Pictorial and biographical memoirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, Indiana, together with biographies of many prominent men of northern Indiana and of the whole state, both living and dead, Part 46

Author:
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed Brothers
Number of Pages: 786

USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > Pictorial and biographical memoirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, Indiana, together with biographies of many prominent men of northern Indiana and of the whole state, both living and dead > Part 46
USA > Indiana > St Joseph County > Pictorial and biographical memoirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, Indiana, together with biographies of many prominent men of northern Indiana and of the whole state, both living and dead > Part 46

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

JAMES OLIVER. Who has not heard of the Oliver chilled plows and their famous inventor? Truly it is not always that " circumstances make the man," for James Oliver is a shining example to the contrary; and there is no one who envies the suc- cess he has achieved because his indefatigable toil and hours of patient thought and study have brought about a just reward. A native of Liddisdale parish, Rocksburyshire, Scotland, his birth occurred August 28, 1823. When twelve years old he was brought by his parents to the United States, and after about a year's stay in Seneca county, N. Y., the family settled at Mishawaka, Ind. His parents being limited in means, James at the age of thirteen assnmed the responsibilities of manhood and began doing for himself. Early in youth two prominent characteris- tics made themselves manifest in him-a willingness to work at any honorable calling and an aptitude for mechanics. From 1845 to 1855 he was employed by the St. Joseph Iron Company, but in the latter year moved to South Bend, where, in a small way, he began manufacturing plows. Although many trials and adversities were met with during his beginning of a manufacturing career. his inherited Scotch pluck and preseverance, kept his business together, and slowly but gradually it in- creased in prosperity. For years his mind had been occupied with the one great

303

MEMOIRS OF INDIANA.

object of producing a perfectly chilled plow, and although thousands of dollars had been spent by others in unsuccessfully trying to solve this problem, Mr. Oliver still continued his studies and experiments in this direction. Owing to so many others having failed, his friends began to look upon him as half invention mad, while those who had befriended him previously, with money and influence, withdrew their support and left him to struggle alone with black clouds of defeat and failure hanging over him. Day and night, for years, he thought of nothing else, bending every energy to this one great object. His patience and perseverance were at last rewarded, the glorious sun of success dispelled the clouds of despair, and he awoke to find himself famous and riches pouring in upon him. His invention had made him a benefactor to the agriculturista, and his name will never be forgotten by future writers on mechanics and inventors.

DR. SAMUEL L. KILMER is one of the foremost medical practitioners of St. Joseph county, Ind., but first saw the light of day in Ashland county, Ohio, April 12, 1849, being the youngest of s family of five children. In his veins flows sturdy German blood, for at an early day his ancestors emigrated from Hesse Darmstadt to Penn- sylvania, in which State, in the county of Juniata, both his parents were born. His father, Isaac Kilmer, was a man of much force of character and great determination, and possessing & rare power of discrimination, his counsel was much sought by bis neighbors and friends. He was an industrious and successful farmer, charitable to a fault, and no alms-seeker was ever turned away from his door hungry or empty- handed. He died in Elkhart county, Ind., in 1883, at the age of sixty-nine years, of heart disease engendered by hard labor and exposure during his active farming days. Dr. Kilmer's mother, Anna Kilmer, was a woman of singularly gentle and amiable disposition, charitable to the faults of others, no harsh word of censure or criti cism ever being heard from her, for she believed that similar causes and circumstances might have produced similar actions in others also. She was greatly beloved by all who knew her. She died in Elkhart county in 1892, at the advanced age of eighty- one years, of la grippe and pneumonia. Both parents were life-long members of the Mennonite Church and died as they had lived, consistent Christians. When the subject of this sketch was four years old, his parents moved to Elkhart county, Ind., in what was then a new country, and purchased and proceeded to clear up a heavily timbered tract of land of 240 acres and bring it into a state of cultivation. In this work young Samnel assisted as soon as he was physically capable of rendering any aid, and upon this farm, and engaged in its arduous labors and duties, he grew into manhood, availing himself of the meager educational facilities afforded at the time, which consisted principally of three months' district school each year. He learned readily, and this, combined with studiousness, placed him with great regu- larity at the head of his classes. After attending a term at the normal school, in . Goshen, Ind., he began a career as "Hoosier Schoolmaster," teaching his first term at the age of eighteen. The ensuing season he attended an academy at Smithville, Ohio, and again taught district school in Indiana in the several succeeding winter seasons. As a teacher he was a signal success, having a reputation as a rigid disciplinarian and practical instructor of useful knowledge extending into surrounding connties, which made his services much sought after. A special, or select school, taught by him in the village of Jamestown being so markedly successful that it was attended by teachers of public schools for many miles around, who were happy to avail them- selves of his practical methods of teaching for their own improvement in the same occupation. In those days it was the delight and ambition of many of the larger and ruder pupils in the schools to overawe the teacher and break up the school, and numerous were the attempts of the rougher element to break up the evening "spelling schools." Neither of these things ever occurred in a school taught by S. L. Kilmer, his firmness and impartiality always enabling him to win. In those days to "spare the rod " was believed to "spoil the school," and although ever en- deavoring to rule by kindness, at no time did he hesitate to use the rod when it was

304

PICTORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

plain that the interest and welfare of the school demanded it. In 1871 he graduated at the Northwestern Business College and Institute of Penmanship, at Madison, Wis., presided over by that well-known educator, Prof. B. M. Worthington, and subsequently was book-keeper and clerk at the Vilas House in that city, which gave him an opportunity to learn much of business life and a wide acquaintance with the prominent public men of Wisconsin and the traveling public generally. Later he held the position of professor of book-keeping and penmanship in some of the lead- ing business colleges of the country, viz .: The Bryant & Stratton, of Philadelphia, and The Nelson, of Cincinnati. At the latter institution his abilities as an instructor were again quickly demonstrated, inasmuch as a practical business class which he organized in connection with the college, in consequence of & woful lack of knowl- edge of a practical character manifested by the college students, soon outgrew all expectations, numbering over two hundred students, from all classes in life, the clerk, book-keeper, artisan and merchant, and from all ages, from boys to men of forty years or more, the number in the class being limited only by the capacity of the hall Having now, by industry, frugal living and economy, acquired some money, he began the study of medicine, and here again, as formerly, his habits of assiduous appli- cation to his studies carried him readily and rapidly along in the front ranks of hia classes, and after three years' study, in 1879, he graduated from Rush Medical Col- lege, Chicago, Ill., being well known and noted for hia proficiency in all the branches taught in that famous institution. For two sessions he acted as assistant demon- strator of anatomy there, and in consequence of his thorough knowledge of this im- portant branch, was invited by the celebrated surgeon, Prof. Charles T. Parkes, to become his prosector of anatomy also during his last term at college. Of this oppor- tunity he avsiled himself, which threw him much into the company and society of that great surgeon and enabled him frequently to assist him in his immense anrgical practice. Although requested to remain in Chicago and retain his college positiona, with the assurance of promotion to a regular professorship as rapidly as vacancies existed, be declined the tempting offer, and the day after his gradnation he left at once for his chosen field of labor-South Bend, Ind., where he associated himself in the practice of medicine with the late Dr. J. A. Kettring, whose wide reputation as a skillful physician had created a practice far beyond his physical ability to attend, and who, from the knowledge of the excellent record made by Dr. Kilmer at college, and the unusual prominence and distinction he had attained in his classes and with the faculty, in consequence of his thorough knowledge of the sub- jects taught, was desirous of securing him as his professional associate, and to that end he had invited him to join him in a copartnership for the practice of medicine. A very pleasant professional association thus formed was abruptly terminated. some months later by the imperative necessity on the part of Dr. Kettring of taking his wife abroad for the benefit of her health. Dr. Kilmer then entered upon an inde- pendent professional career and his success was phenomenal, especially in surgery, for which branch of his profession he had a decided preference, and to perfect himself in this line he returned to Rush Medical College the following winter and during the entire session devoted his time to the study of surgery and gynecology. Returning to South Bend, he resumed his practice, and has followed it with signal success ever since, except one session that he spent at the Post Graduate Medical College, in New York City, during which time he availed himself of the unrivaled facilities there found in connection with all the best hospitals and most competent instructors and operators for pursuing the study of the details of his specialties. His success as a surgeon and gynecologist is thoroughly established and he numbers his patients from many of the surrounding States, while his celebrated remedies have an established reputation and sale all over the world. He has the faculty of tak- ing advantage of crises as they arise, and being possessed of an inventive mind, is able to design and construct such original appliances as the cases may require. He is a great observer, always seeking for and quick to avail himself of the benefits

305

MEMOIRS OF INDIANA.

to be derived from the discoveries and developments made in the rapid strides in progress of the science and practice of medicine and surgery, whether the discovery was made by himself or others, and is always ready to give credit and do honor to the fortunate individual who discovers any means of alleviating suffering. He is & frequent contributor to medical journals and the articles from his pen are accorded the honor of being copied far and wide, thus giving him a wide professional acquaintance and frequent correspondence from foreign countries. Numerous pub- lishers of medical literature have requested him to become & regular contributor to their publications. Professorships in medical colleges have been tendered him, but as he prefers the practice of medicine to the teaching of it, he has always declined. He has positive opinions upon the subject of temperance, as it affects the health, and has frequent invitations to deliver lectures thereon. He is the author of a physician's pocket account book which gives universal satisfaction. He has been for years surgeon of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway, and medical examiner for numerous life insurance societies. His abhorrence of and opposition to all forms of cruelty are well known, and he has for years been president of the South Bend Humane Society. The Doctor ie a Republican, and although taking no active part in politics, in two separate political campaigns he could have had a unanimons nomination for the State senatorship, his party insisting upon him accepting it. He has also been requested to accept & nomina- tion to the mayoralty of South Bend, but as it would interfere too greatly with his professional labors to engage actively in politics, all political honors have been declined. Dr. Kilmer was married in 1881 to Miss Margaret Knott, of Sumption Prairie, Ind., s most estimable lady and a member of one of the best families in the county. She is a great favorite in social circles. Their married life has been exceptionally happy. They have been blessed with one child, a bright and lovely daughter, Bessie, now seven years of age, the joy and idol of her parents, and universally esteemed by her playmates. Although not a member of any church, the Doctor has s pew in the First Presbyterian Church, for whose pastor, the Rev. Dr. Henry Johnson, he has a profound reverence, and where, with his family, he sttends when his professional labors do not prevent.

JOHN W. BOYD has been a lifelong resident of Mishawaka, is of Scotch descent and comes of s family that settled in America in a very early day. James C. Boyd, the father of John W., was born in East Tennessee, but when about eight years of age went with his father to West Virginia, where he was brought up and learned the trade of a carpenter. One of his fellow apprentices was & young man by the name of Brownlow, who afterward became the famous Parson Brownlow of Tennessee. They both served seven years, and Mr. Boyd afterward became a ship carpenter. He was entirely self-educsted, and almost wholly selfmade. He was married in Leb- anon, Va., to Miss Ann E. Rohr, who was born in Maryland, and they became the parents of eight children: Sarah A., Elizabeth, Lucinda (who died at the age of nineteen years), Margaret C., John W., James C., Robert F. and Charles H. In 1838 Mr. Boyd came to Mishawaka, at which time he brought with him two negroes, a wo- man and her son, whom he set free. Mr. Boyd settled on some wild land eight miles southeast of Mishawska, in Penn township, but two years later he removed to the town and began building freight boats to ply on the St. Joseph River, and at one time was the owner of a fleet of nine boats which made regular voyages between St. Joseph and Three Rivers, Mich., carrying & grest amount of freight during the year. Mr. Boyd was called the Commodore by the old settlers. He carried on this business successfully until the building of the Michigan Southern & Lake Shore Railroad, when the competition in carrying freight ruined him. In 1850 he crossed the plains to California, becoming very wealthy, but unfortunately lost his mines under an old Spanish claim. In 1856 he returned to Mishawaka and turned his st- tention to farming, dying at the age of sixty-four years. He was a man of great energy, and of large and powerful physique, weighing 320 pounds, and at one time

306

PICTORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

lifted a weight of 1,100 pounds. His head was of unusual size, requiring a No. 8} hat, and had to have them made to order. He was an espouser of all measures of morality, was strictly temperate in his habits, and he and his wife were members of the Methodist Church. He was well known by the old pioneers of the county as a strictly honorable man, and was highly regarded by all. John W. Boyd, his son and the subject of this sketch, was born June 21, 1838, on his father's farm in Penn township, and received such education as the common schools of his day afforded. At the age of two years he became a resident of Mishawaka, and here, in the old St. Joseph Iron Works, he learned the trade of plow maker, and for twenty-seven years since has continued to work in the same shops. He became an expert at his trade and in the later years of his labor received the best pay of any workman in the es- tablishment. March 31, 1860 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Isaac and Eliza- beth (Byrket) Friend, the former of whom was born in Kentucky and came to St. Joseph county, Ind., in 1844, settling on a farm in Penn township one mile south of the town. He was one of the substantial men of his section, became a well-to-do farmer, and he and his wife were members of the German Baptist Church. Their children were Barbara, Polly, Elizabeth and Amos. After his marriage Mr. Boyd settled in Lakeville, ten miles south of South Bend, but in 1861 moved to Misha- waka. August 6, 1862, he offered his services to his country and became a private in Company K, Eighty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving with credit until the close of the war, and participating in the battles of Perryville, Mur- freesboro, Franklin, Tallahoma, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Atlanta, and was with Sherman in the greatest march in history-the march to the sea-his division being in advance, supporting the cavalry and was in an almost continuous skirmish. This was one of the longest marches made by an army and Mr. Boyd walked every step of the way. Gen. Sherman afterward said that his men showed themselves superior machines, and in point of endurance superior to the horse and came out in much better condition. Mr. Boyd was also in the battle of Goldsboro, N. C., and was present at Johnston's surrender, from which place he went to Washington, D. C., and took part in the Grand Review. He was honorably discharged at Indian- apolis as orderly sergeant, to which position he had been appointed November 24, 1863. He was at one time detailed to the quartermaster's department as quarter- master sergeant. After the battle of Chickamauga, about November 24, he came home on recruiting service and rejoined the army the following April. Mr. Boyd's career as a soldier was marked by faithfulness to duty, courage and endurance, and he fortunately was not sick or wounded during his entire service, but the severe marches and exposure permanently injured his health, and to this day he is dis- abled by rheumatism and other disorders. At the battle of Atlanta he narrowly escaped death, for he was a large man and at the head of his company, and in the thick of the battle his captain and two men fell at his side and three others near by were wounded. After his gallant service in his country's cause he cheerfully re- sumed the duties of a private citizen, and is justly considered one of the leading men of the place. He has been a member of the town council, belongs to the G. A. R. and is a Republican politically. His long residence in the county has made him well known, and his family is as highly regarded as himself. His chil- dren are: Anna E., who married William Crawford, a merchant of La Porte, Ind., and has one child; Ella S., married Robert McKnight, a farmer in the vicinity of Mishawaka, by whom she has two children, and Mary A., who married Frank E. Hartwick, a book-keeper of Chicago, by whom she has one child. Robert F. Boyd, a brother of John W. Boyd, was a soldier in Company I, Ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and died in 1861 at Cheat Mountain, Va. Another brother, James C., was in the 100 days' service, who died in the silver mines of Arizona.

HORACE H. STEVENS, of Mishawaka, Ind., comes of Puritan stock, his ancestors being among the very first settlers of Plymouth, Mass. This family has become eminent in the affairs of the nation, from the earliest history of the country, and one

307

MEMOIRS OF INDIANA.

of the early members of the family, Col. Ebeneezer Stevens of Revolutionary fame, assisted to throw the tea in the Boston Harbor, and afterward became a celebrated New York banker (see Lossings Field Book of the Revolution and Johnson's Encyclopedia for further history). Solomon H. Stevens, father of Horsce H., was born in Amherst, N. H., April 1, 1804, was reared a farmer and was mainly self- educated, for his school days lasted only three months. At the age of twelve years he was bound out to learn the trade of a baker in the city of Boston, and there he remained until he attained man's estate. He then left "The Hub" and went to Buffalo, N. Y., where he obtained employment at his trade, and there he was mar- ried November 4, 1832, to Miss Clarissa J., daughter of Joseph Stone, & farmer, and to their union the following children were given: Laura, Charles H., John K., Horace H., Clarissa J. and Clark C. After residing in Buffalo for some years, Mr. Stevens moved to Silver Creek, N. Y., but in November, 1842, he turned his face westward and soon found himself at Mishawaka, Ind., where his trade occupied his attention until 1855. By this time he had saved enough means to purchase a farm four miles northeast of the town, and there he resided until the spring of 1863, when he returned to Mishawaka and resided here until he paid the last debt of nature in January, 1874, at the age of seventy years. He always supported the Republican and Whig parties, and for many years was a deacon in the Baptist Church. During the Civil war he was a stanch Union man, and two of his sons, Horace H. and Clark C., were in the Federal army, being members of the same regiment and company. Clark C. died of lung fever contracted from exposure in camp life before he was mustered into the service. Horace H. Stevens was born in Silver Creek, N. Y., May 23, 1840, and obtained his education in the common schools of St. Joseph county, Ind., for he was brought thither by his parents when about two and a half years old. At the age of fifteen he went on to the farm with his father, to whom he gave valuable aid in its cultivation until he entered the army November 6, 1863, becoming a member of Company D, One Hundred and Twenty- eighth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, at Mishawaka, serving until the war closed. He acted in the capacity of teamster, until he was taken sick from exposure, after which he was in the hospital for three months and obtained a furlough, remain- ing at home for fifty days. He then rejoined his regiment, but was again taken sick and again in the hospital for three months and at Chester for five weeks, then was honorably discharged, as the war had ended. After returning to Mishawaka he followed various occupations for some time, but his constitution was greatly broken down by the hardships of his army career, and he has never regained bis old-time vigor. He has always been a model citizen, and has always been strictly temperate and moral, supporting measures for the good of his section in a free- hearted and prompt manner. He has always been a Republican, and has held the office of senior vice-commander in the G. A. R. April 18, 1875, he was married to Mrs. Adelis Lawrence, daughter of Lonis Brunnell, a Frenchman by descent.

HON. TIMOTHY E. HOWARD. To become distinguished at the bar requires not only capacity, but also sound judgment and persevering industry. These qualifica- tions are combined in no gentleman at the St. Joseph county bar to a greater extent than in Timothy E. Howard. A careful and accurate adviser, and an earnest and conscientious advocate, his success st the bar has been achieved by the improvement of opportunities, by untiring diligence, and by close study and correct judgment of men and motives. Like so many of the eminent men of the present day his early career was a humble one, for he was reared on his native farm in the vicinity of Aun Arbor, Mich., where he was born January 27, 1837, and there he soon came to know the meaning of hard work. His parents, Martin and Julia (Beahan) Howard, were both natives of the Isle of Erin, and came to this country in their early days, the former first setting foot on American soil about the year 1832. After s short stay in the Green Mountain State he came to Ann Arbor, Mich., a few miles from where he eventually entered some Government land, then in a very wild state. There, in

308

PICTORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

the midst of the forest, and far from any other human habitation, he erected a little log cabin, where he lived until his means permitted better improvements, and where the subject of this sketch was born. The elder Howard resided on this farm until he paid the last debt of nature in 1851. At the time of his demise he was town- ship clerk, and had held other minor township and district offices. His widow sur- vived him until March, 1892. There are now only three surviving members of their family of seven children: Timothy E., Michael F. and Julia A. Timothy E. Howard was the eldest of the family, and, although but fourteen years of age at the time of his father's desth, he took upon his slender and youthful shoulders the management of the home farm, and with the intelligent counsel and advice of his worthy mother, he made a success of his undertakings. His early education was obtained in the common schools of the rural districts, but he was Ister fortunate enough to be sent to the "Old Seminary " at Ypsilanti, and to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, enjoying in the former institution the instructions of that model tescher, Prof. Joseph Estabrook, and in the latter that of the genial scholar, Dr. Erastus O. Haven. He taught in the district schools near Ann Arbor for two years. About this time he secured a chance to teach and attend school in the Uni- versity of Notre Dame, Ind., and at once gladly closed with the offer, and from that noted institution of learning he gradnated in 1862. In February of that year he forsook his alms mater in order to fight his country's battles and enlisted in Company I, of the Twelfth Michigan Infantry, the fortunes of which he followed until the battle of Shiloh, where he received a gunshot wound in the neck and left shoulder, and was sent to Evansville on a hospital bost and placed in the Marine Hospital, where he remained about two months. Upon recovering he came home on s furlough, and, being honorably discharged as unfit for further duty, he returned to tasching at Notre Dame, graduating therefrom that year. He held his position of instructor in that institution for about twenty years altogether. In 1878 he was elected to the position of county clerk, and served four years, during which time he was also s member of the city council. While st Notre Dame he studied law and received his diploma, but did not practice until the expiration of his term ss county clerk. Since then he has been an active practitioner, and his knowledge of law and his intelligence on all matters of public interest were recognized by his being elected to the office of State senator in 1886, and by being honored with s re-election in 1890. He is the author of the Momence bill for the drainage of the Kankakee Valley, and was chairman of the special senate committee in charge of the school text-book Isw. He secured the extension of the new election law to township and city elections, and drafted the new revenue law. He also introduced and pressed to passage the bill for the establishment of the Appellate Court. He had charge in the Senate of the Indianspolis city charter, also of the suburban street railway bill, both of which became laws. He has served as city attorney of South Bend for four years, and also as county sttorney. In November, 1892, he was elected supreme judge of the State, and took his seat on the bench January 2, 1893. The following extract, written while he was in the State Senate, in 1891, is taken from the Evans- ville Journal, and in every way coincided with the opinion that has been formed of him by those who have noticed his brilliant career, or are personally acquainted with him: " His strength lies in his great fairness and liberality, coupled with & keen discernment of the motives behind actions. He himself never hesitates to explain fully his reasons for any line of action, and when he has explained them there is always s large following of senators who find that they may agree with him exactly. He is a Christian gentleman, mild, courteous, patient, unresentful, a fine illustration of the oft disputed fact that a man of lofty character and unyielding principles can succeed in political life." In 1864 he was married to Miss Julis A. Redmond. They have had ten children, eight of whom are living: Charles, Mary, Edward, Agnes, John, Genevieve, Eleanora and George. Mr. Howard has been & member of the G. A. R. since 1880.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Pictorial and biographical memoirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, Indiana, together with biographies of many prominent men of northern Indiana and of the whole state, both living and dead, Part 46

Author: Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed Brothers Number of Pages: 786

Author:
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed Brothers
Number of Pages: 786