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 5

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 5
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 5

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MEMOIRS OF INDIANA.

paraiso College. On the 20th of May, 1882, he began the study of law with Capt. O. T. Chamberlain and was admitted to the bar in 1884, forming a partnership with his present associate in 1886. He was elected city attorney in 1884 and has held the office continuously ever since. During the eight years he has held this office, he has so well acquainted himself with evory branch and question of municipal law that he was well able to perform the duties of his office. In that capacity he has performed honorable and efficient services, and so satisfactorily has he discharged his duties that high esteem has been placed upon his efforts. He has already at- tained a high standing in the legal fraternity and his reputation and record are first- class for integrity and trustworthiness in all matters entrusted to him. In him the community has a faithful and unswerving friend, ever alert to serve its best interest and generous in his contributions toward every movement tending to the general advancement. If he should so desire, the future holds for him political honors, and no one would bear them with more becoming grace or better reflect their lustre. He was married on the 7th of January, 1886, to Miss Mamie E. Wright, daughter of Henry C. Wright, a prominent citizen of Elkhart and ex-mayor of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Turner are members of the Episcopal Church and are universally respected. Although one of the youngest attorneys at the bar of Elkhart, Mr. Turner stands at the head of his profession, and in whatever positions of trust he has been placed he has performed honorable and efficient service, and is entitled, with others, to feel a pride and satisfaction over the result of efforts and labors that have culminated in the glorious Elkhart of to-day. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, I. O. O. F. and K. of P.

JAMES H. STATE, of the law firm of State & Chamberlin, Elkhart, Ind., was born at Lorin, Lewis county, N. Y., May 4, 1855. His parents, John and Theresa (Riley) State, natives of Ireland, came to the United States and settled in that territory, uow known as Adirondack county. In 1870 the family removed to Elkhart county from Madison, Ohio, where they located about 1861, the father dying in Elkhart, June 23, 1892. James H. and his sister Lizzie, their two children, were educated at Madi- son. On coming to Elkhart, the former entered the office of the Review, holding a position there until 1875, when he began the study of law in the office of Hon. M. F. Shuey. Later he studied in the office of Judge Van Fleet for one year and was admitted to the bar in 1877. Beginning practice immediately, the young lawyer enjoyed more than the ordinary success of young men in the profession. In 1879 the partnership with Mr. Chamberlin was formed, and this partnership is to-day the oldest in the city. Fourteen years of practice in a larger city than Elkhart will always influence the public mind, and in the case of this firm such influence bas been a most beneficent character. On May 4, 1876, Mr. State was elected city clerk. He was twenty-two years old that day, and this was the manner in which a majority of the citizens observed his birthday. In 1878 he was re-elected and served for eight years as prosecuting attorney for the city.

His marriage with Miss Kate Snyder of Elkhart was celebrated in 1877. They are the parents of one child, Margie. Mr. State is a Master Mason, a member of the National Union of the Royal Arcanum, and of other benevolent associations. He is the attorney for the Elkhart Water Company, and a member of that corporation. It is said that he is the most brilliant of the young lawyers of Elkhart county; while in addition to his shrewdness and ability as a lawyer he possesses the gift of oratory in a marked degree.

GEN. W. W. DUDLEY, a man gifted with more than the average degree of intel- ligence and shrewdness, and as gallant a soldier as ever wore shoulder straps, is a native of the Green Mountain State, his birth occurring Angust 27, 1842, in Wind- sor county. He completed his education with a course at Russell's Collegiate and Commercial Institute, at New Haven, Conn., which also gave him an excellent mil- itary training. Coming to Indiana in 1860, he embarked in milling, but early in 1861 enlisted for the war and was elected captain of a company in the Nineteenth

PICTORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was promoted, from time to time, to the colonelcy of his regiment, and for gallant and meritorious services at the battle of Gettysburg was breveted brigadier general. Having previously participated in some of the most hotly contested engagements of the war, his military career ended at Gettysburg, where his regiment lost nearly three-fourths of its number on the first day, and where Col. Dudley was so severely wounded in the right leg as to ne- cessitate amputation. From the effects of this wound he remained unfit for any active work for nearly a year, and from the effects of which he is yet a sufferer. In 1866 and again in 1870 he was elected clerk of the Circuit Court of Wayne county, was cashier of the Richmond Savings Bank for a time, and from which he resigned to accept the appointment of United States Marshal for the district of In- diana. Col. Dudley is one of the most prominent Republicans in the State of Indi- ana, and through his superior management the State was kept Republican and cast its electoral vote for President Harrison in 1888. Col. Dudley is an Odd Fellow, a Free Mason, a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and by his marriage with Miss Theresa Fiske is the father of seven children.

BENJAMIN F. STEPHENS, attorney at law, real estate dealer and insurance agent of Elkhart, Ind., has his office at 317} Main street, and in every branch of his business is meeting with marked success. He has a decided veneration for the law, and this, combined with the accuracy of his legal knowledge, lucidity of statement and felicity of illustration has given him the confidence of all his patrons. He was born in Dauphin county, Pa., Jan. 17, 1831, to Andrew and Mary (Braden) Stephens, who were natives of the State of Pennsylvania and of Scotch-Irish descent. The father was an active participant in the war of 1812, and died in Dauphin county, Pa., in 1832, having been a farmer throughont life. He left a widow and six children to mourn their loss, and in the spring of 1852 they turned their footsteps westward and eventnally settled in Elkhart, Ind., where the mother was called from this life in the spring of 1855. B. F. Stephens was only one year old at the death of his father, and owing to this fact his childhood and early manhood was one long struggle with poverty. He lived on a farm until seventeen years of age, attending school dur- ing the winter months; then went to Harrisburg, Pa., and began serving an appren- ticeship at the cabinetmaker's trade, which he completed and then came west with his mother and brothers and sister, and for a few months worked at his trade in Elkhart. In the fall of 1852 he and his brother opened a furniture and under- taker's establishment of their own, subsequently added hardware to their stock, and carried on their business with marked success until 1877, when he sold out to his brother Andrew, who still conducts an undertaking business. Succeeding this, Mr. Stephens engaged in general office business, settling decedents' estates, etc., and reading law, which always possessed considerable charm for him, and in Janu- ary, 1892, he was admitted to the bar of Elkhart county. He makes a specialty of loaning money, drawing up deeds, mortgages, etc., and is doing a thriving busi- ness, and one which is congenial to his tastes. He has served as township trustee two years, four years president of the board of town trustees before it was incorpor- ated as a city, and for six years was a member of the school board, of which he was treasurer and secretary. He is a member of the Scotch-Irish Society of America, is a member of and an earnest worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church, having united with the church March, 1853, and for a number of years was superintendent of the Sabbath-school, and held various other church offices. He is a member of the board of directors and president of the R. R. Y. M. C. A., and there is no organ- ized movement in the city for the alleviation of suffering, for help and succor to earth's unfortunates, which does not receive his warm, strong sympathy and efficient aid. He has been a delegate of the Y. M. C. A. to the international conventions held at Milwaukee, Atlanta, Ga., San Francisco, Philadelphia, Kansas City, and to the sec- retary's conference at Chattanooga, Tenn., Harrisburg, Pa., and Oakland. Cal. His son, H. E. Stephens, is connected with him in business, and the firm is known as

MEMOIRS OF INDIANA.

Stephens & Stephens. They are prosperous, wide-awake and intelligent men of affairs, as the success which has attended their efforts would indicate. On the 4th day of March, 1858, Mr. Stephens was married to Miss Euphemia Martin, a native of New York State, and of two children born to them only one is now living-Herrick E. Although Mr. Stephens' early life was marked by many hardships, his early self- denials taught him to be self-reliant, prudent and economical, and these attributes have since been of great benefit to him. His friends believe in "honor to whom honor is due," and at all times pay him unbounded respect, the outcome of his cor- rect mode of living.

DR. WILLIAM A. NEAL is a medical practitioner of more than local renown, which fact may be in a measure attributed to his love for his profession, and to him the arduous duties of his calling is a "labor of love." Whatever the social or financial con- dition of the patient who seeks his service, no effort ie spared in the treatment of his case, for he believes it the highest duty of the physician to cure the ills to which mankind is heir if it liea within his power to do so. He devotes himself to hia work with conscientious zeal, and gives little regard to the rewards or emoluments that are to follow. He believes in a progressive system of medicine, and notes with eager interest every progressive step taken by his profession. He was born in the city of Elkhart, Ind., January 29, 1836, to Henry and Rebecca (Kiblinger) Neal, who were born in Maryland and Ohio, and were of Welsh and French-German descent, respectively. The paternal grandfather came from Wales and settled near Hagers- town, Md., where he was engaged in farming. About 1858 he located with his family in Elkhart county, Ind., and here his declining years were spent. Henry Neal became a resident of the town of Elkhart in 1835, at which time the population did not exceed 200, and here he opened a harness shop, the first one in the town, which he successfully conducted until his health became so impaired that he gave it up and retired to private life. He died in 1883, in his seventy-sixth year, his wife having been called from life in 1841. They were the parents of two children: Dr. William A. Neal and Mrs. Russ Davis, of Elkhart. Dr. Neal resided in Elkhart until about eighteen years of age, during which time he attended the public schools and obtained a good practical education. He then went to La Fayette, Ind., to pursue his medical studies with Dr. Jewett, with whom he remained some time, after which he entered Rush Medical College of Chicago, which well-known institu- tion he attended in 1856 and 1857. His first work as a practitioner of the healing art was done at New London, Iowa, in the spring of 1857, and there he continued to remain until October, 1861, when the strained relations between the North and South culminated in war, and Dr. Neal enlisted as assistant surgeon in the First Missouri Engineers, and served as such until the close of the war in 1865. He held the rank of captain, and was on field duty the most of his service, being post surgeon at Johnsonville, Tenn., in the spring and summer of 1864. He was with Gen. Sherman on his famous march to the sea, and was mustered out at St. Louis, Mo., July 28, 1865, after which he located for the practice of medicine at Dayton, Mich., which place continued to be his home until November, 1879, since which date Elk- hart, Ind., has been his home and the scene of his labors. He is the author of the "Illustrated History of the Missouri Engineer and the Twenty-fifth Infantry Regiments," which was published in 1889, and is a finely illustrated and authentic work of 320 pages. Dr. Neal is secretary of the Elkhart City Medical Society, secretary of the Elkhart County Medical Society, a member of the Indiana State Medical Society, and of the American Medical Association. In the practice of his profession he has been skillful and successful, and his face is a familiar one in many homes in Elkhart county. He is sympathetic and kindly in disposition, and as a natural consequence many trusts are committed to his care. Socially he is a mem- ber of the Royal Arch Masons, the G. A. R. and the Loyal Legion. He is a Republi- can politically, and always adheres strictly to the principles of his party. In May, 1857, he was married to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. E. H. Lamb, and their

PICTORIAL AND BIOGRAPHIICAL

union has resulted in the birth of four children: Eva (Mrs. Sawyer of Michigan); Harry, and two sons who are deceased. Mrs. Neal is a member of the Congregational Church. Faithful and just in the conduct of his business, Dr. Neal is also skillful and efficient in the practice of medicine, and is without reproach in any of the affairs of life. As a citizen, he has interested himself in the upbuilding of the community, and has given generously of his time, labor and means to promote its advancement, and support and build up its institutions.

HON. WILLIAM H. ENGLISH, nominee of the Democratic party for vice-president of the United States in 1880, and the founder and for nearly a score of years presi- dent of the First National Bank of Indianapolis, was born in the village of Lexing- ton, Scott county, Ind., August 27, 1822, being the son of Maj. Elisha G. and Mahala (Eastin) English, aud grandson of Elisha and Sarah (Wharton) English. His education was such as the common schools of the neighborhood afforded, and a course of three years at South Hanover College. He chose law as his calling, and after a course of reading was admitted to practice in the circuit court at eighteen years of age; was later admitted to practice in the State supreme court, and in his twenty-third year was licensed to proseente his profession in the supreme court of the United States. He practiced his profession for a time, but drifted into politics, and after filling several local positions of trust was chosen principal clerk of the Indiana House of Representatives in 1843 over numerous worthy competitors. In 1850, after having served as clerk in the Treasury Department at Washington, he was selected clerk of the Claims Committee in the United States Senate, and after the session resigned and returned to his home in Indiana. In 1851 he was elected to represent his native county in the State legislature, and at this session, owing to the resignation of Mr. Davis, who was the presiding officer of the House, Mr. Eng- lish was elected speaker to fill the vacancy. In 1852 he was nominated and elected to Congress from his district, re-elected in 1854, was again elected in 1856 against his earnest protests, and again re-elected in 1858. During his Congressional career he was the author of some of the most notable bills of the day and acquired a na- tion il reputation as a debater and statesman. During the war he was offered the command of a regiment by Gov. Morton, but declined, and in person took no active part during that struggle. In 1863 he founded the First National Bank at Indianapolis, and for years turned his attention to banking, in which pursuit he dis- played marked ability. He also acquired considerable interest in the city railroads of Indianapolis, and other stocks, but the prodigious energy he displayed under- mined his health so that in 1877 he resigned the presidency of the bank and an- nounced his intention of retiring from active business pursuits. His unanimous nomination for the vice-presidency in 1880 and the defeat of his party are matters of national history. Mr. English was always a Democrat in politics, and many say he was better than his party. For his life's helpmate, Miss Emma M. Jackson, of Virginia, became his wife November 17, 1847, who died November 14, 1876, after bearing one son and one daughter.

EDWIN FINN is the general manager of the S. D. Kimbark manufacturing estab- lishment at Elkhart, Ind., and in connection with his duties has perfected inventions that are destined to not only make his name famous as an inventor, but rank him among the labor saving mechanics of the age. A native of Milwaukee, Wis., his birth occurred September 19, 1849, being a son of William and Margaret (Page) Finn. The former was a botanist and a farmer and an unusually well posted and esteemed man. He died March 7, 1892, in Green county, Wis., at which place his widow yet lives. Edwin Finn is the eldest of a family of six children and his early youth was passed in acquiring a practical education. When yet a boy he became an employe in a mannfacturing establishment at Milton Junction, Wis., and since that time, with but little exception, he has followed mechanical pursuits. He at- tracted considerable attention by purchasing a saw and planing-mill at Quincy, Mich., and from an almost worthless plant succeeded in building it up to one of the

MEMOIRS OF INDIANA.

best and most productive of its kind in the southern part of the State. He was in- duced in 1886 to become connected with S. D. Kimbark, of Chicago, Ill., assuming full charge of bis establishment at Quincy, Mich .; but in August, 1890, came to Elkhart, Ind., and began the erection of their present establishment. This consists of a main building, two stories high, brick material, 80x400 feet, with a detached but contiguous building one story high 40x212 feet. This is one of the largest and most perfectly equipped manufacturing establishments in the world, is protected by automatic water-works, and is a credit to the skill and ability of Mr. Finn. They manufacture fine carriage bodies, seats, carriage parts, hickory and oak spokes, car- riage and wagon wood-work; employ about one hundred men and transact fully $100,000 worth of business yearly. Mr. Finn is a practical machinist of a high order and a genius for invention. Perhaps the most remarkable product of his fer- tile brain is a multiple antomatic screw driver, the screws set automatically, which has thirty-two drivers and is operated by two men. This machine readily performs work on 200 bodies daily and while not yet completed is already invaluable. A scarcely less serviceable invention of Mr. Finn's is his multiple automatic boring machine, operating sixteen bits, accomplishes work as well as though done by hand and is practically unlimited as to capacity. A mitre saw for making the joint on body panels, after the panels have been securely glued to the frame, is another val- uable addition wrought by Mr. Finn, and its value is most important because it avoids splitting and insures perfect joints. Besides these he has improvements in- vented as attachments to other machinery, which, taken all together, is sufficient to insure him as one of the principal inventors of the age. Mr. Finn is a Republican and a Knight Templar Mason. To his marriage with Miss Franc A. Cummins, one son has been born-Willie L.

JUDGE JOSEPH D. ARNOLD, attorney at law of Elkhart, was born in York township, Elkhart county, Ind., February 14, 1836, a son of A. B. and A. D. (Davis) Arnold, who were natives respectively of New York and Vermont. The Arnold family were early settlers of New England, the paternal grandfather, Joseph Arnold, having come from North Adams, Mass. In an early day he became a resident of the State of New York, where the remainder of his days were passed. His son, A. B. Arnold, was reared to a knowledge of farm life, but in 1835 left the State of New York to remove to Indiana, coming thither in wagons and crossing the Dominion of Canada. They settled in what is now York township, which at that time was very sparsely settled. Heenteredeighty acres of Government land which was heavily timbered, upon which he erected a rude log cabin, and in this rnde dwelling he continued to live nn- til he could make better improvements. After a few years he removed to Wiscon - sin, where his life ended in 1885. He became quite prominent in Elkhart county and held the positions of justice of the peace, township trustee and held various other township offices. He and his wife became the parents of five sons, all of whom are living, four being residents of Wisconsin. On his father's farm the sub- ject of this sketch was brought up to a knowledge of agriculture, and like the majority of farmers' boys received his initiatory training in the old time subscrip- tion and public schools. Later he attended school at Ontario, Indiana and Cleve- land, Ohio. He remained under the shelter of the parental roof until he was twenty-four years of age, during which time he assisted in the duties of the farm, but at that time was made deputy county clerk and held the position from 1860 to 1862. He then began reading law with John H. Baker and after a satisfactory and highly commendable examination he was admitted to the bar in 1863, soon after which he entered upon the practice of his profession in Goshen and Elkhart, con- tinuing until 1871, when he removed to Lake Geneva, Wis., where he engaged in farming until 1879, since which time he has resided at Elkhart. He was prosecut- ing attorney for the district comprising the counties of Elkhart, St. Joseph, Laporte and Marshall, from 1868 to 1870. In the month of May, 1892, he was elected city judge, is prominent in official circles and is a true and tried Republican. He was

PICTORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

married in 1865 to Miss Louise J., daughter of N. F. Brodrick, Esq., by whom he has two children: Glenn B., principal of the high school at Clintonville, Wis., and Halton C., clerk in a drug store at Lake Geneva, Wis. The judge is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

NEHEMIAH F. BRODRICK (deceased). All people of true sensibility and a just regard for the memory of those who have departed this life cherish the details of the history of those whose careers have been marked by uprightness and truth and whose lives have been filled up with acts of usefulness. Mr. Brodrick was a pioneer of Elkhart county and was a member of a family that traced their origin to the isle of Erin, although they came to America during the early history of this country, the grandfather of Nehemiah, Anthony Brodrick, having been a patriot in the Ameri- can Revolution, holding the rank of colonel, and was in the battle of Ticonderoga. After living many years in New Jersey, he accompanied his son Robert, the father of Nehemiah, on his journey westward, but died ou the way, in Fayette county, Penn., in the year 1807. The family continued their journey to Ohio and settled in Montgomery county, Ohio, near Dayton and two years afterward removed to Butler county, in the vicinity of Hamilton. Nehemiah F. Brodrick was born in Sussex county, N. J., April 30, 1805, near the site of the present town of La Fayette, and his early schooling, which was of a very limited character, was obtained in the public schools near Hamilton, Ohio, which he attended until he reached the age of eleven yeare, when he went to Piqua, Ohio, and entered the store of William Johnson. His stay here was brief, for he soon accompanied his father to Allen county (now Auglaize), Ohio, locating at Wapakonets, where his father entered the employ of Col. Johnson, Indian agent, as blacksmith for the Shawnee Indians, which position he retained for twelve years, and so endeared himself to the Wolf tribe that with great pomp and ceremony he was made a member of the tribe and was christened No-sau-tuck-au, or the "guardian." In 1817 Nehemiah F. returned to Piqna, Ohio, where he clerked in the store of Nicholas Greenham until he attained the age of eighteen years, when he returned to Wapakoneta and com- menced the traffic of goods on his own account, the majority of his patrons being the numerous Indians that roamed the country. Mr. Brodrick became thoroughly familiar with the Shawnee language and was able to speak it fluently. In 1829 he was selected by the Indians, and confirmed by the Government, as one of the ap- praisers of their improvements, and to him was intrusted the proceeds, smounting to about $13,000, to distribute among the tribe. He remained in that locality for some twelve years, at the end of which time he removed to Shelby county of the same State, where he sold goods until 1835 at Hardin, near Sidney, filling also the position of surveyor of that county for five years. He was married in 1831 to Margaret Henry, sister of the late Dr. John H. Henry, by whom he had five chil- dren: John H., Charles B., Justus L., Melissa (deceased), and Louise J., wife of Judge Joseph D. Arnold, of Elkhart. In September, 1835, Mr. Brodrick came to Elkhart, which was then a villageof about two hundred inhabitants and found employ- ment in the store of Elijah Beardsley, the only merchant and postmaster of the place. The winter of 1835-6 he taught a three months' term of school, but in 1840, in con- nection with Dr. J. H. Henry, he opened a mercantile establishment, and continued, sometimes with a partner and sometimes without, for nine years, after which he de- voted his time and attention to the duties of justice of the peace and for over twenty-one years adjusted his neighbor's difficulties in a very praisworthy and im- partial manner. He occasionally acted as a surveyor, and surveyed several additions to the town of Elkhart, his duties in this respect being quite arduous. His work was always noted for the care bestowed upon it, as well as for its absolute accuracy. Throughout a long and well-spent life the breath of calumny never found on him a resting place, and all who knew him entertained for him the highest feeling of friend- ship and respect. In politics he was an earnest Republican and in the struggle of the Government to put down the late Rebellion he gave his earnest support to the

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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 5

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

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