USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Past and present of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 62
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Ferdinand Jackson was nine years of age when his mother brought her five children back to her old home in Tippecanoe county, and here he received a fair education in the common schools, considering his opportunity for at- tendance. He was compelled to take upon himself at an early age the burden of making his own living, having practically paid his own way since he was nine years old. At the age of twenty-one years, he married Marinza J. Hain.
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Mrs. Jackson was born in Tippecanoe county on November II, 1848, and is a daughter of Leonard Hain, who was a native of Ohio and an early settler in Tippecanoe county. To Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have been born seven chil- dren, as follows: Alice, born December 4, 1869, married Cassius Hender- son, of Carroll county, Indiana, and is the mother of four children; Benja- min P., born July 25, 1871, and now living in Carroll county, married Mary Gosma, who has borne him one child; Willard L., of West Lafayette, was born June 13, 1874, married Daisy Eichinger and they have one child; Hattie May, born September 7, 1876, became the wife of Joseph Henderson, of Car- roll county, and they have one child; Florinda Bell, born September 10, 1878, is the wife of R. Morehouse, of Carroll county, and they are the parents of four children; Thomas O., born November 5, 1883. is at home, as is Edward, who was born December 22, 1885.
Mr. Jackson has followed agricultural pursuits practically all his life and has been fairly successful in his efforts. He is the owner of a splendid farm in section 2, township 24, Wabash township, and here may be found evidences of the progressive methods followed by the owner of the land. The land was under cultivation when he came into possession of it, but practically all the improvements in the way of buildings have been placed upon it by Mr. Jackson. He has not confined his efforts to any special line of farming, but has raised all the crops common to this section of the country. In politics, Mr. Jackson is a Republican, and gives that party his earnest support. He is deeply interested in county and township affairs, but cares nothing for the honors of office. In religion, he is a member of the Free Baptist church in White county, to which he renders a generous support. In the broadest sense of the term he is a self-made man and is eminently deserving of the con- fidence and esteem which is freely accorded him in the community.
THOMAS JEFFERSON MCCORMICK.
One of the native sons of Tippecanoe county who has here passed his entire life figures as the subject of this sketch, and it is not irrelevant to state that he is one of the most popular and highly esteemed citizens of Wa- bash township, where he is successfully engaged in farming, having a well improved and highly cultivated farm. As a member of one of the leading pioneer families there is here entered the record of the more salient features in his career.
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Thomas Jefferson McCormick was born in Wabash township, Tippe- canoe county, Indiana, on the 8th of April, 1858. His parents were James and Alcinda (Meekens) McCormick, the former of whom was born near Dayton, Ohio, January 17, 1822, and came to Tippecanoe county in 1826. His father, Philip McCormick, entered land here and built a log house where W. W. Young now resides. He cleared much of the land and put it in a fair way for future improvement. His holdings comprised an entire section of land at Jordan Grove and about nine hundred acres west of where Purdue University now stands. Philip McCormick was one of the first settlers in this county and erected the first hewed-log house in Lafayette. When he came here there was but one log house in Lafayette and the land in the vicinity was all wild and unimproved. James McCormick secured what education he could in the primitive schools of that day and added to his school knowledge by persistent reading, so that he was a very well informed man on general topics. He followed the pursuit of agriculture all his life and became one of the best known men in Tippecanoe county. He cared nothing for politics, though at the polls he supported the Republican ticket, as did all the male members of his family. He was the first "squire" in Tippecanoe county. Alcinda Meekens was born in Virginia, close to the coast, and from there she accompanied her family to Madison county, Indiana, and thence to Lafay- ette. Her father was the pioneer butcher of that place, her mother kept one of the first taverns and her brother ran a ferry, so all were prominent in the first days of that city. Alcinda was born on August 31, 1826, and died in February, 1891. To James and Alcinda McCormick were born twelve chil- dren, of whom five are living, namely : Fremont, Thomas J., Joseph Philip, Andrew J. and Ulysses Grant.
Thomas J. McCormick remained at home until 1882, securing in the meanwhile a good education in the common schools. He has followed in the footsteps of his father and has applied himself to agricultural pursuits, in which he has been fairly successful. His splendid farm is located in section II, in addition to which he has forty acres of timber land in section 13. He is practical and progressive in his methods and the appearance of his place indicates him to be a man of splendid taste and good judgment.
In 1882 Mr. McCormick was united in marriage with Rosa Kurtz, who was born in Lafayette on January 23, 1861, the daughter of Daniel and Frederica (Phifer) Kurtz. These parents were both natives of Germany, coming to this country when young. Her mother was born about 1833 and died at the age of seventy-two years, while the father was born in 1831 and died at the comparatively early age of forty-eight years. They were the
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parents of nine children, all of whom are still living. To Mr. and Mrs. McCormick have been born three children, namely: Florence E., born Octo- ber 10, 1883, married Henry Ernest, by whom she has one child, and they reside in Wabash township; Stella, born December 6, 1886, married William A. Childres, who met his death in a railroad accident on the 9th of May, 1908, at Ball's Crossing ; Harry S., born May 2, 1889, is still at home.
Mr. McCormick is a Republican in politics and served his township as road supervisor five years, giving the best of satisfaction. He is not affiliated with any church, but is a generous supporter of churches and benevolent movements generally. He is a man who has, because of his sterling qualities of character, won the respect of all who know him and his home is the center of a large social circle, he and his wife possessing that genial attitude which makes all comers to their home feel their welcome.
JOSEPH WOLF.
From the study of the life history of Joseph Wolf one may learn valu- able lessons. The spirit of self-help is the source of all genuine worth in the individual and is the means of bringing to man success when he has no ad- vantage of wealth or influence to aid him. It illustrates in no uncertain manner what it is possible to accomplish when perseverance and determina. tion form the keynote to a man's life. Depending upon his own resources, looking for no outside aid or support, Mr. Wolf has risen to his present posi- tion in the agricultural circles of Tippecanoe county.
Joseph Wolf is a native son of Tippecanoe county, having been born on Hog-Points December 8, 1849, and is a son of Peter and Susana (Powell) Wolf. Peter Wolf was a native of Ohio, born January 4, 1816, and came to Tippecanoe county when in his fourteenth year, landing here on October 6, 1830. His parents were Mr. and Mrs. Philip Wolf, who had sixteen chil- dren, only six of whom lived to years of maturity. Philip Wolf was a farmer and was one of the first settlers in Tippecanoe county. Peter Wolf was com- pelled to earn his own living from early boyhood. For seven years he was employed in a gristmill at the modest wage of three dollars a month and he worked in the harvest field with a reap hook for thirty-seven and a half cents a day. There were no schools here then and he was not given the opportu- nity to secure much of an cducation. I'e was industrious and energetic and
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his determination to succeed bore fruit, so that eventually he found himself in fairly comfortable circumstances. It is said he was the first man to sell fresh meat in Lafayette. He worked in a slaughterhouse, but frequently sold meat on his own account. He bought veal at one dollar and a half a head and made good money in the retailing of the meat. He paid eleven and a half dollars for the first cow and calf sold in Lafayette, which was considered a fair price, as cows generally sold for seven to nine dollars. Eventually Mr. Wolf turned his attention to farming, to which he applied himself for a while during the summers. He killed much wild game and the subject now has in his possession a rifle eighty-five years old which his father used on his hunt- ing excursions. The subject also owns a pair of hames made by his father. Mr. Wolf cleared four acres of land, for which he received a yoke of calves, made rails for three and a half dollars a thousand and cut cordwood for twenty-five cents a cord, cutting more than one thousand cords. There is thus gained some idea of the conditions which confronted this worthy pioneer in his efforts to get ahead financially.
Susana (Powell) Wolf was born in 1825 and her death occurred in 1871, after a painful illness of fifteen years duration. Her parents were of English birth and she was but a child when the family came to Tippecanoe county. Peter Wolf died in 1896. During his last years he had been in sore straits financially, because of the long and painful illness of his wife, which called for constant financial expense, and, in addition, his son Philip had a sun- stroke, which resulted in total blindness, and in the effort to restore sight to the afflicted man much money was spent. The marriage of Peter and Susana Wolf took place in 1847, and they became the parents of ten children, name- ly: Joseph, the subject of this sketch; Philip. deceased; one unnamed that died in infancy ; John, of Shelby township, this county; George, of Wabash township; Anna, who married a Mr. Jarrell and lives in Shelby township; one that died in infancy unnamed; Charles, of Washington township; Min- nie married a Mr. Bringham and lives in Washington state; Ellen married a Mr. Heffner and lives in Lafayette.
Joseph Wolf remained under the parental roof until after he had at- tained his majority, when he started out for himself. He had attended a few short terms in the subscription schools of the day, but his school edu- cation was limited. Being the eldest of the children, he was compelled most of the time to remain at home and assist in the arduous work of clearing the land and putting it in cultivation. His first independent start was as a farm hand, for which he received but modest wages. Fifty cents in cash was the
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sum total of his capital when he left home. He was a faithful and steady worker and was exceedingly frugal of his means, so that as the months went by his cash capital gradually increased. Eventually he was enabled to buy a tract of land in section 16, Shelby township, for which he paid twenty dollars per acre. The same land is now worth easily one hundred and twenty-five dollars an acre. When he secured the land, it was practically all in timber.
This he cleared off, and tiled and ditched the land, so that it at length became one of the best and most productive tracts of land in that locality. The property is in a fine state of improvement and every detail of the work is under Mr. Wolf's personal supervision. Among other improvements, it may be noted that he has on the place twenty-six swinging gates and one hundred and sixty-five rods of ten-inch tile. The outbuildings are all well cared for and in all respects the place is one that its owner may well feel a pride in.
When Joseph Wolf was twenty-two years old he was married to Emma Dumas, who was a year and four months his junior in age. They kept house for the subject's father for about two years, when they moved to their own property. They became the parents of two children. One child died in in- fancy and the survivor is Ada May, who married Willard Lake; they live at Octagon, Indiana. On the 6th of December, 1876, Mr. Wolf married Luinda Ellen Tull, who was born in Tippecanoe county in 1852, the daugh- ter of William Tull. The children born to this union are as follows: George E., who married Sadie Schwigler and resides in Wabash township. they being the parents of one child; Minnie is the wife of August Bramer, of Wabash township, and they have three children; Peter A. married Josie May Widmier, lives in Shelby township, and they have one child ;: Effie Ioma, who married George Wettschereck, of Wabash township, is the mother of two children ; William J., at home; Charles Grover, at home; Raymond, at home ; Luinda, deceased.
In politics, the subject is a Democrat and has served as supervisor of his township, though he is not in any sense an office seeker. He and his wife are members of the United Brethren church in Wabash township, in which Mr. Wolf takes a very active part. Through the efforts of Mr. Wolf mostly, this church was built, and at the time the work was projected there was but five dollars in the treasury, but he pushed the project through to successful outcome. He has always been a liberal supporter of the church and, though not an educated man, he is a close, reader and a deep thinker and is generally considered a well-informed man. He is public-spirited and took a prominent
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part in securing the construction of many of the gravel roads of the com- munity, donating himself a half-mile of road. When Mr. Wolf started out for himself he had nothing but a team and wagon, and a cow and calf, and the death of his first wife left him heavily in debt, but he has paid off every dollar of incumbrance and is now considered a well-to-do man, this situation being gained only through his own efforts. He is a man of many fine personal qualities of character and enjoys the warm regard of all who know him.
ERNST J. FLUEGEL, PH. D.
E. J. Fluegel, educator, and since 1899 head of the department of Ger- man in Purdue University, is a native of Germany, born at Frankfort-on-the- Main, June 30, 1868. His father, Hon. Joseph Fluegel, by profession a law- yer and for a number of years a judge in his native land, achieved honorable distinction in the legal profession and wielded a wide influence as an official and public-spirited citizen. Hermione Damesburg, wife of Joseph Fluegel, was a native of Prussia, and bore her husband four children, three sons and one daughter, the subject of this sketch being the third in order of birth.
After attending the public schools of his native city until finishing the prescribed course of study, young Ernst obtained a knowledge of the higher branches of learning in a gymnasium, where he completed his preparation for a university training. Later he was graduated from the Universities of Strassburg and Berlin, and, in due time, prosecuted his studies and researches at the University of Bonn, from which, in 1892, he received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Meantime, 1891, he became instructor of German in the gymnasium of Cologne and, the following year, accepted a position as tutor in the family of a distinguished German count, which he held from 1892 until 1896 inclusive, when he resigned the place and came to the United States to engage in educational work on this side of the water. The year following his arrival he became assistant in modern languages in Tuft's Col- lege, Massachusetts, where he taught with marked success until 1898 when he served his connection with that institution for the purpose of accepting the position of instructor in German in the University of Michigan.
Professor Fluegel remained but one year with the latter institution, when he resigned to take charge of the department of German in Purdue Univer- sity, where he entered upon his studies in 1899 and where he has since at-
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tained high standing as an instructor and a wide reputation among the leading educators of Indiana and throughout the central West. From 1902 to 1907 Professor Fluegel was dean of modern languages in the Winona Summer School and since 1908 is holding a similar position in the Summer School of Liberal Arts at Chautauqua, New York, his labors at both places being eminently satisfactory and adding to his already well-established reputation as one of the eminent instructors of his day. He was the first president of the modern language section of the Indiana State Teachers' Association, and the position which he now holds at Purdue requires the services of five assist- ants and is attended by seven hundred and sixty students, being one of the largest, as well as important departments of the university.
Professor Fluegel has always been a close and critical student and in addition to his regular professional duties has done a great deal of other educational work, including a number of able contributions to various educa- tional periodicals, frequent addresses before state teachers' associations, and other assemblages, and he now has in preparation a technical German Reader, with notes and vocabulary, which will soon be in readiness for students. Although an educator and making his professional work paramount to every other consideration, the Professor is also an independent thinker and a broad- minded man of affairs, who keeps in touch with current events and has well defined opinions on all the great questions in which the people are interested. His readings and convictions have led him to support the Republican party, but he can hardly be called a politician, although well informed on the issues of the day and profoundly versed concerning the principles upon which men and parties are at variance. Religiously, the Presbyterian church holds his creed and since becoming a resident of Lafayette he has been a regular at- tendant of the second church of that denomination in the city, also a liberal contributor to its support.
On February 8, 1896, Professor Fluegel was united in marriage with Mary von Liliencron, daughter of William and Catherine von Liliencron, of Leipsic, Germany, the union being without issue. The Professor is a fine type of the accomplished and polished German gentleman, possessing a strong, compact frame, capable of withstanding the vast amount of physical and mental labor to which it has been subjected, and enabling him to discharge with comparative ease, duties and responsibilities which to many would prove onerous and burdensome. His address is pleasing and his manners easy and attractive and while moving among his fellows conscious of the dignity of his position, his modesty is becoming and his presence always a welcome addition to the social circles in which he moves.
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JAMES CARTER.
Ohio has sent a large number of its representative citizens to her sister state on the west, and among this vast number none deserve more credit for what they have done in promoting the general interests of the commu- nities where they have cast their lot in Hoosierdom than James Carter, a farmer in Jackson township, Tippecanoe county, who has gained prosperity through his own honest efforts in connection with the subsequent business prosperity following the early work of transforming the wilderness into fer- tile fields and happy homes. Mr. Carter's birth occurred in Ross county, Ohio, February 18, 1832, and it was there that he received this education, for the most part, in the old-time subscription schools, and he succeeded in gain- ing a good education for those times. He is the son of Robert and Elizabeth (Eyra) Carter, both relatives of Ohio, the former having the distinction of being the first white child born in Chillicothe, the date of his birth being 1804. His wife was born April 25, 1806. They grew up and married in Ross county, that state, and lived on a farm there. In the year 1853 Robert Carter rode on horseback to Indiana and bought two hundred and seven acres of land in Jackson township, for which he paid five dollars per acre. A large part of this land was heavily timbered. In 1855 he moved his family thereto, bringing them overland in covered wagons. That was in the late fall and eight days was required to make the trip, having encoun- tered several snow storms. They erected a rude house and barn upon the land Mr. Carter had previously purchased, and in time had a comfortable home and a good income. Mr. Carter later purchased one hundred and twenty-seven acres additional at twenty-five dollars per acre, making him a total of three hundred and thirty-four acres of good land which he owned at the time of his death. His wife died December 28, 1868, when sixty-two years old, and is buried in the Salem cemetery. Her husband survived her a number of years, remarrying, his last wife being Sarah A. White, who is living in Lafayette.
To Robert Carter and his first wife six children were born, an equal number of boys and girls, four of whom grew to maturity. James of this review being the oldest in order of birth. The other children are, an infant died unnamed; Louise, Abner, Almina and Robert C. Besides James, Rob- ert C. is the only other child living, and resides in Attica, Indiana, retired.
James Carter remained at home on the farm until his marriage, which occurred January 6, 1859, in Ross county, Ohio, to Kezia Wheeland, who
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was born in Ross county, Ohio, April 25, 1839, the daughter of Peter and Catherine Wheeland, both natives of the Buckeye state, the father of Penn- sylvania-Dutch descent. They later moved to Missouri, in which state their deaths occurred. They were the parents of twelve children, Mrs. James Carter being the eleventh in order of birth. Only one member of this large family is now living.
When James Carter married he came at once with his bride to Tippe- canoe county, Indiana, and began working land with his father on the shares. Having prospered, he later purchased two hundred acres, on which he now lives, a part being in this county and a part in Putnam county. He also owns eight hundred acres in New Madrid county, Missouri, near Portageville. He has made all the improvements on the land where he lives, having brought it up to the standard of modern twentieth-century farms in every respect. He has a beautiful and nicely furnished home in the midst of attractive surroundings, having all modern conveniences, and is well fixed to spend his declining years in quiet and ease, having been justly rewarded for his long life of honorable industry. He does not take the active interest in business affairs that he formerly did, but oversees his farm in a general way, carrying on farming in all its diversified phases in a masterly manner. For a number of years he bought hogs and sheep which he shipped to various markets. His land in Missouri is covered with timber in its original state, which he purchased for speculation purposes. Although seventy-seven years of age, he is hale and hearty, has an excellent memory and is an interesting conversationalist.
Mrs. Carter was called to her rest December 28, 1900, at the age of sixty-one years, and she is sleeping the sleep of the just in the Salem ceme- tery. She was a woman of fine Christian character and gracious personality that won hosts of friends.
To Mr. and Mrs. James Carter eight children were born, seven of whom grew to maturity, one dying in infancy, namely: Emma R., deceased; Eliza A .; Elizabeth R .; Peter died in infancy; Lettie M .; Amelia L., de- ceased ; James E. and Robert N. Mr. Carter has eleven grandchildren living, namely : Grace M. Stephens, Jessie C. Stone, Charles F. Nuss, Harry Nuss, Cradle Nuss, Ernest Nuss, Irwin Carter, Ora Nuss, Cedric Carter, Byron Carter and Clara Carter. James Carter is the foster grandfather of Willie Foster, the adopted son of Mr. and Mrs. John Foster. He also has two great-grandchildren, Paul Whitehead and Dorothy Abel.
Among the interesting reminiscences of Mr. Carter is his talk on Abraham Lincoln, whom he knew well and with whom he frequently ate at
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the same table before Mr. Lincoln became President. He was such an admirer of the Great Emancipator that, although he always believed in Democratic principles and is now a Democrat, he voted for Mr. Lincoln. Mr. Carter has never been an office-seeker; however, he has served very cred- itably several different times as supervisor of Jackson township. Mrs. Carter was a member of the Baptist church at the time of her death, and several members of Mr. Carter's family belong to both the Methodist Episcopal and the Christian churches. Although not allied with any particular church, Mr. Carter is a believer in revealed religion and a church-goer, a man who is known to be scrupulously honest in all his dealings with his fellowmen and whose charitable impulses have led him to many a worthy deed-in fact, all who know him are unstinted in their admiration of his worthy and exemplary life.
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