Noble County, Indiana - The whole text, 1902 (part 3 of 21)

In 1 83 1 the entries and actual settlements closely correspond. Speculators were not attracted until the tide of actual settlement promised such development as would make investment profitable. Land for homes, land for prosperous agriculture, land for leverage, for uplifting the material, moral and social elements of a Christian civilization; land upon which to found a noble future ; such was now the growing demand; and when its permanent continuance was assured, and not until then, the speculators bestirred themselves to "corner" the supply. Should such monopoly in land have been permitted under the public land system of this government? It is an important question, difficult of s'olution in view of the exigencies of the time. The young government was loaded with debt. The country was weak, exhausted by the strain of the Revolutionary war and that of 18 12. The income from sales of the public domain was sorely needed. Yet the question persistently faces the statesman in such emergencies, "Should we he governed by the desirableness of immediate revenue and invite or permit indiscriminate and unconditional sales; or whether it were truer statesmanship to look beyond the present and over the lengthening and widening vistas of the far future, to -

" A vision glorious with rural homes And modest wealth; contented competence With loyal pride; a nation's source of strength And honorable prestige," and in the glow of prophetic and purely patriotic inspiration provide for sales limited to actual settlers, with judicious conditions, in the beginning and throughout?"

Entries Of The Year

Finding that nearly the same close correspondence exists between the entries and actual settlements of 1832 as in 1831, it is believed that a general view of the progress of settlement and home- founding in 1832 can be shown in tabular form more briefly and clearly than by elaborate statement. The following table, therefore, is formulated, showing all the entries in the county in that year : in. Kid acres. June 12. Isaac Cavin. sw qr sec 1. Kin acres. June 111, William McConnell, s hf nw qr sec 1, 80 acres. June 19, Hugh Cavin. ne qr sec 11. Hit I acres.

Analysis of the tables of entries of 1831 and 1832 indicates that in 1831 fifteen persons who were actual settlers purchased land in twenty-two entries or descriptions. Bristol, one of the fifteen, represented eight persons, all the rest were Perry township settlers, and represented about twenty-six persons, making with Bristol about thirty-four ii, the county. Add John Knight and family, who settled about that time, the population reached thirty-nine. Andrew Engler, in his interesting "Recollections," published in the souvenir edition of the Ligonier Leader, says the number of persons who settled in 1832 was about thirty. Before the beginning of 1833 the district had a population (if residents numbering, say seventy-five, of whom about fifty were adults or youths old enough to participate efficiently in the labor and business of converting a wilderness to the uses of civilization.

On Pern's Prairie, the settlers of 1832 were Engle, Stone, Dungan, Miller and Wolf, Wolf being a boarder in Richard Stone's family during the winter of 1832-3. Andrew Engler's reminiscences constitute a valuable source of information about those earliest years, and present some living picture's of Noble county's infancy. With the Engler and Hostetter families, in 1832, came a man named Haines, bringing rude machinery, intending to erect a gristmill. It was to have been located on Indian creek, about two miles southeast of the present site of Ligonier. The work was commenced, but abandoned by Haines, who. sold out to Adam Engler, in the fall of 1832. William Engler, with the assistance of other setlers, set up some parts for immediate use. We quote Andrew Engler's own words on this subject : "The neighbors fixed up the burrs under an oak tree, put the bed on stone blocks, then picked a hole in the runner, put a spike in a stick, fastened it up between the limbs of a tree, and when the corn got dry and hard two men would take hold of the spike and turn. Although the burrs were only thirty inches in diameter, it required elbow grease to do the turning. Having no separator, a deer's hide punched full of holes and stretched on a frame was used to separate the bran from the chaff. The meal made good cakes, and people from necessity were satisfied. It was the best they could do. This was the first mill that ground grain in what is now Xoble county. It was in the fall of iSt,2. A regular mill was built by Mr. Engler several years later."

About this time - the fall of 1832 - several families settled on Haw Patch ; the I Baileys, Givens. Stages, Martins, McDevitts I and Lattas, and the neighborhood of "Buz-

"During- the summer of 1832 a man named Hugh Allison commenced building a sawmill at Rochester, but before he got it finished he had trouble with his workman and sold out." [The table of entries shows that Hugh Allison entered two hundred and forty acres in section 26, in February, 1833. This was six months later than the time when Mr. Engler says he commenced his sawmill at the site of Rochester, which is in section 20. Of course this is not inconsistent with the alleged beginning of the mill in the previous summer. - Ed.]

The first houses were constructed entirely without sawed boards or nails; the walls were of logs; the roofs, split clapboards laid on and held down by heavy poles; the floors were of puncheons, split from logs and hewed to regular thickness, laid on the rough, heavy joists; doorways and windows were sawed in the log walls; doors made of clapboards, swinging on wood hinges and held shut by wooden latches dropped into wooden slots, inside, and raised for opening by pulling a deer skin string or strap fastened to the latch inside and hanging out through the door in daytime, pulled in at bedtime if any intrusion was feared, were securely held down by firm wooden pins inserted over them in the logs; and not unfrequently ponderous bars of tough wood were placed across the bottoms, centers and tops of the doors. There was, however, but little need of these precautions at the time of the first settlement of Noble county. Indians were numerous, but generally peaceable. Yet at that time 1 1832) the occurrence of the Blackhawk war and proximity of the old Indian trail leading toward the scene of hostilities, might well excite some apprehension from the contagion of the war spirit among the surrounding savages, and of sudden attacks by drunken parties.

But, happily, such apprehension proved unfounded. The Indians had received in 1812 a lesson they had not forgotten. The eloquent voice and heroic aspirations of IVcumseh no longer stirred their souls and led them to desperate action for redress and vindication of their rights. The smallest community of white settlers was backed by a nation of irresistible power. They had abandoned all hope of staying the mighty tide of white progression. They were conquered, despoiled of their noble hunting grounds and reduced to the condition of alien beggars on the very soil over which their sway was once complete ami undisputed. The spirit of independence was quenched. Broken hearted, meek and listless, the wretched remnants of a once p werful people were drifting down the current of destiny to the abyss of extinction. Yet their fate had in it the elements of poetic justice. They were being ejected from the lands from which their ancestors had forcibly and outrageously driven the native owners, the Miamis, more than a hundred years before.

We omit many names of lake- and creeks, because the names they now bear were given by settlers long afterwards, the object now being to indicate the progress of settlement, and the actual conditions, physical and material, at the close of 1832. The mail roughly indicates this condition with sufficient exactitude for the purpose of history, but the scale is too small to locate precisely the situation of dwellings mi the plats of sections and the characteristic features of landscape environments. No attention having been bestowed upon such things contemporaneously, it is impossible, except in a fewcases, to give truthful pen pictures now. If John Smith's cabin stood on the brink of a ravine, through which flowed a stream that in times of flood became dangerous, and accidents or serious inconveniences and injury resulted; if pigs or cattle, or both, were lost and children were drowned or borne away and rescued with difficulty - so much of the lives of the pioneer families, so much of interesting and influential fact and of the philosophy of the progress of improvement and the advance of civilization are lost from the treasury of historic truths that, simple and apparently insignificant as they may seem to superficial observers and thinkers, they often mean much and involve considerations of importance in relation to the welfare of families and, of course, to community, state and nation.

"The flutter of the sparrow1 s wing When in its dying throes, May o'er the human spirit fling A quivering shadow that will cling Till human life shall close."

The want suggested must continue until people shall practically recognize the importance of concurrent history in the form of daily memoranda, or diaries. This practice would cover the land from ocean to ocean with a magnificent historical library, with an alcove "f priceless manuscript in every permanent home - inheritances richer than all the millions of Croesus.

Early Settlers

years, two months and four days ended at Avilla, on the 3rd day of May, 1896. He was born in Yorkshire, England, February 29, 1816, a son of George and Elizabeth ( Sedgwick) Storey. His father was a farmer, his mother of the same class - the sturdy yeomanry, always the sure foundation of "Old England's" true material grandeur, and the primal fountain of the spirit that made her historically glorious.

Honest labor and usefulness were our subject's ancestral lot. At the age of fourteen years he became a helper to his parents by going out to labor for neighboring farmers for his board and twenty-five dollars a year. As his years and strength and experience increased, he gradually earned more and more, until in his full manhood he could command eighty dollars a year. Up to that time his earnings belonged to his parents. The following two years' earnings he saved to canw out his purpose - to emigrate to the United States. Think of it, young men, who complain of fortune and almost curse your ancestors for failing to provide for you a "decent start" in life. Thomas Storey did not stultify himself with the false theory that his parents "owed" him anything beyond the care and protection of his infancy and the inculcation of true principles, and that debt they had faithfully paid and overpaid.

In 1839, aged twenty-three years, with the meager savings of two or three years' bard and faithful labor at less than a dollar and fifty cents a week, he started to cross the great ocean and find in the wilds of the American interior - not any fortune or "living" that the "world owed him," but the field and opportunity to make his own living and fulfill an honorable ambition to be useful

- a modest factor of In most progress, an efficient worker in the cause of civilization. He readied Lockport, New York, destitute of money. He found employment there in a stone quarry at wages that would ab< ut furnish a modern boy with cigars and tobacco. He had heard of chances to buy land of the government in the new county of Noble, in Indiana, and in three years saved enough to "enter'" some land. The morning of his intended start his old employer besought him to delay long- enough to assist in loading a boat with some large blocks of stone. He consented, and in that operation a huge section of rock fell upon him and crushed his hip. In the months of illness and enforced idleness following that accident, all of his means were exhausted. He was once more penniless - five hundred miles from his objective point. Happily, his conduct and character of an employee had preempted a place with the same employer and he patiently resumed his work at Lockport. intent upon settling in Noble county. He had made one trip here and selected his land, in [842, and it was when he had closed up his affairs in Lockport and was about to return and settle upon the land that his misbap occurred. It is said that this accident and delay proved to be a stroke of good luck, after all, for it led to^ his acquaintance with her whose wifely affection and efficient cooperation afterward contributed greatly to the success of his career. Miss Mary Southworth, a native of Lancashire. England.

In the spring of 1843 Mr. Storey succeeded in purchasing eighty acres of land - the east half of the southeast quarter of section 17. in Jefferson township. The date of his entry is April 17, 1843. He and his brother, Matthew Storey, erected a little cabin, 12x14 feet, on the high ground west of the swampy valley of Lewis branch, and there during the summer of 1843 and winter of 1 843-4 they kept "bachelors" hall" and worked at clearing land. In 1844 Thomas Storey re-visited Lockport. He went alone-. When Ik returned, Alary was with him, now Mrs. Storey. The little cabin received as housekeeper one of the brightest, neatest women that ever lived. But I must not omit referring to that bridal trip, that homecoming. From Fort Wayne to Jefferson township they walked, carrying upon their backs their all of household goods. It was probably impossible to get a conveyance, anyway, without great difficulty, and even then at the most extortionate prices. Does any one think that trip must have been discouragingly weary and painful? Not at all. Does some modern lad}- exclaim with fine scorn: "I never would have done it for the best man in the world ?*'

Madam, the best men. and women, too, even in this age. pity the narrowness of soul that cannot comprehend the true nobility of the deed. And was the long, burdened walk especially tiresome and discouraging to them? No. It is unnecessary to say how bright the forest roadway seemed before them, in the radiant glow of love and hope, or how light their burdens were, buoyed by the exaltation of approving conscience and pure and honest aims. And then, the alluring goal - Home! Their own, their first, own. exclusive home. The green lanes and flowers in the hedges of York and Lancashire were pleasant memories, pictures for admiration, but this little home was to be a proud and loved reality, bathed in the sun-

An incident showing the Storey methods and pluck, was the undertaking to clear and fence twenty acres of very heavily timbered land for Alexis Edwards at ten dollars per acre. He and his brother Matthew took the job and finished it with their own hands on time, without drawing a cent of pay. When the job was completed they received the whole amount, one hundred dollars each, and immediately invested it in land.

Thomas Storey was the initiator in this section of the experiment of reclaiming" swamp land by ditching. In this way he converted a large willow swamp on his eighty-acre tract east of Albion into rich meadows and productive corn-fields. The contrast was wonderful. The success was astonishing, and much the greater part of the capital invested in the splendid improvement was his own muscle. In 1853 he traded his farm to Nelson Prentiss for land in Green township. Both made money in the transaction, and that was the kind of dealing in which Mr. Storey delighted - by lie could gain, without loss to the other side. In Green township, by purchase from several persons, he acquired some three hundred acres of land, which he managed with excellent judgment, sagacity and wise economy. Within twenty years from the time he, with his wife, had carried their entire chattel property upon their backs thirty miles, and commenced housekeeping in a log cabin room 12x14 feet, he had become a wealthy landed proprietor and leading citizen, trusted and honored with the chief official positions of his township, and enjoying the esteem and admiration of all. He was among the foremost promoters of education. He was an exemplar of morality,, integrity and wise benevolence, and an openhanded patron of everything promotive of public improvement.

In 1865 he removed to Avilla - purchasing there of Peter Weimer a farm of two hundred and forty acres, for which he paid twelve thousand dollars. During the thirtyone remaining years of his life his career was onward. He contributed much to the improvement of the town of Avilla, was the principal founder of the Old People's Home, which was built upon his land; gave several thousand dollars toward the erection of the Catholic church buildings and the charitable institution there ; distributed several thousand dollars in gifts to his brothers and sisters (being childless himself) ; reserved rooms for himself and wife in the Old People's Home, where he died ; provided well for his wife in case she survived him, and thus disposed, by deed and gift, of all his property, in accordance with the principles of benevolence and justice, which had guided him throughout his life.

I young man with absolutely no means except his hands and brain and inflexible integrity. But it must be admitted that in some most important things he was very fortunate, and above everything else in the capital prize he drew in the matrimonial lottery. It is but just to say that his outcome would have been problematical without the wife he had. Probably the whole domestic history of civilization could not furnish a more nearly perfect example of a "helpmate." He was fortunate in the time of his outset. The country's era of extravagance had not commenced. Fortunately to his backwoods isolation was due his own singleness of purpose and firmness of principle. And now, after this rambling and horribly written sketch, I must leave to his old associates, or their descendants, the just analysis and adequate estimate of his character and the influence of his example.

Surviving him, of his immediate family group are: The aged widow. Airs. Mary Storey, of Avilla ; William Storey, his brother ; Jefferson, a son, and a daughter of his deceased brother, Matthew; George Storey; Mrs. Cabin Keller; and an aged sister in England.

Amanda J. Flint

Daughter of Elisha and Hannah Flint, of .Yew York, and wife of John C. Smith, of New Jersey, was born in Albany county, near Albany, New York, January 6, 1806. At the age of twenty-two years she was united in marriage to John C. Smith, in her native state. Being unacquainted with her life and having no specific knowledge of her individual characteristics, the biographer relies entirely upon the published obituary, and can do no better than to quote it for the personal and family history and the necessarily brief intimations which it gives of personal character.

"After her marriage she resided with her husband in New York for twelve years. In 1840 they moved to Wayne county, Michigan, and in 1843 t0 Noble county, Indiana. and settled here. A continuous residence -of twenty-three years in Noble county was followed in 1803 bv 'a brief residence of nearly two years in LaGrange county, when they removed to Kosciusko count}, and resided there five years, until the death of her husband, November 28, 1870. Since then she had made her home with her children. She died at the home of her son, John A. Smith, in Ligonier, on the 25th of Febru- | ary, 1896, aged ninety years, one month and nineteen days. They were .the parents of nine children, six of whom and her husband preceded her to the other world. The three who remain, mourning the loss of a kind and affectionate mother, are. John A. Smith and Mrs. A. J. Banta. of Ligonier, and Mr. C. V. Smith, of Syracuse.

"She became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church in her native state of New York, in 1824, at the age of eighteen years, and had lived for seventy-two years a faithful and devoted Christian life."

These points of her history light the retrospect of a long life of usefulness graced by a noble tone of spirituality, whose influences are, and forever will lie. blessing and beautifying the conditions of society, and contributing to the best inspirations of onward and upward progression.

Christina M. Shultz

time at Zanesville, Ohio, where she married Caleb Card in 1842. In 1844 she, with her husband, removed to Noble county, Indiana, where they lived together until his death, which occurred in 1859. In 1863 she was married to Frederick Allen. The)- lived together until his death in 1872.

"As a mother she had diligently, earnestly and willingly watched over and reared her family, consisting of ten children, of whom six sons and one daughter remain to* mourn her loss. At an early age she embraced Christianity and throughout her life she manifested a pure, noble, christian spirit."'

Oliver Harp, Sr

Was one of the early settlers of Green township, having settled there, I think, in 1844. Although not a resident at the time of his death, his residence here for thirty-seven years and identification with the early affairs of the county entitle him to a place in the ranks of the second class of old settlers and justifies the insertion in our record of the following quotations from his obituary, which was published in the Cherubusco Truth, after the funeral and interment:

"Oliver Harp. Sr., departed this life Thursday morning. April 16, 1896, aged seventy-eight years, six months and fourteen days. Deceased was born in Neversink, New York, October 2, 1817; was married to Miss Jane Coon at Neversink, New York, February 2j, 1838, and moved to Noble county. Indiana, in 1844. He believed in reform of every kind and no real happiness could exist unless the individuals lived pure, honest lives in every sense. Religiously he was a strong Universalist, and believed and followed its teachings for years. He was kind hearted and exceedingly generous to those he mingled with. Eleven children were born to them, four of whom have preceded their father in death."

I am able to say, from a limited personal accmaintance, that his frank, emphatic address and tones of voice, indicated the very philosophy and practice attributed to him in the foregoing sketch. He evidently possessed an independent mind, had convictions of his own and was very frank in promulgating them. In his sphere of action he was a maker of public opinion and agitator of public thought.

Who died September 29, 1895, an(l was buried in Lake View Cemetery, Kendallville, aged seventy-three years, five months and twenty-nine days, was born in Pennsylvania March 30, 1822. Having a doubt as to her being actually an old settler, but thinking it probable, and having no information except the published obituary, that is given in full, so far as it touches upon her life and family history, as follows :

"She removed with her parents from Fayette. Pennsylvania, to Knox county, Ohio, in the year 1836. On the 12th of November, 1844, she was married to L. J. Holmes, with whom she walked life's rugged pathway a faithful and devoted wife nearly fifty-one years. To them were born six children, three sons and three daughters. The youngest son died at the early age of fifteen years. The other children remain to mourn with the father their sad loss and to cheer the closing scenes of his earthly life. The deceased was converted in her youth. She gave her heart to God and her name to the

Methodist Episcopal church. She lived an humble, quiet, consistent Christian life, and died at peace with God and all mankind. While she will be sadly missed here there is one soothing, comforting thought - she is at rest in the place prepared for her in the many-mansioned house of our Father. Funeral services were conducted at the residence of L. J. Holmes by Rev. F. M. Hussey, October i, 1895, and the body was laid to rest in Lake View cemetery."

It will be observed that the notice leaves her located in Knox county, Ohio, in 1836, when she was fourteen year old. She was married to L. J. Holmes eight rears afterward, but where is not stated. There were eleven years of time after her marriage, nineteen years after her settlement in Knox county. Ohio, within which she might have settled in Noble county in time to be classed as an old settler, and the impression is so strong that she and her husband settled here shortly after the marriage (if the marriage did not occur here), that I have assigned her to this place in order of time.

It will have been observed that these obituary characterizations of Christian women have a sameness of wording, which some might, without thought, regard as monotonous. But that is not the right or adequate view. They are thus shown to us rather as occupying a high plane of womanhood, wearing a common badge of association and aspiration ; the atmosphere in which they move is the same, but the individual radiance emanating from personal character is as varied as that of the stars.

and nine days. The death of Airs. ( Jail. »way occurred two days before the last meeting (Old Settlers), and probably the funeral was on the same day of the meeting; the death had not been reported, and therefore was not mentioned.

She was born in Baltimore. Md., April 25, 1830. Her parents moved when she was four years old to the state of Ohio. This was in 1834. In the year 1X44 they came to Noble county and located on land in Sparta township, where die died. At the lime of their settlement in Sparta. Rachel was aged fourteen years. The next year, 1845. her mother died. Rachel, at the age id fifteen years, being the eldest daughter m a large family of children, was called upon to fill as best she could the place of mother to her brothers and sisters - to be the housekeeper. I need not say what that involved in care and toil to a girl of fifteen. We have np particular account of the manner in which she entered upon and discharged the onerous duties of a mother and houseeeper. It is not necessary. Tint was a time when it was fashionable to be content with little; to suffer patientlx ; t - face the inevitable bravely and cheerfully, ami when treason to love and duty was almost undreamed of. In the absence of specific knowledge of the contrary, we are bound to assume she did what she could without repining; that she endured many terrible strains upon her physical and mental powers and moral integrity, without fainting or faltering.

Galloway, who afterward was a volunteer soldier in the Civil ar. He died about fifteen years ago. Eight children were born to them, all of whom are living, or were living at the time of her death.

"She was a noble, true-hearted mother, always kind, gentle and sympathetic." Kind, gentle, sympathetic, all undying germs of the influences that control, redeem and glorify - unconsciously to herself she implanted these germs of good; and they are developing into influence, unseen, perhaps, but real as the certainty of God's goodness. And they will flow on in His appointed currents of beneficence forever.

Who died at his home in Noble township. August 10. 1895, aged eighty-six years, eight months and nine days, was a native of Bedford county, Penn.. and was born nil the 1st O'f January, 1809. He married Nancy Stoner, a Pennsylvania girl, a native of Lancaster, born October 26, 1810. They commenced their married life in their native state and remained there until 1845. when they came to Noble county with a family of children, the youngest of whom was an infant of a few months. They had S18 to start with, six young children to support and no land of their own.

It is well for us to meditate, somewhat, on this phase in the life of John River, remembering that the condition was not entirely exceptional, hut was the lot of many settlers of that time. Unquestionably his was an extreme case on account of the size of his family. We must conclude that the first winter, with six helpless children, was a time to try the souls and test the physical powers of husband and wife. It needs no stretch of imagination to comprehend a multitude of details of suffering and privations, over some of which it were no weakness if loyal memory should at one moment, but only for a moment, shed some tears, and the next moment yield to an uncontrollable impulse to hurrah for the heroism that carried them safely through.

It is pardonable, I trust, to make the contemplation of every one of these typical cases an occasion for recognition of the real glory of Noble county's pioneer age. If it seems a little monotonous, sometimes, it may he that the fault is in our defective visions. A cloudless sunset sky to-day may seem to the indifferent observer the same as all preceding ones, but it is not. Each differs from all predecessors in some of its hues and tints and shadings, presenting a succession of new aspects and effects which a thousand years of sunsets would not exhaust.

The next spring Air. River planted for a crop of corn. The next fall while putting in wheat he was attacked by malaria in an aggravated form of fever and ague, and was confined to his bed during the entire fall and winter for six months, and all the children except one were stricken clown during that time, Mrs. River and one boy only being able to keep their feet. How did they get through this second winter, so much worse than the first? There was hut one way. They had to depend, for life itself, upon the sympathy and generous aid of neighbors, of scant means themselves but exeat hearts ; the noble pioneers who would divide their last crust with a suffering fellow-heing and heal the breaking heart with genuine fraternal ministrations, so pure and spontaneous, that it seemed a blessed privilege, a holy joy instead of a charitable duty. Call those times and those men and women rough, uncouth, offensively primitive? No! Rather, in the noblest respects, it was our heroic age, glowing with spiritual glory and redolent of sweetest grace and charm. And we all recognize it in the rare moments when we can turn away from the brilliancy and somewhat superficial pomp of mil ward refinement and external etiquette and contemplate the time and the people when genuine worth and kindness were recognized in all their essential grace and beauty, without artificial formulas of manner and expression.

Ten years after their settlement here Mr. River bought eighty acres of land in Green township, and commenced there in the timber. His boys had grown, his forces were augmented, but sickness came again and sapped the strength of his sons and reduced him to such weakness that he was unable to keep upon his feet. But the work of clearing must go on. and he rode and guided a horse to haul together and roll up the logs, the boys doing the hitching and adjusting, and piling the poles and brush. In 1 86 1, at the age of fifty-two years, he was thrown from a wagon and received injuries that crippled him for the remainder of his life. Prior to this accident he had sold his Green township farm and was about to remove to Kansas; but the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion changed his plans and he purchased the farm in Noble township, where he died. Three of his sons, John, Jacob and David, lost their lives in

Air. River was an active worker in the cause of the Christian religion and a prominent member of the Christian church society. These salient points in his life of fifty years in Noble county will serve to illustrate the arduous labors and formidable obstacles and discouragements incident to the work of clearing the ground and laying the foundations of the noble superstructure of civilization; the indomitable spirit that overcame and conquered. John River's career was honorable and successful, for himself and for his country.

Of Elhart township, was born in York, Perm., July 31, 1831. He moved with his parents to Marion, Ohio, in 1821, was married there to Eliza Mawhorter, December 24, 1834, and removed to Seneca, Ohio, in 1835. After a residence of about ten years in Seneca. Air. and Mrs. Baughman removed and settled in Elkhart township. Noble county, some time in the year 1845. tie resided there fifty years and died August 13, 1895. ag'ed eighty-two years and twelve days.

While not of the original pioneers in respect to time, he was one of them in the matter of pioneer experience, toils and privations, and was technically an "old settler" of the first. <>r oldest class. Of seven children born, two survive him. We are destitute of the specific details of his life. It is said of him, briefly, that he became a professed Christian early in life, and was thoroughly a quiet, earnest exemplar of the Christian religion.

John Jacob Shultz

An old settler of fifty years ago, died August 31, 1895, aged seventy-three years, seven months and twenty-nine days. He was a native of Germany, born in Heimathen, W'urtemberg, on January 22, 1822. He came to America in 1833, and to Noble county in 1845 or r&4-6. The obituary notice fails to give his township, but alludes to the hardships and privations of his pioneer life: from this we conclude that he settled in the woods, distant from any of the more populous localities of that day. The notice referred to is appended here in full : "John Jacob Schultz was born January 22, 1822, in Heimathen, Wurtemberg, Germanv, and emigrated to this country in 3833, and about fifty years ago came to Noble county, Ind. Another one is added to the number of pioneers who shared the hardships and the privations of that day, whose labor is completed and is no more. He died August 31, 1895, aged seventythree years, seven months and twenty-nine days. He was married to Barbara Niedenberger, who died three years' ago. To them were born six children. Three sons and one daughter are living, one son and daughter having gone before. Many years ago he became a professor of the religion of Christ, and died in the faith of Him who gave His life for us and liveth evermore."

Samuel Foster

eleven davs. He was a native of Morrow county, Ohio, was born July 22, 1842, and a son of Christian Foster. He came here with the family in 1848, then a child of six years, and was an old settler by virtue of time. He was reared on his father's farm and by the plan of distribution arranged by his father became the possessor of the old homestead farm and house.

Samuel Foster inherited the sterling characteristics of his parents, and was recognized as an industrious, enterprising and honorable man. He exercised a good influence, was intelligent, public-spirited and prominent in his locality.

On the 5th day of March, 1868, he married Miss Malinda Thomas, a daughter of Rev. Zachariah Thomas, a prominent minister of the Baptist church. It is hardly necessary to say to the people of Albion, and Jefferson township, that he was exceptionallv fortunate in his marriage, nor to make especial mention of the well-known intellectual, spiritual and physical characteristics, environments and education that combined to render the choice a most fortunate one. But in the meridian of life, the shadow of disease lowered over his house and obscured his future. He was the victim. A cureless malady become chronic, and he was doomed to a long period of invalidism with great suffering, which the best medical and surgical skill could only temporarily alleviate.

He leaves a widow and two children, several sisters, whose names appears in the sketch of Christian Foster, and numerous relatives of the well-known families of Foster - Thomas. Edwards. 'Walters, and others, among the foremost citizens of the county.

Mrs. Susan' Gillet

Mrs. Susan (Skinner) Gillet, widow of William II. Gillet, of Swan township, died at her home in Swan, October 29, 1895, aged sixty-three years, nine months and twenty-six days. Her maiden name was Susan B. Skinner, horn in Orleans county, N. Y., January 3, 1832. and lived in her native state until she was twenty-one years of age. having been married in 1851. at the age of nineteen years, to William H. Gillet. Two years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Gillet came to Noble county and settled in Swan township. This was in I853-

Mr. Gillet was a painter and actively followed his trade, but he knew the advantages of rural home and property in land. He purchased eighty acres of land near Swan and there established their home. Twenty-one years afterward he contracted the disease often called "painter's colic," caused by lead poison, inhaled and absorbed when grinding and mixing materials of the paint. He died in 1874, leaving Mrs. Gillet and seven children. Two had preceded him, in 1862. A third child died after the father's death.

Mrs. Gillet held to the home and farm and kept her family together, rearing them to manhood and womanhood in habits of industry and observance of strict morality. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, having joined in her youth when the spiritual atmosphere glowed with clear light; when noble aspirations were undiverted: when the path of duty was "strait" and profession imperatively implied practice. In her old-fashioned estimation the true erlory of Christianity was without glitter or intermittent flashes: just a steady, beneficent, unblinding light - best and purest when devoid of all adventitious dazzle.

Mrs. Gillet was a woman of practical energy, active usefulness and executive ability. She maintained a good home for her children, taught them by precept and example the essential truths of enlightened humanity and dedicated them to careers (if usefulness and honor. She has retired from the living procession, but the influences of her life and deeds go mi. Her memory lives. May her spirit glow in the sculs of her posterity, so that the pages added by "Old Settlers" of future times shall shine with kindred virtues. Six children survive her. with several grandchildren. One son is a resident and esteemed citizen of Albion, the foreman of Croft's Paragon Mills.

An old settler of the year 1853. died at her home in Ligonier, March 1. 1896. aged fifty-three years, nine months and nine days. She was a native of Fairfield county, Ohio, born May 22, 1X42, a daughter of James and Leah Morrell. The first eleven years of her life passed in her native county. In 1853 she came with her parents to Noble county.

Xo unusual events or exceptional experiences affecting her family or herself are known during the first eight years. It is presumable that she had the ordinary opportunities of a new- country f< r schi ol education. In her case they almost certainly consisted of about seventy-five days' privilege of attendance at a log-cabin school in winter, with none of the modern appliances for illustration and aids to understanding. If the teacher had genius, ambition and enthusiasm for the cause, the pupils were exceptionally fortunate. If he was a young man poorly qualified by education, whose main thought was of the forty dollars coming the spring - whether he did well or not - then the school and patrons were fortunate that it was no worse. As to Elizabeth Morrell, individually, we are justified in assuming from subsequent developments that she profited by her educational opportunities. If not in large acquirements in positive knowledge, yet in mental and spiritual self -discipline.

At the age of nineteen years she became a partner with Daniel B. Gerber in the patriotic enterprise of establishing a home and founding a new family line. The}- were married December 5. 1861. Her history for the next thirty-five years is that of most of the good women of the old-settler class, whose noble examples and efficient influences were important, indispensable factors of progress and improvement - material, moral and spiritual. Knowing as we do that the brightest and best aspects of our civilization are reflections of the influence of the good women of the age of the pioneers and old settlers, it is with peculiar pleasure, mournful though it be, that this association performs the duty of individual commemoration. Her residence of fortythree vears covered nearly the entire period of the process of development from primitive conditions to the splendors of advanced civilization. How different the Noble county upon which her farewell gaze lingered in 1896 from that on which the young girl first looked in 1853. What a magnificen: material superstructure! Yet how vain and hollow, how insignificant, without the indwelling graces of virtue, morality and spiritual exaltation emanating from the lives and labors of them - the glorious "majority" - who have passed and are passing within the portals of the solemnly beautiful temple whose arches bear the motto: "In Memoriam."

Mrs. Gerber left surviving her husband, Daniel B. Gerber, and five children: Mrs. John Yoder, of Ligonier; Mrs. Frank Reese, Airline Junction, Ohio; Mrs. W. H. Hart, Albion, Ind. ; Miss Carrie and Master Earle Gerber, Ligonier ; David Morrell, of Holden, Mo. : James A. Morrell ( brother of David), of Lagrange: and Mrs. A. C. Lantz, a widowed sister.

Silas Doty

In a group of citizens of Albion discussing the Regulator movement, the inquiry was started, whether the world-famous criminal, Silas Doty, had anything to do with the blacklegism of Noble county at the time when its greatest prevalence called forth the organized efforts of the citizens to suppress it. The writer, remarking that a full life of Doty, dictated by himself, was somewhere extant, expressed a wish to see it, as it would probably settle that question. This reference is not to the pamphlet account of his trial for the murder of Noyes, but a large book, containing a history of his life in detail.

Washington Weaver immediately said he had that book, and the same evening the writer had possession of it - a nicely printed and well-bound book of nearly three hundred pages, giving a detailed narrative of a most wonderful criminal career of sixty years, from 1816 to 1876. The book was published in 1877 or 1878. Doty died in 1876. He was born at St. Albans. Vt., May 30, 1800, the born devil in a respectable Christian family, of exemplary parents and honorable brothers and sisters ; a family where prevailed an atmosphere of daily prayer and devotion to the best ideals of duty, and truth, and virtue. "Sile" was the satanic exception. He. was an irrepressible thief in early childhood and throughout his life. His energy and industry in crime were phenomenal and tireless, and aided by his wonderful criminal genius, raised (or lowered) him to the undisputed headchieftainship of all the allied tribes of blacklegs from Virginia to Nova Scotia, and from the Atlantic to the Mississippi river before he was forty years old.

In 1823, at the age of twenty-three, with his pal. Wicks, he crossed the Atlantic and operated for nearly a year in the principal cities and adjacent rural districts of England, quickly becoming the leader of the desperate gang of thieves, burglars and highwaymen there - the most personally daring, skillful and resourceful of all. It was his purpose to remain in England, extending his depredations to the continent of Europe until he amassed a fortune ; but when absent from London on a horse-stealing expedition the detectives found and raided the lodgings of Doty and Wicks, seized their plunder, consisting of money, jewelry and other valuable articles, and were watching to intercept them on their return. Being advised of this by vigilant friends they never returned to London; but made all haste, traveling by night to Lands End, on the southern coast, whence, in disguise and under assumed 'names, they escaped on the first vessel for the United- States and landed in Xew York in the summer of 1824. The stuff they had to leave behind in the hands of the police was worth several thousand dollars ; and they were thus compelled to regard the European enterprise as a comparative failure. But "Sile" was not discouraged, and for the next ten years redoubled his energies and multiplied his stealings. In 1834 be moved to the west and settled near Adrian, Mich. Here he began his connection with the blacklegs of northern Indiana. Of that connection let him speak, in literal epiotations from his book. He says :

"In the spring of 1834 I emigrated to Adrian. Mich.) or near there, and rented a. small house. * * * It took but a short time to become acquainted with all the villains in Clinton. Tecumseh, Adrian, Blissfield, and soon in Toledo, Detroit, and as far west as Chicago, the Kankakee river country. Fort Wayne, Noble and Lagrange counties, in Indiana, and all the places in southern Michigan, and east to Milan, Norwalk, Cleveland, and as far as Ashtabula. I found that a very inefficient ring had been formed between these places by our class of men; but so imperfect were its workings that it did but little. I immediately took the matter in hand, and as near as pi >ssible brought it up to my standard of thinking and doing - extending the ring south in Indiana to and along the Wabash river. This organization consisted of every possible grade of mean rascals - thieves, counterfeiters, burglars and highwaymen - who were guilty of every act that could be called crime under the law. Over this immense both- of men I was head chief, and ruled with an iron will, When I said. 'Do this or that.' it was done. * * *" On account of space, only the briefest quotations have been given, mainly to establish the fact of Doty's intimate connection with the first dangerous organization of criminals in the country described. It was the greatest and most dangerous criminal organization in the history of the United States. Its connections radiated to every part of the country east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio, and included the greater portions of New York and Canada.

The organized phase of blacklegism did not exist until Silas Doty appeared and created it, beginning in 1834, and extending and completing it so that it was in full working order and activity about the beginning of T836; and it may be said to have commenced its organic career simultaneously with that of Noble county; and when, in 1856, the first aggressive movements of the Regulators were initiated, blacklegism as an organized power had been in operation twentv-five years and hail become an unendurable tyranny.

Zenas J. Wright

At the time of commencing the biography of Harrison Wood, no notice had been received of the death of any earlier settlers ; and it seemed, as was stated, that he was the oldest adult settler who died last year. But since the close of the meeting I have learned of one - Zenas J. Wright, of York township, who settled in 1836 - then nineteen vears of age. He was ahead of Air. Wind niic year in date of settlement, and was old enough to be classed with the real pioneers. His biography should have headed the roll, in strict sequence to the order of dates alone; and it would, had he been reported. It is the proper idea in the fitness of things to give precedence to the "working" pioneers.

Zenas J. Wright was born in Massachusetts, November 12. 1817. His parents, Zenas and Nancy (Willis) Wright, soon after went to New York, where the subject's youth was passed. It was quite pioneerish then, even in "York sta.e." The family came to Noble county in 1836 and settled in section 2, York township. They were workers ; and a finer looking, more stalwart and impressive family of me': - father and sons - were seldom ieen. The father was a leading Baptist, a deacon of the church and was notable and influential in society and in religious and educational enterprises. So also was the mother and sons. There was a flavor of Puritanism, that some of the free and easy pioneers af fected to scoff at as exclusiveness ; but their honest loyalty to the genius of Americri1 constitutional liberty, their conservative influence in favor of right and justice were unquestioned. In short they were the best kind of pioneers.

Zenas J., in 1841, at the age of twentyfour, married Mary Ann Arnold and purchased eighty acres of land, the west half of northwest quarter of section 11, and built his hom£ directly south, within sight of the paternal home. Subsequent purchases increased his farm to two hundred and eighty acres.

The citizens of York township showed their recognition of Zenas J. Wright's character and ability in calling him to public service, eight years as township trustee and many years as justice of the peace. He

The writer knew "Juclson" Wright forty-six years. Memory teems with incidents, events, anecdotes and attributes, but time and space will not permit the indulgence of a full, descriminative estimate. His life and character is one of the many stars whose beneficent glow beautifies the horizon of memory.

Mrs. Wright died in 1SS1, leaving nine children, five sons and four daughters: Silas J., William W., Zenas M., Isaac A., Adoniram J., Christa, Elsie ].. Emma and Minnie. These sons and daughters doubtless realize the truth that the invisible currents of heredity flow on forever, making or marring, accordingly as they are kept free and clear, or become obstructed and turbid. Mr. Wright died October 28, 1896, aged seventy-nine years, eleven months and sixteen days.

Sarah Hitler

Wife of Vincent Lane, deceased, was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, December 14, ]8io. Vincent Lane was a native of the same county, born January 31, 1803. They were married there December 28, 1828. Nine years later, in 1837, they came with their children and settled in Noble county, hid., making their home in York township. Mr. Lane had, before moving in the fall of J 835, entered one hundred and twenty acres in section 30, and a fractional eight}- in section 31. of that township. He subsequently owned three hundred and twenty acres in York township.

Vincent Lane became at once a prominent and leading pioneer. llis character and administrative ability at once attracted the confidence of the people in the "capital" township of the county. Unfortunately his brilliant career was stopped by death, twelve years after his settlement. He died in December, 1X49, of king fever. He had been for several prior a comity commissioner, and figured prominently in public affairs. The writer never knew him personally, having been in the comity only three months before his death, hut remembers well the sympathy and sorrow expressed everywhere on the occasion of his death at the early age of forty-six years.

Of Mrs. Lane's characteristics nothing could be learned, having never been honored by personal acquaintance. She stood high in the affectionate esteem of those who knew her best, and who concur in attributing to her in a high degree the qualities of mind and heart that constitute a noble- womanhood. Mrs. Lane died December 14, 1896, aged eighty-six years, fifty-nine of which were passed in Noble comity, lacking but one of all the years of the county's organic existence. Forty-seven of those years she was a widow.

Although not personally acquainted with either Mr. or Mrs. Lane, the writer enjoyed the acquaintance and. it is believed, friendship of their sons, George H., John C, Lewis and Joseph: and thus had the privilege of seeing the inherited intellectual and spiritual qualities of the parents as exhibited in the lives of the offspring. Good stock is evidenced by good fruit : and these were and are. naturally, examples of excellent manhood, abounding in mental capacity, kindness of heart and vivacity of spirit. It is said that "the gem of truth lies in the bottom o the well." That means that our just estii lates of the germs of history must be derived from the deepest views - not from superficial glances. And, as a clear view of the gem in the well is impossible when the water above is agitated or turbid, and we have to wait until it is calm and clear, so is just recognition of true character or just estimates of things done or omitted, policies advocated and theories advanced, difficult or impossible while the storm of agitation and discussion rages . and the clouds of temporary prejudice obscure the light. The holy time of calm will sooner or later surely come. Truth will be seen. Right will be vindicated ; and while we may be remorsefully ashamed of ourselves for mis judgments and misconceptions, the soul will be true to itself. The God-in-man will resume the throne, and infinite happiness will attend the expurgation of error and the revelation of right.

The story of the Noble County Star has been written under difficulties. The facts were mainly from hearsay evidence. Tlse paper stopped before the writer had become acquainted with the people, connected with it, except partially and as a stranger in the county. Coming to the history of its successor, the Albion Observer, the writer enters the field of personal knowledge, as well as of motive and aim, and of every detail and incident. In telling the story he begs the indulgence of readers in using the "third person."

Sylvan lake), on the nth of September, J 1849. He had never before been within four hundred miles of Noble count}-, and was an entire stranger to everybody except one man - J. C. Alvord, his uncle. He had been studying law in northwestern Pennsylvania, and. being a consumptive invalid, sought change of scene and climate and relaxation.

That was an ideal autumn. No poet ever described a lovelier. And the mystic glory of it did not fade. The air was balmy and the mellow light was golden - all the time - for two months. He did nothing but ramble and lounge, and drink in the quiet beauty of sky and lake and woods. It was a long, delicious day-dream, and in it came returning health. He said: "Surely this is God's country," and .stayed, instead of returning in October as originally intended.

Accepting an invitation to teach the winter school, - in a log house in the woods, eighty rods southwest of the lake. - he passed the winter there and at Northport. becoming acquainted with the delightful. hospitable people and making a few trips on foot to Albion, the county seat. At Albion he became slightlv acquainted with several of the citizens, especially with YV. A. Coon, clerk of the hotel, his father, Michael Coon, being proprietor (it is now Mathew's harness shop and residence, northeast corner of Jefferson and Orange streets) ; W. M. Clapp, auditor; John McMeans, treasurer; H. H. Hitchcock, recorder; William F. Engel, clerk, and some others. William H. Austin, the newspaper man, was not always at home, being much engaged as a violinist for balls. But an interview took place, in which Austin made known his desire to sell the plant; and learning that the proposed vendee had mi money to pay, nor property of any kind to trade for it, offered to turn it ever without a dollar down, taking a note and mortgage on the plant, stipulating for the filling out of all advance paid subscriptions to the Star to be applied on the purchase price. There were many of these subscriptions on which six months remained unsupplied. Austin was to continue the Star until certain legal "ads." then running were published the full time. That would bring it to about the ist of March. The bargain was closed on those terms, and the purchaser returned to^ finish his teaching and to look out for an office force, particularly a foreman. Austin's foreman and' printers had already secured employment elsewhere and would not stay beyond the time indicated.

Homer King, of Fort Wayne, an excommission merchant of that city and a brother-in-law of J. C. Alvord, was an occasional visitor to the hitter's home at Northport. He had failed in business at Fort Wavne, and, being out of a job and "broke," proposed to join in the newspaper "enterprise" as a partner. His capital consisted of a good business education, much costly experience in profitless ventures, a bright, genial and generous nature, and an extensive acquaintance with the people of Noble county as well as in Fort Wayne, the then great emporium of all northeastern Indiana, and which had a population about the same as that of Albion at this time.

King felt confident of enlisting encouragement from business men of the "big city," and of obtaining a good list of subscribers and considerable advertising ( the event proved that his confidence was not entirely visionary), and what was more fortunate he was intimately acquainted with a good printer at Fort Wayne, whom he felt sure of engaging, James B., Scott. The partnership was agreed upon and King went forth on his mission.

All this had taken time, and the decease of the Noble County Star was close at hand. That even occurred the first week in March. 1850. Mr. Austin's arrangements required immediate departure ; his hands, all excepting his "devil," who was his younger brother, had gone several days before, as soon as the types were set for the last number. So, after "striking off" the last sheet and distributing the papers, be had left with Recorder Hitchcock, the key of the office and authority to deliver the plant to S. E. Alvod, and was off. This message, with a "goodby," was brought to the new proprietor at Northport by young Austin, who said his brother, with wife and child, had gone by the Lisbon road on their way to Steuben county, and he was to rejoin them at Kendallville. He also brought a note from Mr. Hitchcock to the same effect, saying "the printing materials would be safe and undisturbed until called for by me." "Teems" and "Bill" and "Wes" had disappeared, and the Star had set forever.

No word of King's success, or otherwise, had been received. The printer and foreman was needed badly to "right up" the office and get the forms in shape for a newpaper. But something, perhaps, could be done without him. The new editor had not yet become acquainted with his plant. He knew but little, and that vaguely, about the details of a "printing shop." While waiting for the master hand to give it form and power, why not see what were its o riiponents? He would do it. Accordingly on a bright morning of the brightest March Ik- ever saw, before or after, he leisurely went on foot over the nine miles of rough road from Northport to Albion. Observing the few farm openings, the first of which, if recollection is correct, was the (now) Osborn place, then a rough log house, and immediately north of it one of the finest peach orchards in the country, the rich ripe glories of which had evoked his admiration the previous September when he had stopped and accosted the owner, a giant Irish-American, sitting in the doorway, and talked with him about the peaches, so very large and beautiful, so thickly clustered on the hundred trees that the orchard seemed a solid mass of gold and crimson fruit. That farmer was James B. Kelley, afterward one of the most popular hotel managers and proprietors in northern Indiana, and one of the writer's earliest and best friends. In the few opened farms on the way oats had been sown, and ox-teams were dragging in the seed, raising little puffs of dust." Cyrus Kimmell's (now Huston's) and the Kline farm are remembered as scenes of this work. At that time they were unknown to the observer. Memory is not clear as to David Bucher's place (now M. ,H. Kimmfll's). The next opening now remembered, and the last before reaching Albion., was Barnum's. Present impression is that lie was at work on the hillside near his cabin, at the south end of his farm, singing till the woods rang and the birds joined in. He was a good singer and whistler fifty years ago. All these things, the perfect weather, the dry roads, the rich soil, the magnificent woods, the early farming and the pleasant people confirmed the impressions of the precedingfall ; and the pedestrian came into Albion thoroughly in love with this truly Noble county. Hope elevated his thoughts and gave him the "big-head," a marked and pitiable development of visionary exaltation that was to last until "shaking ague" should _ come and jerk the conceit out of him. And it did come - but that was afterward. It need not be anticipated.

Recorder Hitchcock promptly escorted him to the middle door of the south row of rooms on the ground floor of the court house, gave him the key, and, saying he was just then being hurried to finish an urgent job of recording, hastened back to his office at the east end. Soon the prospective editor stood in that silent room and gazed around. There was an empty, old-fashioned fire-place at the south side in the center, and a large window each side of the chimney. On the window-sills were little piles of "pi," mixtures of various fonts of types that had been swept up and deposited there when the office boy had no time to separate and distribute them ; several warped wooden galleys leaned against the wall, under the windows; a hand-press stood in the center of the room, the bed elaborately checked with lines of rust, the tympan thrown back and the frisket elevated, held up by a hook suspended from the ceiling; type stands lined against the end walls and backed against the chimney sides to get the best light from the two windows against the north walls; on either side of the door were heavy tables, bearing imposing "stones" of iron in sections of 26x34 inches, the upper surfaces smoothly ground and polished originally, but then reddened and roughened by rust. On these iron slabs were the forms of the last issue of the Noble County Star, undistributed and badly pied, and several job forms of various sizes, demoralized and sprawling, showing many evidences oi "picking," many of the picked letters being found in the title-head, date lines and hear! lines of the paper forms. The whole was a most discouraging jumble. Over all was a grim accumulation of soot and ashes which the March winds had whirled from the wide chimney and fire-place, and even as the onlooker stood there an occasional breeze murmured in the chimney and spirit voices seemed plaintively saying :

The first obvious thing to be done was to remove the dust and ashes. A greenhorn know enough for that. And it was while he was engaged with the office bellows, w.ith coat off and door and windows open, that Mr. Hitchcock again appeared and said the room was designed for the clerk's office and would have to be vacated soon, as the newly elected clerk, Nelson Prentiss, would move in early in the summer. He added that there was a vacant building belonging to the estate of Jacob 'Walters, deceased, whose heirs and widow were in Ohio, but whose agent, Ephraim Foster, resided in Jefferson township, this county, and he offered to assist in obtaining permission to move the plant into that building and in securing a lease. Was ever greater kindness? The hearts of the people seemed to glow in and reflect the sunshine of that matchless March. The Very next day Mr. Foster was in town: a lease by the month, at three dollars per month, was agreed upon, and before night the editor was cleaning the room for the new printing office and perspiring profusely. Water had to be carried about two hundred feet fn im a pond which then covered most of the ground now occupied by the Presbyterian church and parsonage and the houses of Mr. E. Lloyd and the Sarah Bradley estate. The only house in that vicinity was the late |udge Wildman's, a one-stor) house located on the ground now occupied by X. 1'. Eagles' fine brick mansion. It was north of the west end of the pond. But the writer wishes most to call attention to the water-carrying. It was done freely, without price, by some village boys who offered their services as soon as they saw the printer man toting his first bucketful. It seemed by that time to be generally understood that this printer fellow was penniless, and couldn't fiddle nor teach dancing; therefore, everybody, even the little boys, were ready to help hem. Ah! the glorious sunshine had a sweeter glow from such deeds of genuine, spontaneous gladness. ( Does the reader begin to wonder what this has to do with the history of the press? The writer feels that it is essentially a constituent phase of that history, and the single query, whether an impecunious stranger could have gone forward with the work in the face of coldness and frowning discouragement instead of the cordial kindness which he did meet will suggest the reason why it is an essential part of the storv - the true history. )

From the chaotic mass of material of the fallen Star Messrs. Alvord and King finally succeeded in launching their new enterprise, and on June 6, 1850, the number of the Albion Observer was presented. In politics it was Democratic and its subscription price was one dollar and a half per annum. Its Democracy, however, was not of the orthodox persuasion, being an advocate of the doctrine of "Free Soil." with limitation of the extension of slavery ah nig the lino laid down by the Indiana Democracy and its platform of 1848. But it was not destined for a long life. In the winter of 185 1-2 Mr. King severed his connection and went to California. Mr. Alvord continued the publication until the following Decanber, and then stopped its publication owing to want of sufficient patronage, the ; circulation never exceeding four hundred copies while advertising was comparatively nothing. On the discontinuance of the Observer a small local paper, the Noble County Expositor, devoted to financial and official affairs of the county, was issued by S. E. Alvord, and continued until March, 1850, when it was discontinued. From that date until 1854 Albion had no paper ; but in that year John W. Bryant, of Warsaw, Kosciusko county, brought an outfit to the town and commenced the publication of a Democratic paper under the name of the Albion Palladium. Theodore Tidball became a partner of Mr. Bryant, and the paper was issued from an office located east of the present site of R. L. Stone's drug store, William M. Clapp owning the building.

In the spring of 1855 the press and material were levied on by parties in Kosciusko county. With the characteristic energy of the men in newspaper business in those days, Mr. Bryant went to Columbia City with his office force and obtained the privilege of issuing the Albion Palladium from the office of the Whitley County Democrat. The paper was folded, addressed and brought to Albion in a buggy each week and there distributed. S. E. Alvord gave his assistance to Mr. Bryant during these trying days, which continued until the autumn of 1855. In the meantime Mr. Tidball was hard at work organizing a stock company, which was finally accomplished, and that fall the paper resumed publication in Albion under the name of the Noble County Palladium,. Tidball & Bryant editors and publishers. Its life, however, was brief, and after engaging with considerable activity and much partisan bitterness in the company it closed its career in 1856. The press and material were purchased by S. E. Alvord, and in February, 1857, commenced the publication of the Noble County Democrat, G. I. Z. Rayhouser, of Fort Wayne, being associated with him.

To follow the fluctuating fortunes of the various journals which have sought favor and patronage in Albion and other towns and cities of Noble county would require much space. We therefore briefly summarize, in order to maintain as near as possible a connective record. The Democrat remained in the field under the editorship of S. E. Alvord until 1858, and was discontinued until September, 1859, when a new series was started under the same name by E. L. Alvord, a printer from the office of the New York Tribune. The end came December 25, 1859, and the Noble County Democrat became a thing of the past.

Near the close of the year i860 Joshua R. Randall bought the material of S. E. Alvord and commenced the publication of the Albion Herald. Mr. Randall was a gentleman of considerable ability and good business qualities, and shortly after the commencement of the Civil war removed the paper and material to Ligonier. The next venture to maintain a paper in Albion was by Kimmell Brothers, hardware dealers, who started the Albion Advertiser, in 1866. On the removal of Mr. Kimmell to Nebraska the paper was discontinued and the material stored in the office of C. O. Meyers, elapsed before any further effort was made to establish a paper. But in the fall of 1872 S. E. Alvord again made an effort, purchasing material for jobbing purposes. This, however, awoke the business community to their wants, and at the solicitation 1 f many citizens he started the New Era. It first appeared as a quarto-medium sheet, was enlarged t< > a half-medium and soon after blossomed into a six-column Folio. Thus the first successful journal of Albion was established and the ambition of Mr. Alvord rewarded. Its circulation grew rapidly, until in 7875 it reached twelve hundred subscribers and was enlarged to an eightcolumn folio. In 1876 Jacob P. Prickett and Thomas A. Starr purchased the paper. Mr. Alvord retiring. It was then enlarged to a nine-column folio, and its policy from an independent journal to independent Republican. In 1878 Mr. Starr retired and the paper passed into the control of Mr. Prickett. Notwithstanding the defeat of the Republican party in the county that year Mr. Prickett made the Xew Era a straight Republican paper, changing its shape to an eight-column folio in 1881 to a six-column quarto.

It will thus be seen that Albion has the honor of being the birthplace of journalism in Noble county. Efforts, however, were made by ambitious young men and politicians in other localities. It seems that in 1856, and prior to the presidential campaign of that year, a number of Ligonier's prominent business men and active Republicans felt the necessity of having a paper and went to Sturgis, Michigan, for the purpose of inducing the proprietor of the Tribune of that place to move their office to Ligonier. -\ money consideration and a guaranteed subscription list of twenty-five hundred was offered, with liberal patronage in advertising and job work. The offer was accepted by .Messrs. Woodward & Miller, of the Sturgis Tribune, and in less than two weeks thereafter the first issue of the Republican made its appearance. Adrian B. Miller, of Ligonier, was its editor, a brilliant and able writer. The paper continued until after the campaign and then, about the first of the year, was sold to the leading members of. the Republican party, J. R. Randall assuming the editorial chair and business management. Early in 1857 Judson Palmiter, Arnold & Pierce became its publishers and editors, under a company of about forty stockholders, several of whom resided in Albion, Kendallville and other portions of the county. Under the conditions its life was somewhat fitful, and in i860 Mr. Palmiter purchased the material (except press), moved to Kendallville and began the publication of the Noble County Journal. Ligonier was, therefore, again without a Republican paper, and in 1S80 Republicans succeeded in inducing Mr. E. G. Thompson, of Michigan, to li cate there, and on June 4. [880, the first number of the Leader was issued. From its inception it has met with success and now ranks among the best papers in Noble county. In 1800 prominent Democrats of the county were anxious to have a thorough Democratic paper, and after a prolonged conference with Mr. J. I!. Sti ill, of Pennsylvania, then on a visit in Avilla, an arrangement was made which resulted in the publication of the National Banner, May 3, 1800. The proprietors were J. P.. Stoll and Tin -mas J. Smith. The latter gentleman si on sold his interest to Mr. Stoll, who be- came sole owner and editor. Its patronage rapidly increased, a new building was erected to accommodate its increased growth, steam power was introduced, and it now ranks among the best equipped plants in the county. In 1879 the name of the paper was changed to the Ligonier Banner ; the paper enlarged from an eight-column folio to a six-column quarto. In 1881 James E. McDonald purchased a half interest in the Banner, assuming the chair of the local department. It is now known as the .Banner Publishing Company, and continues to exert a strong influence in county and state politics.

Kendallville began to feel the wants of representation in the journalistic field as early as 1862. In that year Barron & Stowe issued a small paper, neutral in politics and designed for the troops quartered there, making a specialty of war news. After two years it was sold to O. C. Myers. In 1869 Hopkins & Piatt began the publication of the Daily Bulletin. It was rechristened the Independent after a few months, and within a year ceased to exist. In 1872 Roof Brothers issued a small sheet named the Semi- Weekly Times; it lived but six months, but made a strong crusade against intemperance. Kendallville now enjoys the distinction of having four excellent papers: The News, an eight-page paper, published by Dr. A. S. Parker, independent in politics, and established in 1877. The Journal, established in 1889. Democratic in politics, published by O. H. Downey. The Standard was established in 1863, Republican in politics, published by Conlogue & Rerick. The Bee- Keepers' Guide, established in 1876, a monthly publication devoted to bee culture, A. G. Hill, editor and proprietor.

The town of Avilla has a well conducted paper, the News, established in 1886, eight pages, independent in politics; Harry L. Askew is the editor and publisher.

Rome City has, enjoyed the luxury of several publications. In May, 1876, the Review made its appearance under the editorship of Dr. Thornton. After a few months he sold to Air. J. R. Rheubottom. In politics it is strongly Republican. The same year the -paper was removed to Wolcottville. Three years later (1879) Mr. Rheubottom established the Rome City Times, advocating the "Greenback" doctrine. The venture lasted but seven months. In 1879 Rev. Lowman & Warner started the publication of the Herald of Gospel Freedom, devoted to the interests of the Church of God. It was finally removed to Indianapolis. During the year 1880 W. T. Grose conducted a Republican paper called the Rome City Sentinel, which only lived until after the October election of that year.

Samuel E. Alvord, As A Biographer

The publishers of this volume are indebted to a valued and reliable correspondent, a journalist at Albion, Ind., for the following brief record of the career of Samuel E. Alvord, the editor of the Star and the able Albion county historian :

"On his first appearance in Albion Samuel E. Alvord's dignified and noble bearing, his fine, imposing appearance, his correct, chaste and easy flow of language, as well as his entire freedom from ostentation, pointed him out as a verv desirable addition to the society of the place, and commanded the almost immediate confidence and encouragement of the intelligent and inflnen- tial portion of the community, and in a short time the correctness of said first impressions were verified to the satisfaction of the whole community.

"He first grasped the editorial pen. and soon newspaper columns reflected his thorough and accurate knowledge of politics ; his political speeches evidenced his much mure than ordinary oratorical powers ; his frequent lectures upon literary and scientific subjects plainly showed his wide survey of the wide fields of literature and science, while the rhetorical and captivating orations delivered by him, upon various occasions, plainly exhibited his intimate acquaintance with both ancient and classic lore, as well as with fiction of the highest order. Therefore, when his universally conceded high mental endowments, together with the high literary and scientific attainments exhibited by him at the early period above alluded to, are remembered, as well as the further wellknown fact that these were supplemented by half a century of further incessant, unremitting research in the same wide-spread but delightful fields, I feel that the high attainments I have claimed for him should not be considered exaggeration.

"While his religious views, upon certain points, perhaps, can not be considered in strict harmony with the strict standards of orthodoxy, still, perhaps, no one had a clearer vision of 'God in every tree," or more plainly heard the Divine voice 'in the winds.' And it may truthfully be said of him that he needed not 'the wrath of the mad, unchained elements to teach who rules them.'

"And whether beholding the 'heavens on fire with falling thunderbolts/ or viewing the 'milder majesty' of the great I Am, he believed it the duty of every one to learn to 'conform the order of his life to the beautiful order of the great Creator." as plainly exhibited in his works. He never made any public profession of religion, liecause, as he claimed, he believed that certain church dogmas were to a considerable extent tinctured with some of the ancient and medieval forms of superstition, still he always manifested a strong anxiety for the progress of the cause, feeling that such 'illusory beliefs," which to some extent had substituted the 'mysterious and the occult for the natural and the common place." were being rapidly eliminated from church creeds by more and more liberal constructions thereof. Such objections he seemed to seriously deplore as hindrances to the progress of a great cause. - simplv 'tares among the wheat,' and, therefore, all calls by the church for material aid, generally, met with ready and liberal responses from him.

"He was not a politician in the usual modern acceptation of the term, nor was it possible for him to become a popular one with a majority of such, as his mind towered so immeasurably above the usual debasing, revolting tricks and demagogism resorted to in the modern manipulation of political wires, that when any such debasing conditions were proposed, as necessary preliminaries to success, they were so promptly repelled that,' generally, offense followed. To him they were simply insulting ti 1 the native simplicity and commendable dignity which actuated and governed his political career.

"He was imperfect because human. ( >ccasionally he exhibited weaknesses that were regretted by his friends, and. also, by himself, but, to a great extent, these were obliterated by his very many towering virtues.

as the weak, twinkling light of the stars is obscured by the much more powerful beams of the glorious orb of day. But there are still a few who remember his weaknesses and seem to glory in them, as it always has been, that

" Certain minds look upon the lily with microscopic eyes, Eager and glad to seek out specks on its robe of purity And now, as ever, it is found that

Great minds gaze on the sun, glorying in his brightness, And taking large knowledge of his good, in the broad prairies of creation: What, though he hatch basilisks? what though spots

"But the same weakness was exhibited by Webster, Clay ami others among the greatest and best men of the nation, vet by a great and appreciative people these spots are obscured by the gigantic intellects, the great services and the many noble virtues of the men.

"Like those just mentioned, it seemed that the great desire of Mr. Alvord for the acquisition of knowledge so far dominates that for the accumulation of wealth, as to leave him but little time to- devote to the latter, and the result was that he died comparatively poor in point of earthly treasure. But though no costly, ponderous monument shall be erected to his memory to point future generations to his honored dust still his venerable form, his exalted mind, his towering intellect, his useful life and his 'unpublished charity' will be remembered long after the costly marble placed over the grave of many among the gay, the wealthy and the proud, who died with plethoric purses, but

"And the good people of Noble and surrounding counties are anxiously awaiting the unveiling of the monument to his memory which will prove much more durable than polished granite and which is, for the present, deposited in the sanctum of the publisher of 'Alvord's History of Noble Coun- I ty. Indiana," and which is confidently e pected not only to rescue from oblivion very much valuable and interesting matter connected with the history of said county, but also to faithfully reflect the calm, benevolent and highly intellectual features, indisputable evidences of the classical learning and classical style of its eminent author, as well as to throw 'streams of light' on his many 'deeds of love and the glorious record of his many virtues.' May it ever be 'held up to men, bidding them claim a palm like his. and catch from him the hallowed flame." "

The folloing brief biographies are taken from addresses made by Mr. Alvord at the meeting of Old Settlers, at various times, and reproduced here by himself:

Mercy Hopkins was born in Pittsford, Rutland county, Vt.. January 3, 1803, and died at the residence of her son. Frank A. Baker, in Allen township, Noble county. Ind.. March 22, 1895. aged ninety-two years, two months and nine days. She was married to Silas S. M< tt April 1, [821. To this union were born two sons and one daughter: Matthew. Silas and Ruinda ( Potter), all of whom preceded their mother to the spirit world many years. After the death of her first husband she married Alpheus Baker, February 7, 1830, who died in January. 1888, in his ninety-third year. By her last marriage seven children were born, four of whom, Timothy, Caleb, Mary (Richards) and Frank are still living. For the past twenty-five years her home had been with her youngest son, Frank, four miles south of the city of Kendallville.

Mr. and Mrs. Baker came to Noble county in August, 1836, and settled in a log cabin which stood near the present site of the school-house in Lisbon. A year or two later they removed about half a mile further west and began to make a home on what has been known for years as the Baker farm, then an unbroken forest, and now occupied by Mr. T. D. Baughman and Mr. 'George Tyler. Mr. and Mrs. Baker's family was the third to settle in Allen township, Mr. G. T. Ulmer's being the first. He came in 1834 and settled where hidings' addition to Kendallville is now located; Samuel Weimer's was second. They came in the spring of 1836 and settled near Avilla.

When Mr. and Mrs. Baker arrived in Noble county there were ten in their family, four of Mr. Baker's by a previous marriage, three by her first marriage and three by their last union. They came with little means, and the privations and hardships peculiar to settlers in a new and heavilytimbered country were experienced by them. They brought, however, an abundant supply of indomitable energy, perseverance, heroic endurance and fortitude, which served them even better than money, and they prospered, reared their children and lived to see them fill honored and useful places in life. Mrs. Baker was a wellformed, healthy woman, and possessed a rugged constitution, an essential requisite to resist and combat the sickly malarial influences so peculiar to the early history of this county. She seemed well fitted for pioneer life and appeared to enjoy it. She was a most exemplary Christian woman, endowed with all the attributes of a grand and noble womanhood, and it may be said of her that she filled and rounded out the full measure of life's aims, purposes and duties. She was never happier than when ministering to the comfort and happiness of her family, her neighbors and friends.

A peculiar feature, and one that deserves more than passing notice, is the war record of her family, of which she was justly proud. Mr. Baker, her husband, was a soldier yi the war of 1812, and no less than six of her sons and two sons-in-law took prominent parts in the bloody drama of the war of the Rebellion, and several of them carry gunshot wounds inflicted upon them during the contest. During the last year or two of her life she was afflicted somewhat with rheumatic trouble, but the immediate cause of her death was perhaps the result of a fall she sustained in February last, which fractured the bones of her hip. She was tenderly cared for 'by Mr. and Mrs. Frank- Baker and her daughter. Mrs. Mary Richards, who was called here from her home in Michigan. Her funeral took place on Sunday afternoon and was largely attended. Mrs. Elizabeth (Crone) Jones, of Garret, a former neighbor and highly prized friend, delivered an impressive funeral discourse. The remains were laid beside those of her family in the Lisbon cemetery near by, and overlooked the scenes of her pioneer home.

Leonard Lyon

Was a native of Jefferson county, ' N. Y., born in LeRoy township, August 16, 1816. He came to Noble county, Ind., in 1843, aml settled in Swan township on the land he occupied until his death. In 1850 he married Jane E. Knapp, to which union were horn five children, two of whom preceded them to the spirit land. Mr. Lyon died at his home in Swan township on the 28th day of July, 1895, aged seventy-eight years, eleven months and twelve days.

"When Mr. Lyon settled in Swan township the general condition of the country was but little advanced from that of 1840 - the original date of this association. The only distinction between them is the arbitrary one of time, and it is well known that to the settler whose land war? uncleared and cabin to he built the outlook in 1843 was Dut very little better than in 1840. The real test, after all, is in the actual circumstances of the case. Air. Lyon was a man of twenty-seven years when he came. He became a worker in the mission of improvement and civilization at a time when some who now outrank him as old settlers (in time) were young children, incapable to "either hold or drive" the plow of progress. An attack of hip disease at the age of sixteen years seriously threatened his life, and for five years he struggled uncertainly between death and life. He partially recovered, but during his whole after life was afflicted and his physical energies impaired. His condition governed in choice of occupation and he became a school teacher, continuing in that honorable and useful vocation for many years with a success that gained him popular esteem and exerted a salutary and elevatirs' influence.

He settled permanently in 1843 and made his home, though unmarried, on the farm where he died. Seven years after his settlement, as before stated, he was married to Miss Jane E. Knapp. Especially during the earlier years of his life on Noble county soil Mr. Lyon experienced more than an ordinary share of the hardships and privations of pioneer life. He had to endure and suffer many things which an able-bodied man could have overcome or avoided. He was an enemy to injustice, dishonesty and crime, and was an active member of the "Regulators" in the later 'fifties. Though not able to give efficient personal aid in pursuit and arrest, he was vigilant and keen in detection and ever ready when financial aid was needed.

Obituary Of Horace H. Warner

Horace H. Warner was born in the town of Truxton, Cortland county, N. Y., April 25, 1822, and died at his home in Rome City, Ind., November 28. 1896, aged seventy-four years, seven months and three days. He was united in marriage 10 Ursula J. Hitchcock at Parma, Monroe county, N. Y.. April 2j, 1S47. They moved west to Indiana in October, 1849, and located in Noble county, one and onehalf miles west of Rome City. Here Father Warner labored hard and earnestly for many j-ears,* clearing up his land and making, as it were, the forest to blossom as a rose. He owned two hundred acres and nearly all the work of felling the timber, logging and clearing" up the land ready for the breaking plow was done mainly by himself, his loving wife being his greatest helper in all things. He also, with his team, helped his neigh- bars in their clearings and ether work on their farms, lie was one of the pioneers of that early day, was a great worker, and lived to enjoy with his family for many years the benefits of his labors and a remunerative reward. Father Warner and family left the farm in April, 1883, and soon thereafter built and occupied the presen' home in Rome City, where they enjoyed great peace and happiness for many years and a much needed rest from their excessive farm labors. Mother Warner preceded him to the spirit land February 6, 1894. Father Warner had been troubled with a weak heart for many years, and had undergone treatment for the same for a long time. Finally the heart could not be sustained any longer by his competent physician or any earthly help, and ceased to operate very suddenly. He was a kind and loving father, very patient in his illness. We shall miss him greatly in the home, the last year of his life having been so1 tender and loving. He was prayerful to the end and died peacefully, believing and trusting in his Heavenly Father. He told us that he was near the end of his journey and felt willing to go; 'he wanted to be with dear mother and forever at rest. He told his neighbors ami friends that he realized his enfeebled condition and was ready to depart. The only regret he expressed was in leaving his dear daughter, whom he loved as his own life. He always manifested a warm interest in the welfare and prosperity of the Methodist Episcopal church of Rome City, and gave largely of his means toward its erection and the needed expense of the same. He leaves a loving and sorrowing daughter, Mrs. G. T. Brothwell. her husband, one brother and other relatives to mourn their loss. The funeral was held at his late residence Tuesday, December 1st, at 1 130 P. M., and was conducted by Rev. T. J. Fetro, of the Methodist Episcopal church. A brother, Roswell K. Warner, of Marion, and a nephew, Lorenzo D. Warner, of Palmyra. X. Y., with relatives from Lima. Indiana, were present at the funeral. A large number of friends and neighbors were in attendance, ilis remains were laid to rest in. Orange cemetery.

Who came to Noble county from Ohio in the year 184S, and who died August 19,. 1895, aged ninety-five years and twenty-four days, was a prominent figure in the ranks of the old settlers, and one of the foremost citizens of Jefferson township. He was hi mi in Baltimore county, in the state of Maryland, July 2j, ]8oo. His life began in the first year of the century. I le migrated when a young man to Morrow county, Ohio, and there, on the 4th of March, 1824, he wedded Miss Elizabeth Edwards, a young woman of excellent mental and spiritual characteristics. Nine children were born to them during their union of forty-eight years. The noble, faithful wife and loving mother left them on the 6th of February, 1X72. Five children preceded him to the tomb; four, with several grandchildren and many other relatives, survived him. This is the entiresubstance of his very brief published obituary;

Christian Foster was a man of great energy, both physical and mental. He was successful and prominent as a business man, active, resolute and ambitious. His mind was intent upon accomplishing the umost that was possible in his sphere of action. His nature was frank and outspoken. His manner and address was pushing and emphatic, sometimes bordering upon the boisterous and censorious, when his sense of right and convictions of the fitness of things had been shocked and crossed ; but he was not sullen and silently revengeful. His way was that of open rebuke and denunciation. His strong, aggressive, conquering spirit rejected the restraints of diplomacy, and sometimes the suggestions of toleration, when in the heat of combat. The blow was struck | (figuratively), the sentence pronounced, the j step taken, sometimes prematurely, perhaps, as it may have appeared to those who knew not the hidden influences and felt not the of unrevealed wrong. Sometimes men are misjudged upon false evidence, which they have ho chance to refute. We mean this in reference to the elements of character. We never heard of any ground for misjudgment of Christian Foster from his acts. By his acts, in business intercourse with his fellow men, he was known universally as an upright and honorable, as well as a strong and successful man. He became wealthy by honest toil, keen sagacity and prudent hus- ' bandrv of the fruits of his labor and economy. But that was not all. He was an advocate of true principles. He desired that all should shape their course by right principles and reap the rewards. He was a preacher as well as an exemplar of well-directed effort and rectitude in dealing. He was assertively in favor of honesty. He was also aggressively opposed to fraud of every kind, and his emphatic, uncompromising denunciations of it often gave an impression of hard-heartedness and bigotry. But this was a mistaken view. "Uncle Chris" was