USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Past and present of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 56
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we come to consider the more salient points in his life history, which has been marked by consecutive industry and invincible spirit, eventuating in his securing a high place in the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen.
Adam Snoddy, the paternal great-grandfather of Alfred N., was a native of bonnie Scotland, but came to America in an early day. His son John, the subject's grandfather, was for many years a resident of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, where he was successfully engaged in farming. . Here he passed the greater part of his life and died. During the war of the Revolu- tion he tock sides with the colonists and fought valiantly for their inde- pendence. He married a. Miss Johnson and they became the parents of four children, namely : William J., Benjamin, John and Mary.
William J. Snoddy, father of Alfred N. Snoddy, was born in Shippens- burg, Pennsylvania, February 7, 1792, and received as good an education as was possible to secure in the schools of that early day. He was reared to the life of a farmer and followed that occupation all his active days. In young manhood he went to Butler county, Ohio, and there, in 1827, married Mary B. Shrader, of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, and who was born in West- moreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1801. They continued to reside in Butler county until 1834, when they moved to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, locating on land which he had entered in 1829. At the time of their removal, Mr. Suoddy also entered three hundred and twenty acres more, this including the land on which Alfred N. Snoddy now lives. This land Mr. Snoddy cleared and improved, erecting a good set of farm buildings and otherwise putting the place in good shape for successful farming, according to the standard of that day. He acquired other land from time to time as he was able, until eventually he owned a total of seven hundred acres.
William J. Snoddy was a man of strong intellect and because of his pro- gressive methods and upright life he commanded the respect of all who knew him. Politically he was a Democrat until . 1856, when he became a Know-Nothing, but still later joined the Republican party, of which he was ever afterward a stanch supporter. He was prominent in public affairs and in 1845 was elected a member of the board of county commissioners, and was twice re-elected to the office, a marked evidence of his popularity and the efficient manner in which he discharged the duties of the office. During his first term of office, the second court house was erected, the details of which were largely under his supervision. In 1855 Mr. Snoddy was elected to the office of county surveyor. In 1847 he had been elected a member of the lower house of the state legislature and served one term to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. In religion he was a member of the Presby-
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terian church and gave to that body an unreserved and hearty support, of- ficiating as elder and contributing liberally of his means to the support of the church and the spread of the gospel. His first membership was with the church at Lafayette and it was necessary for him to ride horseback from his farm, but it is related that he missed but few meetings. William J. Snoddy died in March, 1866, at the age of seventy-four years, and his re- mains lie in the cemetery at Dayton.
Alfred Nevin Snoddy was born April 21, 1834, in Butler county, Ohio, and the same year was brought by his parents to the new home in Tippecanoe county. He first attended school under the instruction of his father, who was one of the first teachers in the township. He subsequently entered Han- over College, at Madison, Indiana, where he was graduated in 1855. The year following his graduation his alma mater conferred upon him the de- gree of Bachelor of Science. During 1856-7 the subject studied medicine under the direction of Dr. Robert O'Ferrell, of Lafayette, and then matric- ulated in the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati, graduating in 1859 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He then entered upon the active prac- tice of his profession at Monroe, Indiana, in partnership with Dr. Moses Baker, under the style of Baker & Snoddy, which relation existed for four years. Then, on the death of his father, the Doctor relinquished his prac- tice and returned to the home farm and took up the active management of the same, to which he has since devoted himself. He has given up active labor, being now practically retired, but he still keeps in close touch with business affairs and under his general oversight the property is kept up to the high standard set by his father. He now owns personally two hundred acres of the old place and has a very comfortable home, in which he takes a justifiable pride. He has in his possession the original sheepskin patent for the land, bearing the signature of Andrew Jackson, which has always remained in possession of the family.
On July 13, 1859, Alfred Snoddy was united in marriage with Mar- garet H. Seawright, a daughter of Hon. Wilson and Martha (Mitchell) Seawright. Her grandfather, Samuel Ramsey Seawright, was one of the first settlers in this part of the state and his remains now rest in beautiful Oxford cemetery. Mrs. Snoddy was a faithful member of the Presbyterian church and was loved by all who knew her. Her death occurred in 1892. To Mr. and Mrs. Snoddy were born the following children: William Wil- son, born August 5, 1860, is deceased; Samuel Alfred, born February II, 1862, resides at Lafayette; Charles Lewellyn, born June 7, 1865, lives at Terre Haute, Indiana ; Martha Bell, born April 6, 1868, at home ; Anna Lyle,
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born June 8, 1872, died April 6, 1876; Edith Elda, born November 28, 1878, lives at Indianapolis.
In politics Mr. Snoddy is a stanch adherent of the Republican party and takes a healthy interest in public affairs. His religious belief is in har- mony with the creed of the Presbyterian church, of which he has been an elder continuously since 1865. In every relation of life he has faithfully per- formed his part and in his last years he is enjoying the confidence and high regard of all who know him.
DAVID ELLIOTT.
The vicissitudes and conditions of pioneer life were not unknown to the subject of this sketch, and, though he has marked the intervening years with "ceaseless toil and endeavor," he has had the satisfaction of realizing that his efforts have been crowned with success, since he stands today as one of the prominent and prosperous farmers of Tippecanoe county and as one of its honored citizens.
David Elliott, who operates a fine farm of three hundred and eighty- four acres in Sheffield township, Tippecanoe county, Indiana, was born in this township on the 22d of September, 1844. He is a son of Robert and Eliza (Roberts) Elliott, early pioneers of Tippecanoe county. Robert Elliott was a native of Perry county, Pennsylvania, and was a son of Charles and
- (Linn) Elliott. In 1829, shortly after their marriage. Robert El-
- liott and wife came to Tippecanoe county and entered land, being among that courageous and sturdy class who actually occupied the hand before the white man's axe had been laid at the roots of the primeval trees. They were recognized as persons of sterling qualities and had a prominent part in the development of the section in which they settled. Both died and are buried in the Dayton cemetery. They were devoted members of the Presbyterian church, in which Mr. Elliott was serving as an elder at the time of his death. He was in politics at first an old-line Whig, but on the formation of the Re- publican party he became identified therewith and was faithful in his al- legiance. At the time of his death he was the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land, all of which he had cleared and developed from the state of wilderness in which it was first found. Robert and Eliza Elliott were the parents of the following children : Charles, who died in early youth ; Mary, who married J. N. Fullinwider, is living near Crawfordsville, Mont-
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gomery county, Indiana; one that died in infancy, unnamed; Martha, de- ceased; Scott served three years in the Union army during the Civil war and then re-enlisted in Company A, Fortieth Regiment Indiana Volunteer In- fantry, and was killed in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia, June 27. 1864, his remains being buried at Dayton; William H. died in 1861; David is the immediate subject of this sketch. Robert Elliott was twice married. his second wife being Jane Wallace, who is deceased. There were no children of this second union.
David Elliott spent his boyhood days under the parental roof and has spent his entire life amid agricultural pursuits, in which he has achieved a distinctive success. His education was confined to what could be obtained in the schools of his boyhood days, which, in comparison with the schools of the twentieth century, were lacking in facilities and methods. He has, however, been a close reader and a keen observer of men and events, and is considered a well-informed man. He has made many permanent and sub- stantial improvements on his home place, not the least of which is a splendid brick residence, modern in style and convenient in appointments. Mr. Elliott keeps in touch with every detail of the business and adopts modern methods and means in his farming operations. His farm comprises three hundred and eighty-four acres and is generally considered one of the best farms in this section of Tippecanoe county.
In 1875 Mr. Elliott married Alice L. Ritchey, a daughter of John and Mariah Ritchey, of Wea township, whose death occurred in 1906. She was a member of the Spring Grove Presbyterian church and hers was a beau- tiful character. Mr. Elliott is a member of the Spring Grove Presbyterian church and takes a live interest in all the activities of that society, being at present one of the elders. Because of his splendid |personal qualities, Mr. Elliott is highly respected by all who know him. It is said of him that he will at any time go out of his way or put himself to almost any inconvenience to accommodate others. He has never been known to break his word and he enjoys the full confidence of his associates.
WILBER A. COCHEL.
The services to agriculture rendered by Purdue University are known only to the initiated. It is one of the great chain of colleges that grew out of the Morril law. of the sixties, which, by donating funds for the establish-
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ment of agricultural schools in the various states, laid the groundwork for the progress of agricultural science which has been so marked a feature of our national development during the last forty years. In co-operation with the great central department at Washington, Purdue and other schools of its kind have been gradually introducing improvements of most vital interest to all who till the ground and incidentally to every citizen of the country. Agricultural science is taught in many departments, each equipped with a competent corps of professors and all the mechanical appliances needful for prosecuting the work. The brightest minds, the best trained men, the very bone and sinew of the land, both physically and intellectually, are drawn on for the experimental work essential to producing the best results and no school of its class surpasses Purdue in the completeness, versatility and varied ac- complishments of its faculty. Through Mr. Cochel we are introduced to that branch of agricultural science known as animal husbandry. It em- braces all the details that enter into improvement of the livestock of the coun- try. Best methods of breeding, natural and sexual selection as taught in the books of evolution, the art of feeding so as to produce the best results, dis- eases of animals and their cure-in fact everything that leads to making a better hog, sheep, horse, steer or cow comes under the general head of animal husbandry. A few biographical details concerning one of the young- est men engaged in this important line of investigation at Purdue will prove of interest to the general reader.
William H. and Charlotte (Calvin) Cochel, natives and residents for a long time of Mahoning county, Ohio, eventually removed to Missouri. The former was a farmer but carried on the business of a hardware and com- mission merchant in connection with his agricultural labors. Wilber A. Cochel, third in their family of nine children, was born at Tipton, Missouri, August 7, 1877, and as he grew up learned something of the routine of farm work by assisting his father at intervals. Meantime his academical education progressed in the common schools, followed by a term in the high school. from which he was graduated in the spring of 1893. Shortly afterwards he entered the University of Missouri and took the academic course, which was terminated by a degree in 1897. Mr. Cochel's first business venture was as a farmer and stock raiser, which he followed for five or six years, during which time he obtained considerable practical knowledge concerning the best methods of feeding stock for profit. Having acquired a fondness for this pursuit and feeling that he had a natural inclination for this business he determined to equip himself for its successful prosecution. With this end in view, he matriculated in the agricultural department of the University
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of Missouri, applied himself assiduously to mastering the principles under- lying the care, selection, breeding and feeding of livestock, and in 1905, after two years of hard study, he was made happy by receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. Almost immediately after his graduation, Mr. Cochel was offered and accepted the position of assistant in that department of the experiment station which deals especially with animal husbandry. At pres- ent he is an associate professor in the department and is regarded as one of Purdue's most promising young scientists. A valuable part of his work is embraced in his lectures before farmers' institutes, where he gives those interested the benefit of his knowledge, both theoretical and practical, in all that relates to the handling of livestock.
Professor Cochel is a member of the American Breeders' Association, the Indiana Live Stock Breeders' Association and is connected with the so- ciety whose object is to study the science of animal nutrition. On the fra- ternal and social side he is a member of the Masonic order and of the Sigma Xi college fraternity. October 1, 1908, Mr. Cochel married Miss Caroline, daughter of Dr. J. W. and Mary (Noble) Fahnestock, of Lafayette. Per- sonally, Mr. Cochel impresses his acquaintances as a fine type of the robust American, capable of much hard labor, both physical and intellectual, me- thodical and studious in habit, an independent investigator, self-contained and possessed of a reserved force which guarantees more than is promised.
WILLIAM SANFORD WASHBURN.
No farmer in Tippecanoe county carries on his work in all its diversified lines with more careful discrimination and foresight that tends to definite success than William Sanford Washburn, the present well-known trustee of Perry township. He was born in Morgan county, Missouri. September 30. 1867, the son of Sidney A. and Amanda (Wilcoxson) Washburn. the for- mer a native of Missouri and the latter of Hendricks county. Indiana. Sid- ney A. Washburn went to Missouri early in life and participated in the de- velopment of the community where he settled. He got only a limited educa- tion, for conditions were primitive in that country and he had to assist with the work on the home place. His parents died there of cholera when he was quite a young man. When he reached manhood he married and continued to live on the old Missouri homestead until 1874, in which year he moved to Pittsfield, Illinois, where he died in 1877. He was a very industrious and
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honorable man.' His widow married again, her second husband being John Meads. She died near Canton, Illinois, in 1880. To Mr. and Mrs. Sidney A. Washburn six children were born, named as follows: Cora, deceased; Mary married Marion Leek, of Warrensburg, Missouri; William Sanford, of this review; Roxie Alice married George Hudson and lives in Amo, In- diana ; Lulu married George Shepherd, who died in 1903; she died February 28, 1909; Evelyn died in childhood. The Washburn family is of Scotch- Irish descent. Mrs. Sidney A. Washburn was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
William S. Washburn attended the common schools at Hebron and Stilesville, Indiana, receiving a fairly good education. After his mother's death he went to live with an uncle, Prof. W. J. Wilcoxson, of Stilesville, with whom he lived for fourteen years. The subject was able to secure a good vocal and some instrumental training. In 1896 he went to Pulaski county, Indiana, and rented land one season, after which he came to Tippe- canoe county and rented land in| Tippecanoe township for three years.
The married life of Mr. Washburn began on December 8, 1898, when he espoused Emma Johnson, who was born in Tippecanoe township, this county, the daughter of Augustus and Anna (Johnson) Johnson, both natives of Sweden, the former having come to America in 1855 and the latter in 1870. He was first married to Martha Wolf, by which union three children were born, William, Charles and Ida. He also had three children by his second wife, namely: Mary, deceased; Emma, wife of Mr. Washburn; Ella, the widow of D. Rohrabaugh, is living at Radnor, Indiana. Two children have blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. William S. Washburn, namely: Frank, born August 7, 1900, and Mabel, born February II, 1903.
In 1899 Mr. Washburn located in Washington township, Tippecanoe county, where he remained four years and then bought one hundred and thirty-nine acres in section 10, Perry township, where he now lives, which was known as the Zimmerman place, which was entered from the govern- ment by the Lisley family. One hundred and ten acres of this place are under cultivation, and many valuable improvements have been made on the place by its present owner, who is a progressive agriculturist in every sense of the word, carrying on diversified farming, raising much grain and stock, especially horses, cattle and hogs. He has a very attractively located home, good barn and plenty of farming implements. He started in life without money or influential friends to aid him, but he has been a hard worker and a good manager and has succeeded admirably well and is among the leading
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young farmers of Perry township. In politics he is a Republican, and, as already stated, is trustee of his township, the duties of which office he very creditably fills. He is a strong temperance man. In his church relations he belongs to the Christian church, while his wife has her membership in the Methodist Episcopal.
LLEWELLYN V. LUDY.
George W. Ludy, father of him whose name appears at the head of this sketch, was a manufacturer of brick and tile, but after carrying on this busi- ness for a number of years is now living in retirement. He married Martha L. Wood and by this union there were two children, a son and a daughter. The latter, Nina E. Ludy, received a special education at the Terre Haute and Marion (Indiana ) Normals, supplemented by a course in the Indianapolis University, and is now a teacher in the public schools of Hartford City.
Llewellyn V. Ludy, the only son, was born at Mill Grove, Indiana, Jan- uary 26, 1875, and received the usual routine education in the common and graded schools of his native village. When he grew up strong enough he as- sisted his father in the brick and tile yard and this employment continued un- til the completion of his eighteenth year. In 1893 he entered Purdue Univer- sity and took a preparatory course, after the completion of which he became a student in the department of mechanical engineering, finishing and grad- uating with the class of 1898, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science and, two years later, the degree of Mechanical Engineering. He was en- gaged at once by the University as assistant in the engineering and laboratory, and ever since has been a prominent factor in this important branch. In due time he was promoted to professor of mechanical engineering. The growth of this department has been great and rapid since Professor Ludy's advent and there are now associated with him seventeen professors and instructors.
Professor Ludy has gained favorable notice not only as a teacher but as a lecturer and writer of books on scientific subjects. Three of his contribu- tions to the domain of applied science have attracted attention in the scientific world. His discussion of principles of the "Air Brake" and his two books on "Locomotive Boilers and Engines" rank high among railroad men. His papers contributed to scientific journals on "Tests of Automobiles." "Phys- ical Tests of Cast Iron and Steel." and kindred subjects have marked him as a master in his special field. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Educa-
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tion. the Indiana Academy of Sciences, and the Indiana Engineering So- ciety. On the social side he is a Tau Beta Pi and a Sigma Xi of Purdue. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and his political convictions are in line with those of the Republican party. Professor Ludy is popular with all classes owing to his companionable disposition, easy address and genial manners.
MICHAEL JOSEPH GOLDEN.
The Goldens represent Irish blood filtrated through Canada and into the United States. Patrick E. Golden came from the old country during or shortly before the Civil war and located in Canada, as a farmer, later be- coming a locomotive engineer on one of the dominion railroads. He mar- ried Helen Moran, also a native of Ireland, and reared a family of seven children, of whom four survive.
Michael Joseph Golden, the only living son, was born at Stratford, Canada, September 17, 1862, but went with his parents to Lawrence, Massa- chusetts, when seven years of age. He obtained a fair education in the local schools and when eighteen years old entered the School of Technology in Boston, where he spent two years in mastering the elementary principles of the mechanic arts. After this experience he obtained a position as book- keeper with a large manufacturing firm at Lawrence and devoted four years to this line of work. His technical education embraced a course in the Massachusetts Institute from 1881 to 1883. in the Institute of Drawing at Hyde Park, Massachusetts, the high school in 1883, and for completion of the work in each of these institutions he holds a degree representing his pro- ficiency. In 1884 he came to Purdue University and began as an instructor in the engineering department when its equipment was scant and crude and only two others engaged in the work. These were Professor Goss, now of Champaign, Illinois, and Lieutenant Stahl of the United States navy. The machinery then in use was very meager and of inferior quality compared to that now doing the work of the department. The equipment at present is complete and of the most modern construction, Purdue being satisfied with nothing less than the best. There are now twenty-two teachers, including principals and assistants, and the entire skilled working force of instructors and builders amounts to seventy-one men. Twenty-two of Professor Gold- en's associates are experts in the trades with which their particular depart- ment has to do. He himself is one of the most accomplished. teachers of
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practical mechanics to be found in any school of technology. Not only has he been thoroughly educated in the theory of applied mechanics in its various branches, but he has added to the learning obtained from books the practical experience to be obtained only from actually doing the work. Professor Golden has held his present position as professor of practical mechanics at Purdue ever since 1890, and during these many years has wrought magical changes in this important branch of education at Lafayette's famous school. Bright young men have been sent out annually to all parts of the country thoroughly qualified to fill any and all positions in the mechanics arts taught at Purdue. They are not immature theorists possessed of a smattering of learning, but trained mechanics ready to take hold and go on with any work in their line entrusted to them. In other words, they do not have to go through a novitiate or apprenticeship, but are already accomplished journey- men, fit to take charge either as an individual mechanic or as a superintendent of cther workmen. This is the value of an education at Purdue and in none of the many departments is it more strikingly demonstrated than in that pre- sided over by Professor Golden.
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