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 63

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 63
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 63

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burden thus fallen to him and devoted his time to cutting wood and hauling it to Goshen with an ox team. In this rugged school he learned habits of thrift and in- dustry which have followed him through life and which have been of material bene- fit to him in his walk through life. In due time he married and became a farmer on his own account in the neighborhood of his father's home. Applying his inborn energy to the farm which he took in hand, it was not long until practical resulte were soon made manifest. In the summer of 1866 he purchased a threshing ma- chine, which he managed during that season, but owing to a spell of sickness that overtook him that fall he was obliged to sell his interest which amounted to $500, which he spent in purchasing one of the finest span of horses in this section of the country. During the winter of that year he led to the altar Miss Lizzie Berlin, who was born in Ohio in 1843, a daughter of John D. Berlin, who died in Locke town- ship, Elkhart county, Ind. He came to this State about 1864 or 1865, purchased a

tract of land in Locke township, but rented his farm as he, himself, was not able to till it owing to old age. He was a Pennsylvanian by birth, of German stock and died about 1876. His wife, Susanna Hoffman, was of German extraction and was called from life about one year after the death of her husband. They reared a fam- ily of four boys and six girls: Soloman, Kate, Lydia, Jesse, Jacob, Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth, Lavinia and Milton. The male members of this family are all dead. After his marriage Mr. Coppes tilled the soil for two or three years, at the end of which time he moved to Missouri and settled in Nodaway county, where he pur- chased a farm on which he lived for about three years. His next move was to re- turn to Elkhart county and he soon after purchased the farm belonging to his fa- ther-in-law for which he paid the sum of $4,000 giving a mortgage for the full amount. He soon had it paid for and in 1881 sold it and removed to Nappanee,

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purchasing a fourth interest in the firm of J. C. Mellinger & Co., which at that time was operating a saw-mill and box factory, and of which his two brothers, John D. and Frank Coppes formed the "Company." This combination continued until 1884, when Mr. Mellinger sold his entire interests to the Coppes Brothers, under which name the firm was known commercially until May 9, 1890, when Mr. Coppes sold his one-third interest in the firm to Daniel Zook, late county clerk of Elkhart county and one of the leading lawyers of this section. It was during the connection of Mr. Coppes with Coppes Brothers that the Nappanee Milling Company's flonring- mill was established, it being now one of the leading milling concerns in the country. It turns out 250 barrels of high grade flour every twenty-four hours, and is sup- plied with the full roller process. The product of this mill is principally shipped to leading markets in Europe, the demand growing faster than the mill can supply. The peculiar facilities for running this mill enables them to manufacture flour st & minimum cost, for all the refuse of their saw-mill and box factory, which under other circumstances. to most firms becomes an actual expense, is by them used as fuel in their flour-mill-not a pound of coal nor stick of cordwood being needed, and thus they can pay high prices for their grain, which attracts to their mill the patronage of the farmers for many miles around. The capacity of the saw-mill belonging to this firm has & capacity of 20,000 feet per day and the box factory has a capacity of

3,500 per day. The western markets offer a ready receptacle for the entire output of the establishment which gives employment to from 50 to 100 men the year round, and the aggregate volume of which business amounts to $500,000 annually. The factory and mill monopolize an area of fourteen acres all told. They pay tempt- ingly high prices for timber, for every portion of the tree is utilized, the refuse being used for fuel and the balance even to the minutest particles, in their box factory. They have a fine line of soft and hard wood lumber of all kinds. and expect to make many improvements and changes in their work ere long. Who will esy that the busy, never-ceasing energy of such a man as Samuel D. Coppes has not been a blessing to Nappanee. He is truly one of the class of men who "achieve greatness," and he well deserves the financial success which has attended his efforts in the past ten years. Afterone year spent in rest and recreation, he, in 1891, projected the erec- tion of a new bank and hotel structure in Nappanee, and although his project met with scant encouragement at first, yet his irresistible spirit would not down until it received the patronage of such men of financial standing as B. Uline, as well as others. At this time Bechtel & Son, owners of the Farmers' and Traders' Bank, expressed a will- ingness to sell, and Mr. Coppes at once purchased the institution of which he took charge May 1, 1891, in which he gave his son, Harvey E. Coppes, an interest and in- 25

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stalled him as teller of the same, J. C. Mellinger being retained as cashier. The bank is established on a solid financial basis, is a handsome two-story brick structure, with safety vault, finished after the most approved modern designs. A general banking business is done, and as a financial medium for the convenience of depositors and the business community in general, it is all that can be required. It has a liberal patronage and enjoys the confidence of the people within a radius of many miles. The acquisition of the bank did not lessen the zeal of Mr. Coppes in pushing to com- pletion the Coppes Hotel which was completed January 20, 1892, and would do credit to a town of 10,000 inhabitants. It is a conspicuous example of the enter- terprise and public spirit of the citizens of Nappanee. Although some eight or ten of the best men of the city were interested in the property S. D. Coppes is the one who has stood by it from its inception and carried the work to a successful comple- tion.

Coppes Hotel is a model of architectural beauty in all its details. Its extreme dimensions are 88 feet front by 85 feet in depth, two stories and basement. A hand- some galvanized iroo front, with large plate windows, etc., give an elegant ap- pearance to this sprightly and very commodious hotel. The main frontage on the first floor is divided into three distinct compartments, viz .: The ground floor, occu- pied by the hotel proper, which is 46x75 feet; the room adjoining (admirably adapted for a first-class barber shop, millinery store, or a doctor's office) is 20x33 feet, and a third room very suitable for a grocery or drug store, 22x85 feet, with a distinct storage room or hall on the upper floor, running back the entire length of the building. On the second floor, devoted to hotel purposes, are twenty first-class bedrooms for the convenience and comfort of transient traffic exclusively, in addition to ladies' and gents' parlor, bath-rooms, closets, etc. A solid stone basement to the height of seven feet, with a cement flooring, is a distinguishing feature of this build- ing, front to rear. Hot and cold water in each room of this hotel will place it in the front rank of the most modern hostelries now being erected. The building through- out will be heated by the latest improved hot-water system. The furnishings and all necessary findings will be of the best. The aim has been to make the "Coppes Hotel" first-class in every particular, and from present appearances the expecta- tions of its projectors will be more than fully realized. The contract price has been $17,000. the architectural designs and superintendence of the work being to the credit of our worthy townsman, Mr. H. F. Frazier, who needs not fear to say that when fully completed there will not be a handsomer or more commodious house in any other town of three times the population than the new "Coppes Hotel" of Nappanee.

The erection of this hotel was instrumental iu bringing many people to the town who erected handsome private residences in the vicinity and made Nappanee a pretty and desirable place in which to reside. There was no such word as fail in Mr. Coppes' vocabulary, and had it not been for his pluck and perseverance, as well as public spirit, there would be no fine hotel, and it is to be doubted if the water- works and electric light plants would yet be in operation in Nappanee, although to the credit of most of the best men in the city, they were allof one mind on this ques- tion, and are equally entitled to praise for their worthy efforts in conjunction with Mr. Coppes. The latter is the owner of 160 acres of fine farming land and has 8 handsome residence on East Main street. He may be said to have made the town of Nappanee what it is and has always been extremely public spirited and patriotic. He is a careful business man and the much-abused phrase "self-made man" may with truth be applied to him. His record as a man of affairs throughout the north- ern portion of the State is enviable, and in his own immediate neighborhood his word is as good as his bond. He and his wife have reared a family of seven chil- dren and have lost two: Minnie, who died at the age of three years, and Jesse, dy- ing at the age of eighteen months; Frank, who was born in Missouri, is a resident of Nappanee and is married to Susan Culp, a native of this county; Clara is attend- ing school, as are also Della; Lillian; Myrtle and Frederick. Harvey Coppes is the

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second son of this family and obtained hiseducation in the high school of Nappanee. From the start he showed good business qualifications and became an expert book- keeper, at an early age taking full charge of the books of the firm of Coppes Bros. Upon the establishment of the Farmers' & Traders' Bank by his father he was made teller, and in this responsible position he has shown himself to be thoroughly reliable, competent and indefatigable. His future is bright with promise, and he bids fair to rival his worthy father as a business man and a public-spirited citizen. He is now in his twenty-third year and, has been a resident of Nappanee since he was eleven years of age, or ever since 1881.

JOHN D. COPPES, a member of the firm of Coppes Bros., & Zook, was the ninth child born to Jacob Coppes, his birth occurring in Jackson township of this county, in 1856, but owing to the straitened circumstances in which his parents were placed during his boyhood, he received limited advantages for obtaining an educa- tion, only attending school a short time during the winter season. At the age of eighteen years he began teaming around the mill owned by Joseph Strohm, in Locke township, and while doing this work he formed the resolution of owning a mill of his own, and a short time after he helped to buy out his employer, and now owns a one- third interest in the same, which has been enlarged five hundred-fold from its original dimensions. During the two years that he worked for others after leaving home, he managed to save $150, and this was his entire capital, when, with his brother Frank, in 1876, they purchased the interest of B. F. Myers in the saw-mill business with J. C. Mellinger, giving him their note for $1,300, running two years at six per cent. The firm is now known as Coppes Bros. & Zook, and it can be said of each of the members of this firm that they are honest, industrions and enterprising young men whose present success is the result of their earnest and persistent efforts. John D. Coppes has been a resident of Nappanee for a number of years and naught has ever been said to his discredit, but much in his praise. He was married in 1879 to Miss Malinda Strohm, daughter of the old saw-miller, Joseph Strohm. She was boro in Elkhart county in 1860, and has borne her husband four children: Marvin, Ervin, Lloyd and Gertrude. Mrs. Coppes is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically Mr. Coppes is a strong Republican. He is & shrewd man of business and has done much to build up the town and advance the business in- terests of the place.

Frank Coppes, a member of the well-known firm of Coppes Bros. & Zook, is a product of Elkhart county, Ind., his birth occurring in Harrison township, in 1858. Like his brother John D., he was reared on his father's farm, where he learned lessons of industry and frugality which were his stepping stones to success in later years. He dutifully remained on the home place engaged in tilling the soil until after the death of his father, who had been a sturdy farmer all his days and had taught his boys habits of sterling integrity and honest labor, and left them the heritage of an unsullied name, which was rather to be desired than great riches. During the year of 1874 Frank worked for Joseph Strohm, and the next year for Mellinger & Myers, at the expiration of which time he had saved the munificent sum of $25 all told, and at once co-operated with his brother John D. in purchasing the one-half interest of Mr. Mellinger in the saw-mill, trusting to energy and good fortune to relieve him of his debt. Time proved the wisdom of this move and he is now in good circumstances financially and occupies a high place in the estimation of his fellows. The career of these gentlemen is a worthy example to all young men who are struggling for a livelihood to go and do likewise, and if they desire success they must labor hard to attain it, especially those who are without capital as these young men were. Frank Coppes was married to Miss Kate Felty, of South Bend, Ind., a daughter of John and Martha (Dunbar) Felty, who have been resi- dents of the State for many years. Mrs. Coppes was born in Lebanon county, Penn., in 1859, the fifth of ten children. Her father is still living at South Bend, but her mother paid the last debt of nature at that place in 1880. To Mr. and Mrs. Frank

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Coppes three children have been born: Bessie, Harold and Claudie, the eldest of whom is attending school, and they occupy a handsome and comfortable dwelling on Madison and Walnut streets in Nappanee.

Daniel Zook, a member of the above-mentioned firm was born in Elkhart county, Ind., in 1851, was reared on a farm, but after reaching his nineteenth year he began alternating his time and attention between saw-milling and teaching a country school for a short period, later turning his attention to the study of law in the office of his brother, A. S. Zook, and H. D. Wilson, one of the leading legal firms of Goshen. He remained there from 1876 to 1882, and there practiced his profession for some time after obtaining his " sheepskin." After coming to Nappanee he con- tinned to follow this occupation for four years, at the end of which time he was elected to the office of county clerk which he filled with credit to himself and friends until 1890, at which time he retired from the office and purchased a one-third inter- est in the firm of Coppes Bros., assuming the place of Samnel D. Coppes in that firm. He has charge of the clerical and financial part of the work, John D. Coppes attends to the saw-mill and box factory business and Frank Coppes haa full control of the flouring-mill and the disposition of its contents. Nappanee has every reason to be proud of this valuable enterprise and the worthy men at its head. They are doing grand work for the town and their highest aim is to go still further upward and onward, that they may yet accomplish much more for the general good. Mr. Zook has a pleasant home and an interesting family. « The firm is doing an annual business of $450,000 and no branch of their business is allowed to be neglected, a large corps of men being required to keep it in working order.

THE ULERY FAMILY. This is one of the most remarkable and worthy families of Elkhart county, Ind., and many years back, during the colonial history of this country, the family tree first took root on American soil. The original founder of the family in America came from Germany about the year 1790, at which time the name was spelled Ulrich, but which afterward became Auglicized and was spelled Ulery. He was the great-grandfather of the present generation and was the one to carve out a home for the family in the New World. He died in Cambria county, Penn. His son, John Ulery, was married to Miss Elizabeth Lehr in Pennsylvania and for some time thereafter made his home near Johnstown, being the owner of a farm in the valley over which the great flood swept in May, 1888. In the year 1818 he sold his farm there, with the intention of moving to Ohio, and to this end loaded his household effects on a boat and atarted down the Ohio River, termi- nating his journey two miles west of Dayton, where he resided on a large farm until 1831, when he sold his farm there to move to Elkhart county, Ind., of which region he had heard flattering accounta. He purchased a farm one mile west of Goshen, and there he died in 1846. From the time he moved to Indiana he made eleven trips on horseback, from Goshen to Dayton, Ohio. He and his wife were members of the German Baptist Church, in which he was a deacon, and politically he was first a Whig but afterward became a Republican. He was much esteemed as a man, and after a useful and well-spent life passed to his reward, his wife's death having also occurred in Elkhart county. They were the parents of a large family of chil- dren, two of whom, Samuel and Daniel, were born in Pennsylvania and removed to Ohio and later to Indiana with their parents, the former locating east of Goshen and the latter in Union township, where his descendants now reside. The other children were barn in Ohio: Jacob and John (who live near Goshen); Susan (who married Jacob Stutzman); Lydia (who married Nicholas Cripe); and Levi, who resides in the vicinity of Goshen. In Cambria county, of the Keystone State, Daniel Ulery first saw the light of day on the 28th of July, 1814. He was four years of age when taken to Ohio, and when his parents started to remove to that State young Daniel determined to remain at his old home, and when the family were all on the boat ready to begin their journey young Daniel started for his old home as fast as he could go and gave his parents quite a chase before he was caught and carried

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on the boat. He was very homesick for some time after reaching Dayton, but time remedied this and he eventually removed to Indiana with the family in the year mentioned above. Goshen, at that time, consisted of a few houses and two small stores. For quite a number of years after their settlement the region was very unhealthy and nearly every summer the family were sick with ague. This was very discouraging, and Daniel made up his mind that he was either going back to Ohio or try to find a place where he did not shake with ague every spring. His father urged him to go south and look for a piece of land for himself, and this advice he followed, entering a quarter section of land in Union township, on which he lived until his death. This land was entered in 1837 in the office at La Porte, soon after which he settled on the land, deadened a lot of the timber and thus laid the foun- dations for his new home, and by good management had it all paid for in four years' time. April 15, 1841, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Davenport and in May they moved s part of their goods to their farm, and until sufficient timber could be hewed for a log house they lived in a tent and did their cooking out of doors. After everything was completed they went back to the old home place, where they farmed until the fall. November 18, 1841, they made a permanent settlement on their new form, and although the weather was delightful they were lonesome, for they had no neighbors and there was little to be heard or seen, except wolves, deer and turkeys, which were very plentiful. Mr. Ulery had only $12 when he settled on his farm, yet he hired a man that winter to chop off the timber from some of his land, for which he paid him $11 and thus had $1 left to carry him through until his wheat crop, which he had put out near Goshen, could be har- vested. Soon after making his settlement he took his team and wagon and drove to his father's home, near Goshen, where he butchered two hogs and started for home the following morning, but his team became mired and could not pull the wagon out and he was compelled to unhitch his team and make his way home with- out his mest, lesving it to be feasted upon by the wolves. Upon his arrival home, at 10 o'clock that night, he was so disheartened that he told his wife if any one would give him 25 cents for his farm he could have it. He returned for his wagon in the morning and was surprised to find that the meat had been untouched. This was but one instance of the trials and hardships which beset the early pioneer, but the life was by no means devoid of pleasure, for to the lover of the chase it offered many inducements, and as a hunter Mr. Ulery was counted among the best in the county. He inherited this characteristic from his father, John Ulery, who was one of the greatest bear hunters in Pennsylvania. Daniel Ulery, however, was never successsful enough to kill a bear, but many other specimens of wild game fell beneath the unerring aim of hia rifle. The first deer he killed after moving to Indi- ana, was in the fall of 1831, one mile northwest of Goshen, on the Elkhart River, which he had to wade twice, although partly frozen over, in order to capture it. The deer proved to be a large one. He killed his second deer on the Elkhart Prairie, east of Goshen. During his time he went out hunting and killed eight deer with four shots from his rifle, two each time. His health was such that he was not able to do much manual labor and consequently had much time to devote to hunt- ing, and at one time he saw a drove of from sixty to seventy but could not get near enough to them to get a shot. In the winter, after killing and dressing s deer, he would hang it up on a sapling until he got ready to take it home, and often had four or five deer hanging in the woods at one time. When he went after his deer he would often tie two together, hang them scross his horse, one on each side, and carry them home in that way. If the snow was deep he would make harness out of Linden bark, fasten two or three together and drag them home. Frequently he would take a sled with him where he had deer hanging and leave it until he was ready to return home, and during his long experience as a hunter he never had but one deer stolen from him while they hung in the woods. Where Nappanee now stands used to be Mr. Ulery's favorite hunting ground, for for many years this was

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where the deer would pass from the north to the south marsh. In the southeast part of the town there used to stand an old vacant building, called the Housour Home, and here Mr. Ulery deposited many deer to keep the wolves from devouring them. The last two deer that Mr. Ulery killed was on the 29th of December, 1865. He heard that three deer had possession of the woods northwest of Locke, and on that day Daniel Ulery with his son, L. D. Ulery, started in pursuit, one of their horses being provided with a bell which was to attract the attention of the deer, and two of the three animals were killed. Mr. Ulery never did any hunting later than the 1st of January. He used to dress his venison nicely, sell the hind quarters at 12 to 20 cents per pound, and the hides sometimes brought him in as high as 65 cents per pound, a Mr. Clem purchasing the last lot at that price. He kept an account of the number of deer he killed and what they brought him until the number had reached over 500 when he lost his book; but he killed a great many after that. He was almost always very successful in handling a gun, but one time accidentally shot and killed one of his horses while trying to bring down a deer for his father who was lying sick at his home near Goshen. But this loss was made good to him by his father, who sent him a good horse in payment, and by hunting soon made enough to purchase another horse. As a marksman he, perhaps, had no equal. One afternoon he went out into the woods and shot fifty-two squirrels, all through the head, not missing one. These he sold in Goshen, at sixpence apiece. The pastime of Isaac Walton was also a great source of pleasure to him, and he took great delight in fishing either with seine, net or spear. . In his early days large fish were very numerous, and in the Elkhart River he speared one pike that weighed thirty-six pounds after the head was taken off. He also did a great deal of fishing with the epear on the Syracuse Lake, taking in the large bass. He was also a fine swimmer and it made but little difference to him whether he was in water or ou dry land; he could help himself. One night, while crossing Syracuse Lake with a Mr. Brumbaugh, he rose to look for the fire on the shore when the boat tipped to one side and threw him out. He swam aronnd to the side of the bost and got in without upsetting it, but in falling lost his spear and the water being deep, he could not find it until two years later, when he saw the handle of the spear ten feet below the surface of the water, the moss having raised it up. He dived for it and secured it.

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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 63

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

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