Silesia, by whom he had seven children, five now surviving.
Alfred T. Wiancko, one of the sons, was born at Sparrow Lake, On- tario, Canada, October 16, 1872. After the usual routine in the common schools he entered the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph when six- teen years old and spent the greater portion of the next five years in this institution. Having received his degree of Bachelor of Scientific Agri- culture granted by Toronto University, he secured a government position in the chemical laboratory at Guelph to engage in the special investigation of dairy products. After completion of this task, he spent a year in Minne- sota, as manager of a stock farm in Lyon county, and then returned home to take charge of his father's farm. This engagement, which lasted two years, was followed by an appointment as assistant librarian in the Ontario Agricultural College, to which was later added the duties of instructor in German. In April, 1901, Professor Wiancko came to the United States for permanent residence and obtained an appointment as agricultural ex- perimentalist for the Standard Cattle Company at Ames, Nebraska, where he did laboratory work in connection with crops and soils. He had charge also of sugar beet testing for a factory that was operated by this firm. In the fall of 1901 he went to Nebraska University as instructor in agriculture and assistant agriculturist in the state experiment station, but still retained charge of the cattle company's work. Professor Wiancko's sugar beet tests at Ames were regarded as of sufficient value to justify publication and later were embodied in bulletins 73 and 81 of the Nebraska experiment station. In 1903 Professor Wiancko came to Purdue -University as asso- ciate professor of agriculture, taking charge of the soil and crop work, and in 1905 he was made a full professor. At this time the department of agronomy did not exist as such, but was organized in 1907 and included
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in addition to soil and crop work, agricultural engineering, farm manage- ment and agricultural botany and chemistry, the whole embracing eighteen courses of instruction, given by six instructors, including three full pro- fessors, two assistant professors and one instructor. As head of this de- partment, Professor Wiancko occupies a position of responsibility and one which can be satisfactorily filled only by a man of the highest attainments in these branches of agricultural science. In addition to the technical at- tainments, the position requires a man of executive and administrative tal- ent, infinite capacity for work and exhaustless enthusiasm in carrying it for- ward. All of these qualities are possessed in an eminent degree by Pro- fessor Wiancko, and Purdue is to be congratulated in securing his services in the prime of his life and usefulness. Aside from his other duties, Professor Wiancko has charge of the winter course of eight weeks in agriculture and horticulture, and of the agricultural department in the agricultural experi- ment station, which is connected with Purdue University. The rapid de- velopment of the station work soon required additional help, and two as- sistants, a regular foreman, and a stenographer are now employed.
So busy a man as Professor Wiancko has little time to devote to the social side of life and he is still a bachelor. Though of genial address and not averse to company in his leisure hours, he is a thinker rather than a talker. He seems to have been especially fitted by nature for the delicate work which, through the laboratory of the scientific student, sends forth to the world such remarkable discoveries. He is a member of the American Society of Agronomy, the American Breeders' Association and the Lincoln Club of Lafayette.
WILLIAM J. JONES, JR.
Chemistry, always regarded as one of the leading sciences, is now re- garded as indispensable in connection with agricultural education. In fact, those best informed regard the future development of agriculture as a science dependent upon chemistry more than any other agent of intellectual ad- vancement. Only by chemical analysis can the constituent elements of foods be ascertained or the nature and content of soils be understood. Chemistry tests the value of fertilizers, the comparative merits of various kinds of stock foods and is invaluable in detection of adulterations of all kinds. The agricultural department at Washington keeps a great bureau, employing hundreds of experts, engaged in all the intricate branches of agricultural
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chemistry, whose object it is to enlighten farmers for a more intelligent prose- cution of their calling. Every state supplements this with a subordinate bureau and every college or university teaches classes and confers degrees for proficiency in what is not only a science itself, but one indispensable for the elucidation and effectiveness of other sciences. With this preliminary, it is hardly necessary to add that he who fills the chair of agricultural chem- istry at such a school as Purdue, representing the state in an official capacity, must needs be a man of the first importance as well as the highest accom- plishments, and such a man is William J. Jones, Jr.
The genealogy of the subject's family, traced back three generations, discloses in his maternal great-grandfather Eberhart the mechanical genius who with Albert Gallatin established at. New Geneva, Pennsylvania. the first glass factory west of the Alleghany mountains, and the paternal great- great-grandfather established one of the first iron furnaces west of the moun- tains at Fairchance. Pennsylvania. This furnace is still in use and is known as the Evans Furnace. The descendants were long located in Pennsylvania and there we find William Jones operating as a merchant during the dec- ade preceding the Civil war, and later in Illinois, after his removal to that state. He married Sallie D. Jones, by whom he had two sons. Robert Ben- jamin and William James, Jr.
William J. Jones, Jr., was born at Watseka, Illinois, December 9, 1870. and received his elementary education in the schools of his native town. In 1886, when only sixteen years old. he appeared at Purdue with the high hopes and aspirations that characterize the ambitious youth, entered the preparatory department and after five years of diligent application was gradu- ated in the class of 1891. Purdue is always looking out for young men to fill her subordinate chairs of instruction, with a view to later promotion if they fulfill promise, and the faculty made no mistake when it offered the young man from Watseka a position as assistant chemist. In 1892 he en- tered the experiment station as chief deputy state chemist and held the posi- tion until 1907. Meantime he had been made associate chemist of the sta- tion, and from 1904 had carried on the work involved in the two positions along lines that harmonized with each other so as to produce the best re- sults. September 5. 1907, he became the state chemist and since that time has been at the head of this important work, which has grown greatly since Professor Jones took charge. The chemist and one deputy have increased to five assistants, two inspectors, two helpers and three stenographers, or thirteen all told. Perhaps the most important work done by this department
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of the university has been the inspection of fertilizers sold to farmers. In 1899, when the first fertilizer inspection law was passed, sixty-seven per cent. of the four hundred and eighty-one samples collected were so much differ- ent from the guarantee as to seriously deceive the purchaser and forty-six per cent. did not possess the guaranteed money value. In 1908 out of nine hundred and one samples, only five per cent. fell below standard, which is equivalent to saying that ninety-five per cent. of the two million four hun- dred fifty-seven thousand six hundred and six dollars worth of fertilizers sold to the farmers of Indiana were of the purity required by law. Similar results were obtained in the analysis of feeds used in fattening various kinds of livestock. In 1908 Professor Jones and his busy assistants analyzed nine hundred and one samples of fertilizer and one thousand four hundred and fifty-two samples of feeds. The latter were at first found to be very inferior in quality in many cases, due either to adulteration or poor preparation at the original sources of supply. Drastic reforms were accomplished by the watchfulness and scientific work of the state chemist's department, which were of great benefit to the agricultural classes and to all users of feed and fer- tilizers. By conferring upon him in 1892 the degree of Master of Science and the degree of Agricultural Chemist in 1899, Professor Jones com- pleted his scientific educational course at Purdue, but his studies, so far from ending, had just begun, and it is in the laboratory and the field that he has acquired the knowledge and experience which have made him so valuable a man to his alma mater, his state and the great world of agriculture.
Through membership in various learned bodies and associations, devoted to his line of work, Professor Jones keeps in touch with modern methods and progress. He is a member of the American Association for the Ad- vancement of Science, American Chemical Society, the Association of Of- ficial Agricultural Chemists, Indiana Academy of Science and American Peat Society. He finds time also for the diversions afforded by various fra- ternities, being connected with Masonry in blue lodge, chapter, council, com- mandery, Shrine, besides the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in subordi- nate and encampment, and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is also an honorary member of Purdue Chapter, Alpha Zeta fraternity.
December 25, 1894, Professor Jones married Nellie, daughter of Sam- uel and Elizabeth (Callahan) Parker, of Hammond, Indiana. His family are of the Baptist persuasion in religion, and his political convictions are in line with those of the Republican party. In his personality Professor Jones is an attractive man, as his disposition is genial, his manners affable, and his conversation animated. He is much enamored of his calling and al- ways ready with information bearing upon the work he has done or is
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contemplating. Temperamentally he is quite optimistic and always proves entertaining company by witty repartee, pleasant badinage and comment devoid of any tinge of ill nature.
HARVEY RESER.
Although the "angel of death" has closed the life chapter of Harvey Reser, long a substantial citizen of Tippecanoe county, his influence still per- vades the lives of those with whom he was closely associated, for, although unassuming and a man who delighted in "keeping the even tenor of his way," he made his influence felt among those with whom he mingled owing to his probity of character, his genuine worth and his kindly and genial disposition, gaining a position in his locality as one of the earnest men whose depth of character and strict adherence to principle called forth admiration from his contemporaries. His long life was spent principally as an agriculturist in this county, which he saw develop from the primitive conditions of the early days to the opulent present, and while engaged in the successful prosecution of his own chosen work he was never neglectful of the general welfare of his neighbors, thereby winning and retaining their esteem even after the grave had closed between them.
Harvey Reser was born near Springfield, Ohio, February 4, 1825. He was the son of Jacob and Mary Reser, sterling pioneers, and he was of Ger- man descent. His father was a blacksmith, who came to Ohio from Virginia where he successfully plied his trade. The family moved to Indiana in 1835 and located along the Wea creek in Wea township, where they became well established in due course of time.
Harvey Reser was united in marriage with Sarah Waymire at Dayton, Ohio, September 10, 1857. Soon afterwards they moved to Stockwell where Mr. Reser engaged in farming and traded in cattle. In 1864 he bought of Philip Ensminger a beautiful farm in Wea township, which he added to at different times until he had one of the best farms in that part of the county, on which he lived until his death, July 14, 1906.
Mr. Reser voted for Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and he was present at the Tippecanoe battle-ground at the great political rally in 1840, and it was in- teresting to converse with him on reminiscences of those early times which he remembered so well and delighted in discussing. He was a believer in the Universalist faith. Although he was a very practical man, he did not neglect altogether the esthetic side of his nature, cultivating especially the art of
Harvey Reser
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playing the violin. He left surviving him a widow, a woman of gracious personality, and three sons, namely: Alva O. Reser, the present recorder of Tippecanoe county; Dr. William M. Reser, of Lafayette, and Prof. Ed- ward N. Reser, of the Brooklyn, New York, high school.
Harvey Reser never held or aspired to political offices, but gave his best thought and energy to his farm, which was a model one. To paraphrase Goldsmith's lines it might well be said of him:
Remote from town he lived his life-long race, And ne'er did change nor care to change his place.
CHARLES HENRY SCHULTZ.
It is always pleasant as well as profitable to contemplate the career of a man who has made a success of life and won the honor and respect of his fellow citizens. Such is the record, briefly stated, of the progressive young farmer whose name introduces this sketch. Charles Henry Schultz was. born in Wea township, Tippecanoe county, where he still resides, May 21, 1879, the son of George Schultz, who was born in Hamburg, Germany, February 26, 1833. The latter was the son of Joseph, who died the year George was born. His wife died when George was young, also. George Schultz was the only member of the family to come to America. He re- ceived his education both in Germany and in this country. He was married in the Fatherland in 1854, and soon afterward came to America in an old- fashioned sailing vessel that required a voyage of seven weeks. They landed in New York city, and soon came on to Lafayette, Indiana. Mr. Schultz worked as a laborer for a while and finally was able to purchase twenty acres of land in Randolph township, which was then wild; but he was a hard worker and soon cleared it. Having prospered, he moved to Wea town- ship in 1876, locating in section 35, where he bought one hundred acres, on which there was an old log house and stable. These gave way in time to a comfortable and substantial dwelling and barn. He cleared a great deal of this land and put it under excellent improvements. He was a Demo- crat, hut never aspired for public office, and belonged to the Lutheran church, as did also his wife. The death of George Schultz occurred May 16, 1907, his wife having preceded him to the grave on July 12, 1892. They were the parents of ten children, namely: William, who was a carpenter in Day-
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ton, Indiana, is now deceased; John is a farmer in Berthoud, Colorado; Mary, who married Samuel Hudlow, is deceased; Christopher, who was a farmer in Wea township, is deceased; Sallie, who married Samuel Hudlow, lives in Ordway, Colorado: Minnie, the wife of Fred Tienan, lives in Ord- way, Colorado, also; Fred also lives there, as does also Annie, who married Stephen Ilgenfritz; George, who was a carpenter living at Conroe, this coun- ty, and who married Bertha Holmes, is deceased: Charles Henry, of this review, was the youngest child. He was educated in the common schools in Wea township, remaining at home, assisting with the work about the place until he was twenty-one years old.
Mr. Schultz was married on November 28, 1900, to Bessie McDaniel, of Lafayette, daughter of William and Kate ( Peters) McDaniel, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Pike county, Ohio. They came to Lafayette, Indiana, in 1888, and Mr. McDaniel worked for the Big Four railroad. His death occurred April 11, 1891, and his widow married Alex- ander Ash, and they live in Wea township. The following children were born to William McDaniel and wife: Bessie, wife of Charles H. Schultz. of this review: Nettie; Leone, deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Schultz four children have been born, namely: Minnie Catherine, born June 9, 1901; Ray Edward, born March 2, 1903; Charles Robert, born March 24. 1905: George Wilson Alexander, born June 2, 1907.
After his marriage, Mr .. Schultz took up farming in Lauramie town- ship, Tippecanoe county, which he followed for five years, getting an ex- cellent start. Then he went to Ordway, Colorado, remaining there one sea- son, when he moved to Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a fire- man for the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company. On February 27, 1908, he came back to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, settling in Wea town- ship, where he worked one year for John Kennedy, and then located on the old Schultz homestead, where he now resides. He owns eighty acres of the old place on which lie carries on a general farming business and is living comfortably. He is a Republican in politics, and 'is known as a good man- ager, a hard worker and honorable citizen.
CHARLES McDILL.
The gentleman whose life record is herein briefly outlined needs no introduction to the people of Tippecanoe county, for the McDills have figured prominently in the development of this locality, especially Union and Ran-
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dolph townships, since the pioneer days. Charles McDill was a worthy rep- resentative in every respect of the sterling first settlers here of this name, being known as a man of courage, self-reliance and of the utmost integrity of purpose, as a result of which he has, during his entire life, been accorded the respect due a man of such attributes.
Charles McDill, who was born in this county, June 4, 1854, is one of those men who are able to see greater opportunities in their native com- munity than elsewhere, consequently has remained at home rather than seek uncertain fortune in other states. He had the advantage of receiving a good education, and, having always been a reader and a close observer. he has developed into a far-seeing man of affairs, paying close attention to his business, which has steadily grown until he is rated as one of the substantial and influential men of the county. He is the son of John and Sarah ( Bear) McDill, the former a native of Ross county, Ohio, his birth occurring Feb- ruary 14, 1825, while the latter was a Virginian, having been born in the Old Dominion state in 1824, both representatives of fine old families. They came to Indiana when they were children, locating in Tippecanoe county. where they met and married, and, finding the new country to their liking. they elected to remain here. Their first residence after their marriage was on a farm in Union township, beginning housekeeping in a double log house, which, as they prospered, was later replaced by a more pretentious frame dwelling, convenient and commodious. Substantial improvements were made on the place and bounteous harvests were reaped from year to year as a result of their hard work and judicious management. Here, after a life of unusual industry and honor, John McDill passed to his reward February 7, 1899. His widow, a woman of gracious Christian personality. is still living at the advanced age of eighty-five years on the old homestead in Union township, enjoying good health for one of her advanced years, and possessing an excellent memory, so that her conversation bearing on the pioneer days is at once interesting and instructive. Her daughter Virginia. who has remained unmarried, lives with her, administering to her every want in her declining years.
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