USA > Indiana > Lake County > Reports of the historical secretary of the Old settler and historical association of Lake County, Indiana, 1906 - 1910 > Part 6
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Bonjour location Mand adyel
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there, on the next day, it was determined that on that spot should be their future home. And so, in the fall of 1834, the first settlement in the present town of Crown Point was made. Where that first dwelling house was built is now the office of the Lake County Star.
About one half dozen families might be named as living, before the autumn of 1834 closed, in what became Lake county, especially the families bearing the names of Childers, Crooks, and Ross, the last named having settled in 1833. The Childers family settled in October and the Crooks family in November of 1834.
With this small beginning of six or eight families sev- enty-five years ago, it ought to be a subject of no small interest to see what Lake county has become, and to look at its growth in the last twenty-five years.
Those who have access to the book called "Lake County 1884," which is in some of our libraries, can learn quite fully what the county was then. I will here indicate to some extent what it is now after seventy-five years of growth.
In the first place, our population has increased, from perhaps thirty or forty then, to about seventy or eighty thousand, made up of families not only from other states, but from a large number of the countries of Europe.
From six or eight log cabins in the groves we now have many hundreds of good farm houses with barns and or- chards on our prairies, and thirty-five villages and towns, and three cities, Hammond, East Chicago, and Whiting, with the growing town of Gary soon no doubt to become a city.
We have on our five hundred square miles of surface, twenty-five railroads and going out from Hammond trol- ley lines going out eastward and northward. One can
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go from Hammond into the heart of Chicago for fifteen cents, and on all our steam railroads the fare at present is two cents for each mile.
At all the cities and at Gary are large manufacturing establishments of various kinds, especially large steel mills and a very large oil refinery.
The towns and villages and the farm houses are, to a large extent connected by telephone lines, and the hun- dreds of automobiles owned in the county cannot be with any accuracy estimated. In Crown Point there are about seventy.
Rural mail lines extend over the county carrying to hundreds of homes letters and papers and parcels. There are sewer pipes and water pipes and paved streets and paved sidewalks such as are to be found in modern cities.
In Crown Point is a massive court house and also one at Hammond. $115,000 has lately been expended on the one at Crown Point, and $60,000 has lately been appropri- ated for improving the one at Hammond.
The school houses in the towns and many of those in the country are fine looking and costly structures. The log school house with its large fire place and oil paper for window glass, long ago disappeared. In the public schools of the county are now 340 teachers, and the last enurmeration gave 18,617 school children, 1,668 at Gary. In 1897, 9,834.
There are banks at Crown Point, in Hammond, East Chicago, Whiting, Gary, Hobart, Lowell, and Dyer. And at these places except Dyer papers are published.
There are now in the county seventy churches. There are more than this number, probably eighty, but I can- not readily count them all.
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Thed Sue Smily
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Those who have made Lake county what now it is have worked in different lines. Some have given their ability largely to promote material interests; others have labored earnestly and quite unselfishly in promoting men- tal and spiritual interests. Those of the former class have gained a fair amount of wealth. The others have enjoyed life in the "beautiful hope of doing good," and they have lived. Some who are not fully of either class have made a fair and honest living.
The real estate of the county, of which there was none in 1834, to make any show as taxable property, has been assessed at forty-eight millions of dollars, and its real value is probably two hundred millions. It may be born in mind that the assessed valuation includes railroad property, so that the value of the farms and of the town and city property can only be estimated.
But whatever that value may be no one can deny the statement that Lake county in seventy-five years has made a remarkable growth. What it may be in 1934 no one claims with any certainty to know and hardly to pre- dict. What has been done in seventy-five years is open to the knowledge of the world. ?
On November 7th, there was dedicated at Gary the German Methodist Church building, a structure costing $5,000. The exercises were interesting. A large number of people present, some from Chicago, some from Crown Point, some from other places. The congregation was gathered by the labors of Rev. George Ruff, a promising young man, who succeeded Rev. Dersmier at Crown Point, but finding Gary a needy and promising field, devoted much time there. Rev. Dessmier, of Hammond, also helped at Gary.
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Loss by fire, November 30th. At the Kankakee Marsh Ranche of John Brown and Son, in the afternoon, two large hay barns, a corn crib, and a granary were destroyed by fire, the loss including 70 tons of hay, 1,000 bushels of corn, 1,800 bushels of oats, 300 bushels of barley, also food for stock. Insurance $2,500.
January IIth, 1910. On this day the editor of the Lake County Star, J. J. Wheeler, celebrated the 62d anniversary of his birth. He had been an editor nearly forty years.
On February 11th, a small public sale of personal prop- erty was held at Plum Grove, amounting to about $1,400, and the singular feature of the sale was this, that not a note was given, but it was all settled up at the close of the sale with cash.
On February 16th, which was the 80th anniversary of the birthday of Mrs. A. D. Palmer, of Lowell, formerly of Creston, she received a "shower" of postal cards. Greet- ings came to her, it is stated, from three hundred and six relatives and friends living in twenty states, and forty-five towns, including a great-great-grandson, whose card was sent by his parents residing in Hammond. The "postal shower" was a marked success.
The village of Dyer, lately made an incorporated town by the vote of its inhabitants, elected its first town officers on Monday, February 28th, three trustees, a clerk, and a marshal.
On March Ist, at I o'clock, the East Chicago library was opened to the public.
An event of large interest to the public schools of the county was called a Spelling Contest, for which prepara- tion had for some time been made. All the school pre- cincts were included in the contest, which was held in the
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court house at Crown Point on Saturday, April 2d, 1910. The enlarged court room was filled and crowded with eager and interested school children and their friends.
The spellers used were those known as Alexander's Spellers, of the Indiana series. There were chosen con- testants from the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades. Mem- bers of each grade spelled by themselves. Those of the 4th and 5th grades occupied an hour and ten minutes. Some of the 8th grade kept their places for two hours and fifteen minutes.
The winners in each grade were these: 4th grade, Ruth Perry, of Center township; 5th grade, Ruth Bryant, of Eagle Creek; 6th grade, Esther Holmes, of West Creek; 7th grade, Edna Piepho, of Hanover; 8th grade, Gladys Welsch, of Griffith. Each of these received a dic- tionary. The interest seemed to continue through all the day, till the very close of the contest, and called the atten- tion of all the friends of the schools to the subject of spelling.
On April 15th was held at Hammond the usual Oratori- cal Contest.
Standing of the contestants. No. 1, Milford McNay, of Lowell; 2, Edwin Friederich, of Hammond; 3, Glenn Gorde, of Crown Point; 4, Carl Lennertz, of Hobart ; 5, Oscar Ahlgren, of Whiting; 6, L. Johns, of East Chicago; 7, Page Glenn, of Gary.
Another golden wedding. On Friday, April 15th, the 50th anniversary of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Surprise was celebrated at their home, northeast of Lowell. "It was surely a meeting long to be remembered by all that were there.
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"It was understood that there were to be no presents, yet there were several nice gold presents brought."
May 28th. For several nights in the past week the comet known as Halley's has been a main object of obser- vation. It was seen last night and the night before by citi- zens of Crown Point in very favorable circumstances, so soon as it was sufficiently dark.
A few marriages are to come upon this record. Mar- ried September 7th, 1909, in the Catholic church, by the pastor, Rev. Philip Guethoff, Miss Emma Krost, daughter of John Krost, a settler of fifty-seven years ago, and Edward J. Eder.
Married September 8th, by Rev. T. H. Ball, at his home in Crown Point, Herman V. Purdy and Cora Belle Fuller, also John Murray Turner, son of Alexander Turner, and Mabel E. Craft, granddaughter of Thomas Craft; also, on January 15th, 1910, another representative of an early family, Chester Busch, of Hammond, and Miss Bessie M. Walker, of Whiting.
Married in Chicago, on Thursday, January 27th, our excellent Treasurer, Miss Edith J. Dinwiddie, and Samuel C. Baird, of Lake County.
Two other marriages of members of early families were at the home of Rev. T. H. Ball. On February 16th, in the evening, were married Charles W. Cruzan, of Okla- homa, and Mrs. Emma Castle, a sister of J. J. McCann, of Plum Grove, who was present and his two daughters, thus celebrating the birthday of their aged friend; also, on March 19th, Clifford F. Edgerton, great-grandson of the pioneer, Horace Edgerton, and Miss Zada Mae Stilson, great-great-granddaughter of that pioneer, Obadiah Tay- lor, who died at Cedar Lake in 1839, one of the few, the
nd meeng tog echit -lemmu nithe ysity tay
120
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very few, elderly men coming into this county as early settlers.
Another marriage.
At the home of Mrs. Ross Wilson, in Crown Point, on Wednesday, May 11th, by Rev. E. R. Horton, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Benjamin Hayden, great- grandson of the noted pioneer of West Creek, Nehemiah Hayden, whose descendants are many, and Miss Edith McCay, a niece of Mrs. Wilson and of Mrs. Baldwin, and daughter of Mr. Thomas McCay now of Crown Point.
Married, June 15th, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. T. H. Hall, in Crown Point, by Rev. T. H. Ball, Mr. William H. Newkirk, a brother of Mrs. Hall, and Mrs. Sarah L. Hill, daughter of Elijah Clark, of Lowell, the groom and bride both natives of Lake County.
Married at the home of the bride in Crown Point, June 16th, by Rev. E. R. Horton, Mr. William J. Lowe, of Chicago, and Miss Mabel Crawford, granddaughter of the Brown and Wallace families, of South East Grove, and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Crawford, of Crown Point.
June 16th the mercury reached 90 degrees of heat and the night following was, so far, the hottest of the season. June 17th. The mercury to-day records 92 degrees. Good corn weather has come.
Sunday, June 19th. Hot days and nights continued. At 9:30 Sunday morning mercury marked 90 degrees. Bright sunshine. At 6 o'clock in the evening 86 degrees. June 21st, at noon, 94 degrees; June 22d, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, 96 degrees. A certain 1910 almanac says, under "Weatherprobs," for June 19, 20, 21, 22, "Cooler for a few days."
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Some have passed out this year as in former years from the earthly life.
In the closing summer of 1909, on Sunday, August 29th, Mrs. J. L. Worley, one of our aged members, died at Lowell. She was born in Ohio, June 19, 1828, came to Yates Corner in Porter County when five years of age, and to Lake County in 1843. So most of her long life of more than SI years was passed in or near Lake County.
Died at Lowell, October 28th, Timothy Serjeant, 81 years of age, a pioneer youth, born August 28th, 1828.
Died at his home in Merrillville, November Ist, Sey- mour Wayman, who was born in Charlotteville, New York, May 21st, 1833. He came to Indiana in 1865, was mar- ried in 1867 to Huldah M. Green, a member of a family of early settlers. He was justice of the peace for twenty- one years, was postmaster for a long time and a leader of vocal music. He was a very useful man.
Died November 6th, at the home of his sister, Mrs. Inez Gibson, Stephen H. Wilcox, nearly 70 years of age. He was born at Merrillville, January 24th, 1840, the seventh among the eleven children of Mr. and Mrs. James Campbell Wilcox, who were settlers, as early as 1837, at Wiggins' ¡Point, now Merrillville. He served in the Union Army three years and then in the Navy on the gun- boat Ibex, till the war closed.
Died January 13th, 1910, at her home in Richmond, Miss E. Horney, a teacher in Crown Point, principal of the high school, and a true citizen.
On Wednesday, January 19th, was brought here for burial the body of Thomas Benton Lee, who died quite suddenly in Missouri on Saturday, January 15th. His wife was a daughter of Mr. Amos Brannon, an early
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settler in West Creek. The Lutheran church building, bearing the date of 1886, is a monument of Mr. Lee's work as a contractor and builder. He was for many years a coal dealer in Crown Point.
In the early morning of February IIth, Mrs. Martin Driscoll died at her home in Lowell. She was born Sep- tember 4th, 1841, the oldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Binyon, early settlers, well known in southern Lake and in Porter County. Four of their daughters and "Crip" Binyon, of Cedar Lake, are yet living.
On Sunday, March 20th, was brought from Hammond, to be laid at rest in the cemetery at Crown Point, the body of Edgar C. Wheeler.
The burial services were held at the home of his brother, J. J. Wheeler, editor of the Lake County Star. Edgar C. was born in July, 1856, the younger son of Colonel John Wheeler. His wife was Allie A. Taylor, and so his three sons and two daughters and the grand- children, on their mother's side, are descendants of that aged pioneer, the first Obadiah Taylor, whose descend- ants are now a widespread and worthy family coming originally from Massachusetts.
On Thursday, March 17th, burial services were held at the home of Milo Burge, who died March 14th, aged 76 years and 7 months, his father having settled here as early as 1835.
On March 23d, Mrs. A. D. Palmer, in childhood Mary- etta Burch, who so recently had a postal card birthday cele- bration, passed out of the confines of earth. She was married January 16th, 1849. Her husband yet remains among us and her seven sons and two daughters.
A sudden death. Captain John Douch, for many years
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a prominent citizen of Crown Point, died suddenly in his home on Wednesday morning, April 20th. He was born in Germany July 28, 1824. He served in the Northern Army over four years and was for two terms sheriff of Lake County. He received, as rightfully due, a Grand Army burial. He was a worthy citizen.
Died on Monday, July 18th another war veteran, S. P. Van Winkle, nearly 92 years of age. He was an active citizen of Crown Point for many years, was a war mem- ber of the 12th Indiana Cavalry, and died at the home of a nephew in Walkerton, Indiana.
Also, died suddenly, at his home in Lowell, Amos Brannon, on Wednesday, July 20th, 88 years of age last December. He was the last one of those early settlers on the State Road between the Outlet and the county line. He had lived on his farm for many years. He has left several descendants, children and grandchildren.
Died at Creston on Saturday, June IIth, Amasa Edger- ton, the last of the four sons, Franklin, Alfred, Amos, Amasa, who came with their father, Horace Edgerton, and their three sisters, Freedom, Polly and Esther, in 1836, to become settlers at Cedar Lake.
Amasa Edgerton was born, so says a record from some members of the family, in Erie County, Pennsylvania, August 6th, 1824, and so in two more months would have been 86 years of age. He has been an interested member of this association. He leaves two sons and ten grand- children, some of whom, it is to be hoped, will come in and help fill up the broken ranks. And I close this report of events and marriages and deaths by referring once more to Bryant's Forest Hymn, and asking you to see, to feel, to appreciate-
"How on the faltering footsteps of decay
Youth presses, ever gay and beautiful youth, In all its beautiful forms."
And so the young must take the places of the aged if human organizations are to go on into the rapidly com- ing future years.
BY
D I SIt Sall
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Names of Life Members of the O. S. & H. Association of Lake County.
E. W. Dinwiddie
Mrs. Frances Brownell Oscar Dinwiddie Mrs. M. J. Dinwiddie
John Brown A. A. Sauerman
John E. Fraas
Mathew J. Brown
J. S. Crawford
Mrs. Jennie-Wells Lehman
Sam B. Woods
Claude W. Allman
Johannes Kopelke
George Fisher Mrs. J. Frank Meeker
Harold H. Wheeler
George D. Brannon M. E. Dinwiddie
Mrs. Leonora M. Hart
Mrs. Louise W. Murphey
Mrs. D. A. Root Mrs. Eunice A. Youche Mrs. J. B. Peterson Walter L. Allman Dr. H. P. Swartz
Ernest L. Shortridge William G. Woods
W. R. Curtis H. E. Jones
Herman E. Sasse.
John M. Hack
Mrs. Amelia J. Fisher
L. G. Little
John M. Beckman LeGrand Meyer A. M. Turner Mrs. Edith B. Griffin
H. L. Wheaton Otto J. Bruce Dr. Edward A. Krost
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INDEX.
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Events, Marriages, Deaths.
Anniversaries
5
66
52
66
52.
53
85
.85
58
58
.6
.64
68
Automobiles. 77
Death by. 5
Races of. 73
Crossing on ice
54
Barns.
Hooley
8
Esty ..
9
Bare-headed girls
6
Berries
24
58
Birthdays
65
Churches dedicated. 40
Hammond
41
Lowell
51
Gary. .
84
Crown Point.
Library opened 54
Cedar Lake "dry"
77
Choral Class
25
Deer Story
30
Dyer a town
85
East Chicago.
Library opened. .85
East Chicago
. 20
Cement Co. of.
24
Fuller family .
29
Fires.
At East Chicago 18
At Creston .
..
22
At Brown ranch
85
Foley cemetery
39
Forester picnic.
61
Gifford Road .ex 23
Gary starting
22
Gary growing
45
Gary a city.
81
Grain elevator
38
Gary Land Co. plat ... 38 Gibson Y. M. C. A .... 44 Hammond churches . .41
Ice harvest.
38
Ice factories .
24
Jewish marriages 68
Indiana Society of Chi. 59 Kaiser Eddie, killed .. . 40 Lowell business items . . 38 Lizards. 59
Murry, Mrs. 68
Morgan, Freeman
63
Manufactures
25
New Bank.
24
Nat. Brick Co. 22
New Bank building 19
Odd Fellows Ass'n.
33
Odd Fellows.
62
Open air meetings 78
Oratorical contest.
86
Prof. Armstrong
.26
£
-
5
94
Round house .. 28
Reports of 1906 3
Reports of 1907
32
Reports of 1908
5 I
Reports of 1909
63
Reports of 1910
80
f
Shirt factory
25
Silver Wedding 56
Silver Jubilee
73
A "Strike".
56
School children of '08 .57
Title and Guaranty Co. 10
Verdict, Chicago
. . . 10
Veronia Kretz 23 Welsh service . 18 U. S. Soldiers .. 34 Social events four. 33 Spelling contest 85
Veterans Association .81
Sale, noteworthy. 85 Seventy-five years. 81 Whiting city almanac. . 71 Warriner, L. H . . .... 75 Wheat in Lake county . 78 Voters and aged men .. 41 Ragon Scholars' Assn. 52
MARRIAGES.
In this list of marriages one name of a couple is given, sometimes of the bridegroom, sometimes of the bride; naming the onc. most closely connected with the Associ- ation.
Allman 37
Brown
37
Bibler 37
Burge
61
Burch
87
Bothwell 55
Craft 87
Crawford. 88 Castle. 87
Lincoln
37
Demmon
7I
Dinwiddie
87
Edgerton
19
Edgerton 87.
Farley 65
Fuller . 87
Golden Wed. 75
35
35
Halsted 19
Hill
88
Hill
19
Krost 87
McCay. .. 88
Nicholson 19
Norton. 63
Patton .36
Post. 36
Pierce .. 36
Root. 19
Rockwell 65
Saxton 36
Saxton . 59
Woods. 36
McColley 36
Muzzall
36
Worley
36
McGary 36
Wheeler .37
£
£
一
1
95
DEATHS.
Allman. 46
Endress .
.71
Ames
II
Esty ..
.57
Nicholson
58
Atkins
IO
Edgerton, Mrs 56
Bliss.
49
Amasa.91
Brass .
49
Lewis .. 71
Pierce
52
Brannon
.51
Frazier
Pattee
48
Brannon
.91
Farley
47
Farwell
56
Phillips
49
Babbitt
73
Fuller.
66
Perry
46
Palmer
. 90
Bibler
56
Fancher
70
Post.
Rowins
46
Burge.
90
Groman, Dr .. 56
Ricketts.
.63
Bryant
57
Green, A. Z .. 60 Hayden EdgarII Jacob .. . 66
Serjeant, Ora. 46
Serjeant . .... 89
Sigler, Mrs.W. 78
Sherman.
.49
Simpson
.17
Smith
48
Taylor
15
Taylor
77
Uhter
12
Cutler, Dr . . .. 13
Chapman .... 46
Kygler.
77
Lathrop
69
Latta.
77
Lee, T. B
89
Merrill
12
Meeker
12
Wilkinson
56
McNay
13
Wells .. ..
46
Meyer.
15
Wells, Mrs ... 47 Wheeler, E ... 90
Worley, Mrs .. 89
Woods Harold 54
Wood, T. J .. .. 64
Zacharias. . . . . 17
Michael .
. . 72
Etling.
16
Morey.
.. 72
Vanvalkenburg57 Van Winkle. . . 91
Warner.
72
Wayman
89
Wilcox.
89
Williams
15
" Mrs. J. A. 57 Cheshire W.W.66 Mrs. B.B.71 Church 69
Mandernach .. 14
Millikan
53
Dutton
47
Mann ...
57
Driscoll
.90
Donch
91
Hathaway . . .. 12 Holton, J. S .. 53
Brown, W .... 48
Brown Walter.48
H. S. ... 13
Buderbach. .. 15
Carl, Mrs
56
Cooper.
7
Clark, Mrs. S.67
Herlitz
.51
Kilborn.
II
Clark, Mrs. W.46 Coffey .... .47 Cutler, Mrs. V 50 Clark, O. W .. 55 Clark, J. A. .. 14
Henry .. 66
Janna F.54
Blakeman
7
Bowes.
46
Fauser .
77
Baldwin
67
Gerlach.
12
Plumer
II
Brooks
55
Bibler.
66
Nourse . ...
70
Pierce
.45
Pierce.
47
McColley, Leo 60
AAIRELA
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