Wabash County, Indiana - The whole text, 1914 (part 2 of 16)

When Valentine A. Mattern was five years old the family moved to Wabash, but most of his early training was on the farm and his edu¬ cation from the district schools of the community. When he reached his majority he began farming on his own responsibility, but after two years came to Wabash. For four years he was employed as a clerk in the general store of J. W. Busic, perhaps the ablest merchant Wabash ever had. He then bought a half interest in a grocery store, in asso¬ ciation with George Young, and a year later sold out to Mr. Young and entered the employ of Whiteside & Goodlander in the dry goods busi¬ ness. That was his work seven years, and then, with F. V. and C. N. Conner as partners, he bought a book store and jewelry shop in 1894, under the firm name of Conner, Mattern & Conner. This establish¬ ment they conducted under the name mentioned until early in 1900, when John H. Mattern, brother of Mr. Mattern, was admitted to part¬ nership. At this time the business was very materially enlarged by roi. n - i the addition of a dry goods store which was operated under the name of Y. A. Mattern & Company, F. V. Conner and John H. Mattera taking charge of the book and jewelry store and C. N. Conner and V. A. Mattern looking after the dry goods establishment.

In 1905 the firm dissolved partnership, the Mattern Brothers taking as their equity in the business the dry goods end, while the Conner Brothers took the book and jewelry store. V. A. Mattern & Brother operated their dry goods store for one year, and then John H. Mattern sold his interest to his brother and turned his attention to farming, in which he has since been successfully occupied. V. A. Mattern has con¬ tinued the store name, The New Golden Rule, up to the present time, but with January, 1913, came the change in the name of the firm, when the admission of his son, Karl, to the business, made the name V. A. Mattern & Son the more appropriate title.

It is not only as a merchant that Mr. Mattern is known in Wabash county, but also as a successful farmer and stock raiser. His enter¬ prise in this direction is conducted on one hundred and twenty acres of land, owned by his mother-in-law, Mrs. Henry Lanzer, and located two miles north of Wabash on the Mount road. With Arthur Tomson as partner, Mr. Mattern rents that place, and together they have made more than a local reputation in the raising of Chester white hogs, besides the general operations of such a farm. Mr. Mattern also owns a farm of two hundred and fourteen acres located in Green township of Mar¬ shall county, Indiana.

A prominent citizen of Wabash in business, social and fraternal circles, Mr. Mattern affiliates with the Knights of Pythias, the Benev¬ olent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Independent Order of Foresters, while he and his wife are active members of the German Evangelical church. On October 18, 1880, Mr. Mattern married Miss Caroline Lanzer. They are the parents of two children: Karl H. and Ruth. Politically Mr. Mattern is a democrat, and is now serving as a member of the Wabash school board. He is one of the progressive and up-to-date men of the city, and a citizen of the finest type.

Clarence H. LaSelle. Now secretary of the Citizens Savings and Trust Company of Wabash, Clarence H. LaSelle, while one of the younger men in business affairs at the county seat, has shown excep¬ tional ability in business affairs, and since he left school twenty-five years ago has been a constant and hard worker and always alive to the best interests of his community.

Clarence H. LaSelle is a son of Harvey B. LaSalle, one of Wabash county's best knowTn citizens, whose career is briefly sketched on other pages. The son was born on his father's farm in Wabash county, Sep¬ tember 10, 1872. Reared in the country, with an education afforded by the public schools, while still in his teens he started to earn his own living as clerk in a shoe store conducted by Charles E. Hutton. Two years later he found similar employment in a grocery store for a time.

and then became associated with his father in the .general fire and life insurance business. Mr. LaSelle has been identified with insurance for a number of years, has built up a large clientele, and has written the original policies and kept up the renewals for a great many patrons year after year in Wabash and Wabash county.

Mr. LaSelle is one of the veterans of the Spanish- American war. In April, 1898, the month war was declared against Spain, he volunteered in Company D of the One Hundred and Sixtieth Indiana Volunteers, and took charge of a squad of thirty recruits whom he escorted to Indianapolis to join the regiment. He was then given the non-com¬ missioned office of corporal, and for some months during the Cuban campaign in the summer of 1898 was stationed on that island. How¬ ever, neither he nor his comrades saw any active campaigning, but had to content themselves with garrison and occupation duties. When the Citizens Savings and Trust Company of Wabash was organized Mr. LaSelle 's insurance business was merged into the larger organization, and Mr. LaSelle became secretary of the company.

In politics he was actively identified with the local republican party until the campaign of 1912, and for a number of years served as secre¬ tary of the republican county central committee. However, in that year he followed his convictions and went over to the new progressive party, an alliance which he has since maintained and is now classified in the progressive ranks. Fraternally his associations are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

On October 18, 1899, Mr. LaSelle married Miss Daisy Williams, and they have two daughters, Martha and Mary. Mr. LaSelle and wife are both members of the Presbyterian church.

Hon. Joseph Calwell Gochenour. Soldier, legislator and commer¬ cial genius, a man of diversified talents and many parts, the late Hon. Joseph C. Gochenour left an indelible impress upon the business, finan¬ cial and political interests of Wabash county. An ideal citizen, broad, intelligent and patriotic, he was a noble example of upright, conscien¬ tious manhood, and in his death, which occurred very suddenly Febru¬ ary 9, 1910, there passed away one whom the country could ill afford to lose.

Mr. Gochenour was born May 8, 1848, the son of Abram and Rebecca Calwell Gochenour, of the city of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and when four years of age was taken by his parents to Davenport, Iowa. Soon thereafter the family made removal to Madison county, Indiana, where Abram Gochenour, the father, purchased and operated a farm. Five years later, in 1857, they came to Wabash county, settling in Noble town¬ ship, two and one-half miles south of Wabash, and here young Gochen¬ our 's boyhood days were passed, his early educational training being secured in the district school.

On May 2, 1864, when a lad of but sixteen years of age, he answered his country's call for troops during the Civil war, and enlisted in Corn- pany P, One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Regiment of Indiana Infantry, with which he served four months and was honorably discharged Septem¬ ber 22, 1864, his time of enlistment being completed. At the end of that period he returned to his Indiana home, but again enlisted January 21, 1865, as a member of Company A, One Hundred and Fifty-third Regi¬ ment of Indiana Infantry, and continued with that organization as a corporal until September 4, 1865, when he was given his honorable dis¬ charge after an enviable record for bravery and faithfulness to duty. On his return to Wabash county he found employment as a farm hand, and was so engaged for a time. He later purchased an interest in a saw mill and became associated with his father and brother in that business.

Being desirous of further education, he spent two winter terms in study under competent teachers, and thus qualified as an instructor, was for about ten years a teacher in the schools of Wabash county and became widely and favorably known as an educator. The romance of his life began in one of the schools of which he had charge, and one of his pupils subsequently became his wife. In 1878, Mr. Gochenour sold a small farm which he had previously purchased from his earnings in the schoolroom and with the proceeds embarked upon his career in the commercial world as the proprietor of a general mercantile store in the village of Somerset. By January, 1885, he had outgrown that locality, and accordingly moved to Roann, being identified with the commercial interests of that city from April, 1885, until August, 1899, meeting with exceptional success. In the fall of 1901, with others, Mr. Gochenour organized the Indiana State Bank of North Manchester, of which he was chosen cashier and gen¬ eral manager, and successfully directed the affairs of that institution for about two years. Then resigning, he and his wife returned to Roann, and shortly afterward, on account of his health, they went to California. On returning from the west Mr. Gochenour sold his interests in the bank and bought two hundred and forty acres of farm land in Paw Paw town¬ ship. They spent the summer of 1906 on the farm returning to Roann in the fall and in the spring of 1907 moved to Wabash, where Mrs. Gochenour still resides. On March 23, 1871, Mr. Gochenour was united in marriage to Miss Emma J. Wohlgamuth, who was born September 4, 1851, a daughter of John and Nancy (Howell) Wohlgamuth, of Waltz township, Wabash county. Mr. and Mrs. Gochenour started life with nothing, and it was by hard work and an unusually efficient co-operation between the two that they eventually came to enjoy all the reasonable standards of material prosperity. Although they had no children of their own, they took into their home a niece, the orphaned daughter of his oldest brother, John Gochenour, who was also a soldier and who died in Missouri after the war. This niece, Hattie Gochenour, was reared by Mr. and Mrs. Gochenour as their own daughter, and she is now the wife of M. G. Mitten, of Wabash. They have two children, Josephine Emma Mitten, a member of the class of 1914 in the Wabash high school, and Joseph Robert Mitten, a student in the public schools. Mr. Gochenour 's home life was most exemplary. For more than twenty years of her mar¬ ried life Mrs. Gochenour 's health was very precarious, and her husband gave her his undivided care and attention, waiting upon her as he would a child. She was always first in his mind, and when she grew stronger his health began to fail, and on December 1, 1909, they started south to spend the winter for the recuperation of his health. They made arrange¬ ments with the railroad whereby they traveled only in day time, this enabling them to visit and see historical points - the National Cemeteries and places where he stood guard on the picket line when as a young soldier of the Republic he was ready to give up his life that the Republic might live. They visited the sight of Andersonville Prison and quenched their thirst at "Providence Spring," which during the war suddenly gushed forth from the ground inside the dead line, and was named by the dying soldier prisoners, "Providence Spring." But his health be¬ came worse, and they returned home, but not until they had gone to St. Augustine, Florida. From his home he was soon to be taken to his final resting place in Fall's cemetery in the city of Wabash. His widow at the time of this writing, 1914, lives in her comfortable home in the cherished memories of her departed husband and his sweet and gentle home life.

Mr. Qochenour was a member of the Christian church, with which denomination his widow is also identified. While a resident of Roann he was a deacon in the church, and in less than a year after moving to Wabash was honored with a similar office in the Wabash Christian church, and also served as trustee with both churches.

He held membership in Post No. 257, Grand Army of the Republic, and was at one time affiliated with Lodge No. 471 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

Mr. Gochenour from the time he attained his majority had been in¬ terested in political matters and had been a stalwart supporter of the republican party. In 1876 he was elected justice of the peace for Waltz township, an office in which he served for four years, and in 1882 was elected township trustee, continuing to hold that position until he moved away from that locality. Upon taking up his residence at Roann he entered actively into the political affairs of that place, and in 1896 became the nominee of his party for the office of state sen¬ ator. At the ensuing election he was elected by a handsome majority, and subsequently made an excellent record as a legislator. During his first term he represented the counties of Wabash and Kosciusko, and in 1900 he was returned to the Senate to represent the district composed of Wabash and Fulton counties. During his incumbency of that office Mr. Gochenour served on some of the most important committees within the gift of the Senate, among them being: Prisons, of which he was chairman; Joint Committee on State Library; Military Affairs; County and Township Business; Claims and Expenditures; Soldiers' Monuments and others, in all of which his services were greatly appreciated and his duties efficiently discharged. He was known as one of the working and influential members of that distinguished body, and was able to secure many benefits for his constituents.

progressive citizens, and no movement for the real advancement of the city was launched that did not receive his active and hearty co-opera¬ tion. He was pre-eminently an organizer and an executive, a man of great business talent, and, withal, a courteous, kindly gentleman.

Sanford Honeywell, a millwright by trade, came to Wabash county in 1843 and became prominent in its growth and development in the years of his residence here. He was born on March 30, 1818, at Burgettstown, Washington county, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Israel and Judith Honeywell. In 1828 the father, Israel Honeywell, died, and his widow and children moved to Sangamon county, Illinois, in the year 1834, and from there one year later they moved to Fayette county, Indiana.

Sanford Honeywell grew to manhood in Fayette county amidst pioneer scenes and incidents, and he worked at his trade of millwright after coming first to Wabash county, to him being accorded the credit for having erected the first flouring mill in Wabash, in the interests of Robert Cissna. He also erected and opened the first tile mill ever established here, and for many years he operated a cider mill of his own designing and building. In the year 1859, Mr. Honeywell aban¬ doned his trade and thereafter extensively manufactured cider vinegar, in which he enjoyed a pleasing success.

Mr. Honeywell was a man of more than average discernment and he was very highly esteemed for his many sterling qualities. He mar¬ ried in Fayette county, this state, Miss America F. Myers, on February 14, 1843. She died on March 3, 1873. Mrs. M. J. Launder, of Wabash, became his second wife on March 25, 1874, and this marriage was blessed with one son, Mark C. Honeywell, who is mentioned in a sketch imme¬ diately following this.

Mr. Honeywell during the winters from 1880 until the year of his death, resided in De Land, Florida, there devoting himself to the some¬ what extensive growing of oranges. While there he died on December 31, 1893. His widow still survives him and makes her home in Wabash.

Mr. Honeywell was a man of high ideals and he held himself rigidly to his ideas of what he regarded as the right and proper course. A deep thinker and reasoner, "he was of an inventive turn of mind, and in his day devised many improvements bearing directly upon those enterprises with which he was connected. He was a religious man, in the best sense of the term. He was a man who acquired some wealth, but he never aspired to wealth for its own sake, his desire being rather to provide liberally for those near and dear to him, and beyond that in an unostentatious way to contribute to worthy enterprises and chari¬ table objects. He was a man ever thoughtful and considerate of the rights of others, at the same time abrogating to himself the unquestion¬ able privilege of deciding for himself those matters of life which were to him of paramount importance. He never used profane language, was strictly temperate in all his habits, and was stanchly and utterly opposed to the liquor traffic.

Mark C. Honeywell, the son of Sanford and Mary J. (Mariner) (Launder) Honeywell, was born in Wabash, Indiana, on Decem¬ ber 29, 1874. He was educated in the public schools of Wabash and De Land, Florida, and in the John T. Stetson University at the latter place, where the family spent their winters for many years prior to the death of the father.

The first business venture of Mr. Honeywell was in the fruit broker¬ age field at De Land, and he was also for a season or two in Florida and California. In 1898, Mr. Honeywell returned to Wabash, after having traveled throughout the south and the west in the interests of an eastern manufacturing concern for some months, and here he engaged in the heating business. He has continued in this enterprise ever since, grad¬ ually emerging from the contracting end of the business to the manu¬ facturing phase, and he is now one of the prominent manufacturers of heating specialties in the state.

The history of Mr. Honey well's success in the manufacture of heat¬ ing appliances is briefly set forth in an article from which are culled the following extracts, calculated to give a comprehensive and concise idea of the work to which he has devoted himself so satisfactorily in recent years.

"In 1905, after much experimenting, the Honeywell System of hot water heating was finally perfected by Mr. M. C. Honeywell, who was then in the contracting business. The following year a company bear¬ ing his name was formed to manufacture the equipment designed by him for the Honeywell System of Hot Water Heating.

"The ideas advanced by Mr. Honeywell and the devices he had invented to accomplish the results sought, were soon brought to the attention of the engineers and manufacturers connected with the heat¬ ing trade. Most of the experts were quick to appreciate the advantage of the most important discovery ever made in connection with hot water heating, though there were a few who could scarce believe such simple changes would practically revolutionize the methods then in vogue.

"The reports from the heating contractors who installed the system were so flattering and conclusive that there could be no room for doubt or argument as to the merits of the Honeywell System of controlled hot water heating. It was a proven success. It obtained more heat from a given quantity of coal and delivered it to the radiators more quickly and effectively than was possible under the old style system.

"Since its introduction, each year has shown a constantly increasing number of buildings equipped with his system. They are doing satis¬ factory sendee in all parts of the United States, Canada, England, and other foreign countries - in fact all over the civilized world."

The ingenuity that marked the career of Mr. Honeywell's father, Sanford Honeywell, along mechanical lines, has been amplified and enlarged in the makeup of his son, for to him is given the credit for having perfected a thermostat that is the most serviceable and complete on the market. The new Honeywell Model Eight Automatic Thermostat, as it is called, is a decided innovation in automatic temperature controll-

Mr. Honeywell is now the president of the Honeywell Heating Spe¬ cialty Company, and is the leading spirit in the activities of the concern.

On October 18, 1901, Mr. Honeywell married Miss Olive Lutz, a daughter of Reuben Lutz. Mrs. Honeywell is a member of the Pres¬ byterian church.

Thomas Mote, who for a period of over sixty years has been a resident of Wabash county, is, by reason of his long acquaintance with the district as well as his accomplishments in business, entitled to specific mention in a work of the nature and purpose of this historical and bio¬ graphical publication. All his experience here has been most worthy, and of a nature as to render him a citizen invaluable to his community. He is not a native born American, and his citizenship is none the less praise¬ worthy because of that fact. His birth occurred in England, on Decem¬ ber 14, 1832, and he is a son of Robert and Alice (Baker) Mote, both natives of England.

The year 1836 marked the immigration of the Mote family to Amer¬ ican shores, and for a time after they came over they lived at Oswego, New York. Some little time thereafter they moved to Ohio, settling in Licking county, and a few years later moved to Paulding county, Ohio, There the father met an untimely death as the result of being kicked by an ox.

Thomas Mote spent his early boyhood days attending the district schools during the winter months, and in assisting his parents on the farm at other times. He was only ten years old when he assumed the re¬ sponsibility for his own goings and comings, in a measure, hiring out to farmers in the neighborhood at whatever wage he could command, usually at 10 cents a day ; and when he was fifteen he went to Cleveland. There he was variously occupied for two years, when he went to Wis¬ consin, there interesting himself in farming activities in Dane county. In 1852, when he was just twenty years old, he settled in Wabash county. He came from Paulding county, Ohio, on the canal, and being hired as a canal boat driver, from that humble position he rose to prominence as a captain, and he remained on the canal from 1852 to 1857. In 1857 he entered a grocery store in Wabash, a little later turning again to the farm, and operating a rented place in Noble township. In 1860, after a fair success in Noble township, he took up his residence on a farm in the vicinity of Roann, but in 1862 he left the place and moved close to Wabash. In 1870 he purchased a place of 110 acres in Lagro township, but three years later disposed of it and moved into town. For some years following his settling in Wabash he devoted his time to the business of selling and buying farm lands, and he also handled insurance, loans and real estate as the business associate of E. S. Ross of this city, they being partners for twenty-five years. In 1891 Mr. Mote retired from active business save that department of his affairs devoted to money loaning, and he has since continued so. His home has been in this city for the past the few years he devoted to teaching found him finishing his pedagogic career as superintendent of the old South Wabash Seminary, which had been turned into a Quaker institution of learning.

It was early borne in upon the young student that his fort was not in teaching, and though his success in that field was a creditable one, he felt that he would go farther and far^ better in the law. He accord¬ ingly took up the study of law, his work largely being carried on under the direction of Judge J. D. Conner, Sr., and he was admitted to the bar in about 1876. He established himself in his profession in a partner¬ ship with Warren Q. Sayre, under the firm name of Sayre & Hutchens. They were associated in practice for a number of years when the part¬ nership was dissolved, and thereafter Mr. Hutchens practiced alone for some time, and then formed an association with Charles Flynn under the firm name of Hutchens & Flynn. He continued thus until his death on July 11, 1890, when he was but thirty-nine years of age. His death was a decided loss to the city and county, and was universally regarded as a misfortune which the community could ill afford to bear.

Mr. Hutchens' career, though all too brief, was an exceedingly busy one, and he served in numerous important public capacities in the years of his practice here. He was at one time City Attorney, and again served as County Attorney, and brief though his legal service was in years, he was recognized by all as one of the foremost lawyers of his day. He became equally prominent in public affairs, and it was through his instrumentality that the city park was deeded to the city by the old Agricultural Society. He, likewise, was the first to suggest the advis¬ ability and possibility of a Board of Trade for Wabash, and his influence and activities resulted eventually in the organizing of such an organ¬ ization, the same being organized in his office. This undoubtedly accom¬ plished more of genuine good in the way of advancement of the city than any other one enterprise that might be considered. For it brought to Wabash the paper mills, that have proved so great an impetus to the industrial life of the city, and resulted in the retaining of the Big Four Shops, as well as drawing to the city numerous other industries that have all helped to make of Wabash the city it is today. Of his work along these lines, too much could not be said of Mr. Hutchens.

For many years Mr. Hutchens was prominent in republican politics, and he stumped Wabash county from border to border in the various campaigns that were conducted in the years of his political and pro¬ fessional activity. In later life he saw fit to give his moral and other support to the cause of prohibition, and when he died he was Chairman of the State Central Committee of that party.

Socially, Mr. Hutchens was prominent and was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was a Birthright Quaker and was a man of particularly fine character. His habits were ever of the more commendable order, and he stood for all that was best in the com¬ munity to the end of his days, commanding as a result the undying respect and esteem of his fellow townsmen, and having their confidence at all times.

Mr. Hutchens married Miss Abbie Small, also of Quaker parents, and to them were born five children. Harry B., the eldest, is mentioned specifically in a later paragraph. Lulu died in infancy, and the others are Orth D., Essie and Jesse Platt Hutchens. Mrs. Hutchens is still living, and is now the wife of W. S. Moffatt, and resides in Kennard, Indiana.

Harry B. Hutchens was born in South Wabash on November 2, 1874, and has always lived in Wabash county. He was graduated from the Wabash High School with the class of 1901, and has since that time been independently engaged in business. For two years after he left school he was identified with the hardwood lumber business as a dealer and for the past nineteen years has been engaged in the laundry busi¬ ness. He purchased the Huff & Grover Laundry in 1894, and is now the sole owner of the Hutchens Laundry, the largest in Wabash.

Mr. Hutchens was married on January 25, 1904, to Miss Lulu Coppock, a daughter of Edward and Esther Coppock, and to them have been born two children: Harry J. and Howard Tillman Hutchens.

Horatio S. Logan, of Wabash, is a native of this county, born in Liberty township, near LaPontaine, on December 6, 1862. He is a son of Oliver P. Logan, who came from Rush county to Wabash county, this state, in pioneer times, and settled on a new farm in Liberty town¬ ship. He had married in Rush county Susan Winship, and with the aid of his wife, who was sturdy and ambitious, settled down to the task of clearing and improving the place.

Oliver P. and Susan Logan became the parents of seven children, of which number five are now living. The parents were long con¬ sistent members of the Baptist church, but aside from the fact that they were hard working, honest and upright people, there was but little out of the ordinary in their lives that calls for specific mention. Mr. Logan was a companionable and congenial man, and few in the county had more or warmer friends than were his all his days. He died there secure in the respect and confidence of all who knew him, and his widow still survives him, having her home in LaFontaine.

Horatio S. Logan was reared on the farm of his parents, and dur¬ ing the period of his boyhood he attended the LaFontaine public schools. His father having built a grist mill in LaFontaine, young Logan was given a share in the property when he reached his twentieth birthday, and he continued in the business there for a number of years.

Following his milling experience, Mr. Logan was engaged in the wholesale and retail grocery business at Decatur, Illinois, for three years, after which he returned to Wabash county and resumed farm¬ ing in Liberty township. Three years he spent thus, and then he became engaged in the handle and head manufacture business at Pierceton, Indiana, where he continued for two years, after which he moved the factory to Bunker Hill, in Miami county, continuing to operate it there until fire destroyed the plant in 1900. Then Mr. Logan came to Wabash and for four years thereafter he was associated with L. A. Dawes in

At this time he assisted in the organization of the Wabash Artificial Ice Company, which later became the Wabash Artificial Ice & Fuel Company, and he has ever since been identified with this enterprise, controlling the retail end of the business, known as the Wabash Ice Delivery Company.

In December, 1911, Mr. Logan leased the Eagles theater, and launched a moving picture show, with legitimate road shows, and the enterprise was an unqualified success. Mr. Logan was the first to realize any suc¬ cess in the moving picture business in Wabash and when after two years of occupancy of that building his lease expired, he secured his present quarters at 63 W. Market street, and fitted them up in first class shape for the moving picture business. He has succeeded here as he did in the Eagle block, thus proving again his capacity for handling an enter¬ prise of that character in a profitable and creditable manner.

Mr. Logan is a democrat in politics. In 1910, he permitted his name to be used as the candidate of his party for the office of sheriff, but he was defeated at the polls. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.

On May 20, 1886, Mr. Logan was married to Miss Alice Vandergrift, of LaFountaine, and they are the parents of three children - Lawrence E., Nellie May and Lucile. Mrs. Logan is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Captain Alexander Hess. The lawyers of the first several decades of the life of Wabash have passed away. Of those who came to the bar during the sixties, most of them have long since laid down their briefs. Some survive in retirement, enjoying the ease and dignity which lives of intellectual activity have earned, while fewer still continue to partici¬ pate in the struggles which competition of younger and more vigorous men make more severe and exacting. Not only the honors of seniority but of varied and distinguished service belong to Captain Alexander Hess, who is the dean of the Wabash bar.

Since January, 1866, nearly fifty years, he has been in active practice, and still keeps an open office. He was admitted to the bar in April, 1865, but did not begin active practice until 1866. In the first military com¬ pany organized in this section of Indiana, and which went away to par¬ ticipate in the first campaign of the Union, Alexander Hess was a mem¬ ber, and after re-enlistment continued to fight for his flag until the clos¬ ing months of the great conflict. Captain Hess has a splendid military record, and his title was well earned on many a hard-fought field of battle. Equally as good was his record as a public official and as a private citizen. If any one in Wabash county has earned the privilege of otium cum dignitate, it is Captain Alexander Hess.

A resident of Wabash for the past sixty-four years, Alexander Hess is a native of Richland county, Ohio, born September 10, 1839. He is the second of three children born to Christian and Maria E. (Mozer) tered out. Captain Hess received his honorable discharge at Indian¬ apolis, on October 9, 1864. Few Indiana soldiers saw more of the actual fighting of the long civil conflict than Captain Hess, and few came back from the south with better earned laurels.

On returning to Wabash, the young veteran began the study of law in the office of Hon. J. D. Conner, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1865. In the month of January, in 1866, Captain Hess began his career as a lawyer, and in a short time had risen to distinction as a member of the bar and in public affairs, just as he had won his official commission in the sphere of military life. From the first Captain Hess has been a loyal republican. His first important public office came in 1870 with his election as prosecuting attorney of the eleventh judicial circuit, com¬ posed of the counties of Wabash, Carroll, Cass and Miami, and he was re-elected in 1872. In 1878 he was sent to the lower house of the state legislature, and ten years later in 1888 was again elected a representative and re-elected in 1890. During the session of 1891, he was the Republi¬ can caucus nominee for speaker of the house. In 1894, he began a fouryear service as clerk of the supreme and appellate courts of the State of Indiana. Since 1898 Captain Hess has quietly practiced his profession in Wabash, where he is now the oldest active member of the bar.

Captain Hess keeps up his old association as a member of the Grand Army post, and also belongs to the Military Order of the Loyal Legion. He is a prominent Mason, having the Royal Arch and Council degrees, and is now thrice illustrious master of the local council. He is past worshipful master of the Blue Lodge and past high priest of the chapter.

On July 17, 1873, Captain Hess married Miss Laura McGuire. Mrs. Hess is the oldest daughter of Sidney and Harriet McGuire, of Wabash, both deceased. She was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, February 15, 1849, and in the summer of 1855, with her parents, came to Wabash along the old Wabash and Erie canal. Her father became a citizen of local prominence, serving several years as township trustee of Noble township, and though he had been an ironworker at Pittsburg was engaged chiefly in merchandising in Wabash. Sidney McGuire served as Regimental Quartermaster in the 75th Regiment, Indiana Volunteer In¬ fantry during the Civil War. Mr. and Mrs. Hess are the parents of five children : Clara L., now Mrs. George W. Wormoth of Indianapolis ; Grace E., who died in January, 1903, the wife of Louis F. Smith; Annie L., the wife of Dr. C. J. Snideman of Wabash ; Florence M., now Mrs. Charles C. Colbert of Elkhart, Indiana; and Lawrence E., a resident of Indian¬ apolis.

Captain Hess and wife worship in the Presbyterian church, of which Mrs. Hess has been a member since May, 1865, and Captain Hess since 1868. Mrs. Hess is very prominent in the Wabash Woman's Relief Corps, being past department president of the W. R. C. of Indiana and now president of the local corps. She has also taken a prominent part in literary and social clubs at Wabash. She served as president of the Clio Club, a prominent literary club of the city, and was the first matron of the order of Eastern Star at the time of its organization in Wabash.

Harmon Wolf. At the time of his arrival in Wabash, in 1866, Harmon Wolf was possessed of little capital save brains, energy and a strong determination, and was glad to accept employment as a clerk at a salary of eight dollars per month. Today he is living retired with a fair competency and an assured position in his community. This change in his resources has been brought about by a lifetime of earnest and well-directed effort, in which luck has played no part. Mr. Wolf was at one time known as one of the largest importers of Belgian horses in the United States, and the industry that he founded is still being per¬ petuated in an able manner by his sons. He is a native of Germany, having been born March 14, 1845, at Hochstatten, Rhine, Bavaria, and there reared to manhood and educated in the common schools. He had long decided upon coming to America, and when twenty-one years of age he made the trip to this country, and, after landing at New York City, made his way to Wabash, Indiana.

Mr. Wolf was industrious and ambitious and was almost at the end of his finances, so that he was ready to accept whatever honorable em¬ ployment presented itself and when he was offered a position as a grocer's clerk, at a salary of eight dollars per month, he readily accepted. He was earnest in his efforts and soon won promotion, later becoming employed in a butcher shop. While thus engaged, he began buying stock, and after about ten years spent in the butchering business, dis¬ posed of his enterprise, in order to concentrate his energies entirely upon dealing in livestock. In 1884, he became a partner with Nathan Meyer and Abe Straus, in importing Belgian draft horses, and continued thus until 1891, when he started business alone. From 1897 until 1900 he was associated with W. 0. Talbert in exporting horses to the Euro¬ pean markets, and in 1901, Mr. Wolf again started importing, being associated with his son, Henry, who became his partner in 1906. From this period to the present Mr. Wolf and his sons have probably arranged fifty sales annually in this country of full-blooded Belgian draft horses, these sales extending throughout the United States. No man has done more for the stock interests of Wabash county than has Mr. Wolf. He organized the company that now publishes the only authentic Belgian stud book in America, of which he was the first president, the present executive (1913), being his son Henry. In 1910, Mr. Wolf retired from the firm, turned the business over to his sons, and has since lived somewhat retired from business activities, although his wise advise and counsel are frequently sought and freely given on matters of impor¬ tance. While of foreign birth, Mr. Wolf is an American in all else that the name applies. He has shown himself public-spirited in the affairs of his community, and has ever been ready to assist worthy move¬ ments. His high reputation in the business world was gained through a lifetime of integrity and straightforward dealing, and he is remem¬ bered by his old associates as a man in whom the most implicit trust and confidence could be placed.

born, reared, educated and married in Wabash, where they have always made their home. These two sons are now ably carrying on the extensive business founded and developed by their father.

Alvah S. Tilman is one of the successful and prominent business men of Wabash, whose achievements have been such as to render him worthy of mention among the citizenship of his community in a historical and biographical work of the nature of this publication. He was bora near Mansfield, at Lucas, in Richland county, Ohio, on January 18, 1864. His father, David B. Tilman, was a native of Preble county, Ohio, born there on January 15, 1842, and was reared on a farm in Wabash county, Indiana.

David Tilman was the son of Jacob Tillman, as the name was ren¬ dered up to his generation, the latter having moved to Wabash county when his son was a mere infant. David B. Tilman was the youngest of twelve children of his parents. He had only a limited education, such advantages as the pioneer schools of his days offered being all that came his way in early education, and as he grew up he devoted himself to farm life. He sawed a great part of the lumber that went into the construction of the early plank and corduroy roads of those days of primitive road building in Wabash county, and he later operated a flouring mill at North Manchester, and also at Laketon and at Akron, Indiana. He married Susan McFarland on March 9, 1861, and when his eldest son was but a mere infant, he decided to enlist in the army. He accordingly sent his wife and babe home to her parents in Rich¬ land county, Ohio, and he enlisted in Company D, Forty-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He served until peace was restored, and was hon¬ orably discharged at the cessation of hostilities. After the war he took up his residence in Wabash county, here continuing a resident until March, 1884, when he moved to Ozark county, Missouri, and there he has ever since resided. He is the only surviving member of his father's family of twelve children. Mr. Tilman has for half a century been actively identified with the work of the Methodist Episcopal church, and of his six sons, two are ordained ministers of that denomination. As a man, Mr. Tilman has lived a clean, upright, moral and religious life, honest in all his relations with his fellow men, with his family and honest with himself. He has all his life been a worthy example of right living to his family and to all who knew him, and is a type of the finest of American citizenship. His wife died in 1905.

Alvah S. Tilman was born while his father was still in the service of the Union army. He was reared, however, in Wabash county, whither the family removed after the return of the father to the pursuits of peace, and this county has always been his home since then. When a boy he worked with his father in the milling business, but in early man¬ hood he began to clerk in a grocery and bakery at North Manchester. After four years of that work he established himself in business, open¬ ing the doors of a restaurant to the public in March, 1891, in North Manchester. He continued in this for some years, eventually adding a bakery to the restaurant, and in 1900 he sold out, in December, 1901, coming to Wabash, and here embarking in a small way in the bakery and restaurant business. In 1908, he sold the restaurant end of the business, and has since that time devoted himself wholly to the business of building up a first class bakery establishment. In that ambition he has been singularly successful, and his place today is one of the thriving spots in the community.

Mr. Tilman began his business activities with a cash capital of $200. Fortunately, he possessed excellent health, plenty of business courage and ambition, but best of all, he had a wife who was willing to work with him, shoulder to shoulder, and who helped in every way to make whatever has come to them of business prosperity.

A republican in his politics, Mr. Tilman served two terms as coun¬ cilman at North Manchester and one term in the same office in Wabash. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias, while both he and his wife are members of the Metho¬ dist Episcopal church.

On March 7, 1886, Mr. Tilman was married to Miss Cora M. Holderman, and who was born and reared within the corporate limits of North Manchester, a daughter of Henry and Isabelle Holderman. To them were born six children; one of whom died in infancy, Harry Tilman. The others are Marie, Grear, Iva, Della, and Luther.

Judge Harvey B. Shively. The passing of Judge Harvey B. Shively at Wabash on September 10, 1909, concluded a career of large public usefulness on the part of one of Wabash's most loyal and best loved citizens. For upwards of forty years the late Judge Shively was eminent in his profession as a lawyer, and his two terms on the circuit bench gave him a record for the highest standards of judicial administration. As a leader in public affairs he served his county and state not only with the disinterested zeal which every public servant should possess, but also with an exceptional ability and integrity of per¬ formance which left a lasting impress on the state's legislative and economic record. His character was one of singular purity of purpose, of a fine integrity, and which well deserves the memoriam of the written pages.

Judge Shively was born in Preble county, Ohio, August 4, 1844, and was sixty-five years of age at the time of his death. His parents were Henry and Mary (Brower) Shively, and the grandfather was a native of Germany. Henry Shively was born and reared near Canton, Ohio, moved to Preble county, Ohio, about 1828, and in 1861 located on the Eel river in Miami county, Indiana, where he was a successful farmer and had a reputation for the raising of fine stock. About 1870 he moved to Wayne county, and from there to Wabash county, where his death occurred at Roann in 1894 at the age of eighty-seven. His wife passed away in her seventy-eighth year.

moved to Miami county. By his industry both on the farm and in school he laid the foundation for his career, and early looked beyond the horizon of country life to more important service in broader fields. The war broke out about the time the family settled in Miami county, and he soon afterwards volunteered as a boy soldier ami enlisted in Company B of the Fortieth Indiana Infantry under Colonel William L. Wilson. His regiment crossed the Ohio, and it was his fortune to receive his baptism of fire in one of the bloodiest battles of the war, at Shiloh in April, 1862. He was at Corinth and with the army of the Cumberland in the many campaigns backward and forward over Kentucky and Ten¬ nessee, fighting at Pf rryville, at Stone River, receiving a gunshot wound at Missionary Ridge, but continued in the army until 1864, when he was discharged on account of his wounds after an active service of thirty months, during which time he was always with his command and never off duty.

On his return to Wabash he continued his education a time in the city schools and spent two years in the old Methodist College at Fort Wayne. In the meantime he had pursued a course of private reading in the law, and in 1870 entered the law department of the University of Michigan, completed the course and was admitted to the bar and began practice at Wabash in 1871. His first public position was as prosecutor in the common pleas court, and he was the last to hold that office in Wabash county, the court being subsequently abolished. In 1874 he entered the firm of Cowgill, Shively & Cowgill, which during its existence was one of the foremost law firms of Wabash county with a reputation extending through several adjacent counties of the state. In 1882 Mr. Shively was elected to represent Wabash county in the legislature, and there became the recognized leader of the minority. His leadership and influence in shaping legislation was such that the impress of his work is still found in the statute books of Indiana. In 1890 he was called from the private practice of law to the office of judge of the twenty-seventh judicial dis¬ trict, and in November, 1891, succeeded the late Judge J. D. Conner. At the conclusion of his first term he was re-elected in 1896 without oppo¬ sition, and in 1902 he retired from the bench, being succeeded by Judge A. A. Plummer. In 1902 Judge Shively was elected president of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Wabash, and his strong integ¬ rity and the confidence of the people enabled him to administer the affairs of that institution with singular success until his death. After leaving the bench in 1903, Judge Shively practiced in partnership with Frank O. Switzer, and the firm of Shively & Switzer continued until the death of its senior member. Judge Shively was in active practice almost to the day of his death, and though the suddenness of his end was a profound shock to the community, it is a matter of satisfaction that such a man was able to perform his duties almost to the last.

In June, 1875, Judge Shively married Miss Catherine Cowgill, daugh¬ ter of Hon. Calvin Cowgill, another prominent Wabash lawyer and one time congressman, whose sketch is found elsewhere in this publication. With no children of their own, Mr. and Mrs. Shively took into their home a niece, Mrs. Clarence Dufton, who remained a member of their house¬ hold until her marriage. The late Judge Shively was prominent both in the Masonic Order and in the Grand Army of the Republic, and in 1895 was elected department commander of the Grand Army. He was a delegate to all the national encampments thereafter, and had a wide acquaintance among the leading men of the order throughout the United States.

While the above brief outline suggests the important points of a career notable for its attainments and usefulness, it is necessary that some more intimate and detailed estimate of his life should be added. From an editorial sketch published at the time of his death are selected the following sentences :

4 'He came to the Bench with a mind well disciplined by intellectual and professional training, fortified by nearly twenty years' successful practice, and with such experience to sustain him he entered upon his judicial duties under most favorable auspices, and his course soon demon¬ strated the wisdom of his party in elevating him to such an honorable and important position. Few judges in the state have acquired so high a reputation for the soundness in the knowledge of the law and for careful application of its principles in the investigation and determina¬ tion of questions submitted for his discrimination and disposal. Strength¬ ened by his convictions of right, he has seldom committed errors of suffi¬ cient import to justify reversal at the hands of the supreme court ; one such case constituting the record during the incumbency of the first nine years. He gave every matter the most careful and critical con¬ sideration, and, being thoroughly conscientious in his desire to administer justice impartially, refused to be hurried in or any way prompted to pre¬ mature decisions.

4 4 In point of intellectuality, scholarship and profound knowledge of the law, Judge Shively stood in the front rank with the most successful attorneys at the Wabash bar since the beginning of his professional career. He exhibited a high order of talent in that his aim has always been to acquire a critical knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, coupled with the ability to present and successfully maintain the sound¬ ness of his opinion. His practice as a consequence was more than ordin¬ arily successful, and his name appeared in connection with nearly every important case in the Wabash courts for a number of years prior to his election to the judgeship. While on the bench he won the esteem and regard of lawyers and litigants by his uniformly courteous and dignified conduct, being in this respect the equal of any of his predecessors.

4 4 He was a delegate to all the national encampments since his election as department commander. As a political leader his abilities brought him prominently to the front ; and in every local, state and national cam¬ paign since the war his services have been in great demand. He was a popular and effective speaker and by logical presentation of issues and by forcible and eloquent discussion commanded the closest attention of large audiences and seldom failed in his efforts to gain votes. Public spirited in all the term implies, he has stood for everything calculated to advance the material prosperity of his city and county, and as former president of the. Board of Trade, contributed greatly to the commercial interests of Wabash.

" Aside from his profession the Judge was a man of wide learning and general culture. Like the majority of successful professional men, he was well acquainted with the world's standard fiction, finding in such reading rest and recreation for a mind weighed down at times with heavy burdens of official and professional duties. The social side of his nature had not been neglected, being a fine and entertaining conver¬ sationalist, popular with a large circle of friends, among whom his presence was a valuable addition. He was highly esteemed by all classes and much beloved by his family and intimates. His character was open and transparent; his faults, if any, were unconcealed, and his sense of honor was so strong and decided that his life, like an open book, has been read and known by the people among whom he has so long lived and prospered."

At his death both the Wabash County Bar Association and the Grant County Bar Association passed resolutions as a tribute to this eminent lawyer and jurist, and a few paragraphs from the resolutions which ap¬ pear on the records of the Wabash Circuit Court are quoted herewith:

"Judge Shively's career as a soldier, lawyer, legislator, judge and citi¬ zen was inspiring and worthy of the highest commendation. That he was a brave and gallant soldier was evidenced, rot only by service in more than a half score of desperate battles, but by wounds received in action ; the wounds were cruel ones, in that, to the day of his death, forty-five years later, he continually suffered therefrom.

"That his love of country was predominant in his character is evi¬ denced by not only his services and sufferings as a private in battle, but by his unflagging zeal in the interests of the surviving soldiers and com¬ rades of the Union army and the widows and orphans of those who freely gave their lives as sacrifices upon the altar of their country's liber¬ ties that this government might live, and although without rank in the army the high honor came to him from his comrades and copatriots of his election as department commander.

"Without being fulsome it can be truly said that Judge Shively was a lawyer in all that the term implies, he having a clear, logical and ana¬ lytical mind and called to its assistance remarkable industry and appli¬ cation, which made in him a most formidable opponent and adversary. He thoroughly mastered the facts and law relative to any case in which he was interested and none served a client with more zeal and fidelity. His sense of right and justice was predominant and this allied to his industry and capacity gave to his decisions as a judge almost the finality of the decisions of courts of last resort.

"That he was a good lawyer and an ornament to the profession is evidenced by the fact that for twenty years his practice was so varied and successful that he was chosen to preside in the court where his prac¬ tice had been so forceful, and after twelve years of service on the bench by retiring to the practice and at once resuming his former place as one then consisting of a wife and one child, by venturing at once upon prac¬ tice. Besides, he had necessarily contracted some debts while pursuing his studies. After careful deliberation, he determined that duty to his family and his creditors required that he should make no mistake as to the steps then to be taken. Knowing the certainty of the husbandman's regard, he entered a farm and betook himself to the plow. He continued farming in Randolph county till 1846. During this time he met with all the success he had anticipated, and the prospect for entering upon the successful practice of his profession not then being very flattering, he removed to Wabash county, settling on Eel river, in Pleasant town¬ ship, taking a lease on a thousand acre tract of land belonging to Dr. Mendenhall, of Richmond, Indiana. During the succeeding five years, on the Mendenhall land, he cleared two hundred and fifty acres, besides making large improvements in the way of ditching, fencing and building.

Having in this time procured a competency sufficient "to keep the wolf from the door" while he made an effort to establish himself in the profession, an inclination for which had clung to him throughout all these years, in the fall of 1851 he determined to go to the bar. Imme¬ diately after his election to the legislature, in August of the above noted year, he purchased property in Wabash, to which, while a member of the legislature, he had his family removed in the March following. He opened a law office in 1852, and at once engaged in a lucrative practice. Although the bar at Wabash was then made up of such lawyers as Pettit, Gordon, Wheeler, Cox, Connor and many others, younger mem¬ bers, he at once took rank among them, contending for and receiving his share of business. From this time forward, while he continued in active practice, he was engaged on one side of nearly all litigated cases of im¬ portance tried in the courts of Wabash county, and in much of the litigated business of surrounding counties. It is not probable that any client ever complained of Mr. Cowgill's want of attention to his business, and rarely, if ever, was one found to complain of the results attained. He made it a habit thoroughly to acquaint himself with the facts and circumstances connected with the case in hand before going into court; this being done, with his knowledge of the law applicable to the case, he was always prepared for any emergency that might arise and, as a rule, had the satisfaction of seeing his efforts crowuied with success, and of knowing that his client's interests had been fully pro¬ tected. To the care with which he always examined his client's case before it came into court, he ever attributed much of his success as a practitioner. He made it a rule throughout his whole professional life, to discourage his clients from engaging in what seemed to him must end in unsuccessful litigation. In 1854, he formed a law partnership wuth Hon. John U. Pettit, lasting till the fall of 1863. In 1865, he formed a partnership, which lasted two years, with the Hon. H. S. Kelly, late of Andrew county, Missouri, now~ deceased. In 1867, he joined his son, the Hon. Carey E. Cowgill, in practice with him. In 1873, Maj. M. H. Kidd was admitted to the firm, and it then w*as knowm as Cowgill, Kidd & Cowgill. In 1875, Major Kidd withdrew, and Harvey B. Shively, who

Calvin Cowgill filled many positions of honor and public trust. Be¬ ing an ardent Whig, from the exciting days of 1840, when his first vote for president was cast for Harrison, and onward, it was but a natural adaptation of principles that found him in 1854, at the birth of the republican party, in its ranks. Repeatedly his party thrust office upon him, and he never betrayed his trust. He was a member of the first legislature after the adoption of the present constitution of the state; a legislature remarkable for the length of its session, continuing from the first Monday in December, 1851, to June 20, 1852; for the amount of work accomplished, and the practical talents of its members. Among the important labors accomplished by that legislature, were the various changes in the legislation of the state, to conform the laws to the require¬ ments of the constitution, it taking effect November 1, 1851, superseding the constitution of 1816. The changes made in the organic law were im¬ portant and radical, utterly prohibiting special legislation, where general laws were practicable, providing for the change in the mode and pro¬ cedure in the civil practice in courts of justice, by substituting the code for the common law practice that had hitherto prevailed; and defining what should constitute the common school fund, and making provisions by which it should be greatly augmented. These were subjects of legis¬ lation in which Mr. Cowgill took an active interest, especially in the enactment of a law providing for a general system of common schools for the state. In 1854, he was elected treasurer of Wabash county, and held that office from September, 1855, to September, 1859. In 1865, he was again chosen to the state legislature, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Thomas C. Whiteside. Legislature was convened in special session by Governor Morton, November 13, 1865, more espe¬ cially, as stated by the Governor in his message to the assembly wThen convened, to effect the necessary legislation for the payment of a state debt, the bonds or certificates of indebtedness maturing on the 19th day of the succeeding January, and more than a year prior to the time fixed by law for the next regular meeting of the legislature. It was during this special session that provision was made by law for the final extinguishment of a state debt, as well as wiping from the statute book the odious law by which colored persons were prohibited from testifying in courts of justice, in cases where white persons were interested. Mr. Cowgill took an active interest in both these measures, and gave them substantial support, being a prominent member of the judiciary commit¬ tee of the house during that session. Thus Mr. Cowgill's work forms part of the history of two important legislatures.

In 1872 he was candidate for presidential elector, and after his elec¬ tion cast his vote for General U. S. Grant. In 1878, he was elected member of congress, and in fourteen days after his predecessor's time had expired, the Forty-sixth congress was called in special session, March 18, 1879, because of the failure of the preceding congress to pass the appropriations necessary to carry the government. There were the three sessions of this congress, all of which found Mr. Cowgill in his seat, alert to perform his duty to his country and his constituents. Mr. Cowgill was a member of the ' 4 Select Committee to Inquire into the Causes of the Present Depression of Labor." -This committee went to our western coasts in the course of its enquiries, as upon some points of the 4 4 labor question" the minds of the people there were greatly agitated. It soon became apparent to him that the chairman of that committee was more anxious to make presidential capital for himself than to arrive at the real merits of the questions in hand; he quietly withdrew, leaving his col¬ leagues to their junketings, while he proceeded to look over California, Oregon and Washington territory. The conclusions at which he arrived in regard to those states and the territory would be very interesting to the reader, but, even if the space permitted, it is not within the province of this work to record them.

After the expiration of his term as member of congress, Mr. Cowgill was not an aspirant for political honors. He was an ardent republican, and was not among those who thought the mission of the party was ful¬ filled or its destiny accomplished. He was ever a zealous support to the political organization with which he was identified, acting from a convic¬ tion of the truth of the principles of his party, and believing if they were carried in practice, they would best subserve the interests of the country. As in every other sphere where he operated, his support, while always honorable and fair, and governed by the rules of strictest integrity, was never divided, and was limited only by his lack of ability to do more. He allowed no campaign to pass, whether candidate himself or not, with¬ out rendering more or less service on the stump.

During the troublous times, whose memories are yet with us, he was tested and tried and found true. In 1863, he was appointed provost marshal of the Eleventh District of Indiana - this at the urgent request of Governor Morton, who was pre-eminent for his ability to read men upon whom he might impose a trust. This was then regarded one of the most difficult districts in the state to keep in control. Many thought it impossible. But Mr. Cowgill. with a quiet persistence and the nerve characteristic of the man through life, comprehended the situation, and, supported by the calm strength of our war governor, held his position and conducted the affairs of the district to a successful issue and to the close of the war. At the time of the organization of the Seventy-fifth, Eighty-ninth, and One Hundred and First Regiments of Indiana volun¬ teers, great difficulty was experienced in securing them supplies, owing to the fact that the contracts made by the government for their subsist¬ ence had not taken effect. Before the commissariat was prepared to furnish anything for them, several hundred men had rendezvoused at Wabash, and were subsistent wholly upon the bounty of the citizens of the city and vicinity. In this embarrassing condition of affairs, a number of the prominent citizens of Wabash were summoned to Indianapolis by Governor Morton for consultation, but Mr. Cowgill happened to be not among the number. The governor suggested that they select some citi¬ zen who should accept a temporary appointment as quartermaster, with the understanding that he should use his own means or credit to supply the men then at the rendezvous and constantly arriving, until the govern¬ ment contract should take effect, when supplies could be furnished through the regular channel. The citizens thus met in consultation with the governor, selected and recommended Mr. Cowgill for the appoint¬ ment. When called to Indianapolis he desired the governor to release him from the acceptance of this office, as, if he went into the army, he would prefer going as a private rather than to fill the position of quarter¬ master. The matter was finally arranged by his being designated as quartermaster pro tern, with the understanding that as soon as possible he should be relieved from duty. But the mustering officer would not recognize such an office as quartermaster pro tem, drew his pen through the word 4 'pro tem," and Mr. Cowgill was duly mustered in as a quar¬ termaster in the service of the United States. He did not shrink from the labors or duties of the office, but he did shrink from the odium that attached to it, in the minds of those acquainted with army matters, on account of the corruption prevalent in the supply-department of the Union armies. To his great gratification he was released from the duties of the office, having been mustered into service in August, 1862 ; he did not receive official notice of the acceptance of his resignation until March, 1863.

Another important public trust imposed upon Mr. Cowgill was that of acting as the agent of the government to disburse nearly a quarter of a million of dollars to the Miami Indians, who were scattered through¬ out several states and in the Indian Territory. This money the govern¬ ment was holding in trust for the Indians, by virtue of a treaty entered into with them in 1834. It was the last installment paid by the United States for the great Miami Reservation. With the same care, prudence and scrupulous exactness that through life characterized his conduct in the discharge of every public duty, Mr. Cowgill paid this large sum of money to the scattered remnants of the tribe in the winter and spring of 1882, giving to each member, there being at that time three hundred and eighteen, the per capita that each was entitled to receive. He made his settlement with the government to the entire satisfaction of the Interior and Treasury departments, both of which had to pass upon his accounts, and the beneficiaries of the fund.

Turning aside from Mr. CowgilUs connection with military, political dnd government affairs, we will note his activity in other spheres, more important to the direct interests of his own community, perhaps, even if not bringing to him more apparent honor, than when he was more conspicuously before the public. In the material interests of Wabash county Mr. Cowgill enacted a prominent part. In 1869, he organized the Cincinnati, Wabash and Michigan railroad, then known as the Grand Rapids, Wabash and Cincinnati railroad. He was its first president, afterwards vice-president, then treasurer. He was active in obtaining the various subsidies, and was involved in almost numberless law suits, till by his energy and business tact largely, it was placed on a firm basis. He collected and disbursed over three-fifths of a million of its funds.

and not a breath of suspicion of dishonor or peculation attached to his name. He was attorney for the road from its organization until 1872, then attorney of record till 1878, after which time his son, Hon. Carey E. Cowgill, held that position.

Mrs. Mary Cowgill, nee Flannegan, was a helpmate to him in the true sense of the word and relation. She was born in Fayette county, Penn¬ sylvania, February 10, 1821, and on her father's side was of Irish ancestry. On the 15th of September, 1841, she was united in marriage to Calvin Cowgill, Judge Diggs performing the ceremony. To them were born the following children : Caroline, who is now Mrs. Harvey F. Woods; Carey E. ; Emma, wife of Gen. Robert P. Kennedy, ex-lieu¬ tenant governor of Ohio, who, during the Civil war, was the youngest general of the army of the Potomac; Catherine Louise, who married Harvey B. Shively ; Thomas Corwin ; and Harry, who died in infancy. Commencing active life with an insignificant beginning, Mr. Cowgill besides providing for his children, always contributing liberally of his means, as well as labor, to every enterprise looking to the building up of the interests of the community in which he lived, still retained a comfortable fortune, which he looked upon as his by right as well as by possession. Such is the imperfect record of a busy life whose useful¬ ness is now spent.

The school interests of Wabash are greatly indebted to Mr. Cowgill for his efforts to put them on a substantial basis. Through his energy and determination largely was due the building of the Union School building, now known as the 4 'Central School building" in the town of Wabash. The plan adopted by the town council for erecting a school building met with much opposition from many of the most wealthy citi¬ zens. Wabash, at that time, 1857, had no public school building of any kind. The citizens in opposition believed the council to exceed its authority in the amount of tax assessed, and a large number of the wealthiest citizens resisted its collection. The tax duplicate was put in the marshal's hands for collection, but he, not being indemnified against loss from threatened suits, was unwilling to attempt the collection of the tax. Mr. Cowgill, having advised the levy, fully believing in its legality, regarding it a disgrace to the town that it had no house in which to school its six hundred or seven hundred children, determined that so necessary an enterprise should not fail. He was at that time county treasurer, and the statute then in force provided the town council might order its tax duplicate certified to the county auditor, who should de¬ liver it to the county treasurer for collection.

The tax duplicate duly came into Mr. Cowgill's hand at his sugges¬ tion to the council. He assured it that he would collect the taxes. Then followed numerous suits between him and various taxpayers, they using all possible forms to delay or defeat the collection of the tax. Eminent counsel was employed by those resisting its collection, the most of it, however, having been collected by distress and sale of property long before the questions in litigation were disposed of. Mr. Cowgill was successful in the collection of every dollar assessed those making the opposition, and promptly paid the same into the town treasury, besides donating his own fees allowed by law, near one thousand dollars, to the schoolhouse fund. He neither received nor asked compensation for either official duties or legal services rendered.

The Pike Family. This family was established in New Holland, Wabash county, during the pioneer days. Subsequent decades have wit¬ nessed the extension of the family's business energies to other sections of the county, and the name and family stock are still flourishing in this part of Indiana.

It was John S. Pike who first brought the family name to Wabash county, and his record is such that it deserves a full presentation on the pages of Watash county's history. He was born July 18, 1813, at Richmond, Ohio, and was a son of John Pike who came from North Caroline. John S. Pike was reared in his native state, and first learned the harness-making trade, making harness, saddles, and was especially skillful in the making of collars. While that was the basis of his busi¬ ness career, he was subsequently best known for his prominence in other lines. In 1837; he established his home in Henry county, Indiana, where he secured land from the government. In the 'forties he came to Wabash county, and located at the new vilage of New Holland, where he lived some twenty years. There he built the first store, which he conducted for some years, and was the first man in Wabash county, and probably the first in the state of Indiana to manufacture tiling. He also operated a sawmill.

In the community of New Holland, he was chiefly identified as a groceryman and dry goods merchant. He also did a good deal of farm¬ ing in Wabash county.

In 1842, Fred Kindley erected a water power sawmill at New Hol¬ land, and that was the first mill for the manufacture of lumber in a large territory. John S. Pike acquired ownership of the plant in 1853, and the mill, beginning with 1874 was operated by Mr. Pike's sons, Albert and Irwin, and still later by Asa Kindley, son of the builder. Besides lumber of different kinds, this mill also manufactured sash. In 1865, John S. Pike established his tile factory at New Holland, and its machinery was operated by horse power. From the beginning the tile was of a superior quality, and had a wide sale, although at that time the use of tile for the varied purposes to which it is now put had scarcely begun. As already stated this was the pioneer tile factory in Wabash county, and so far as records are obtainable it was the first in the state. Indiana ranks now among the leading states in the manu¬ facture of tile and other clay products, and much interest attaches for this reason to that old factory at NewT Holland. New Holland was platted as a village on November 23, 1842, and John S. Pike was one of the men who really made it a center of trade and population, hav¬ ing his store and dwelling from the first, and doing a great deal to attract business to that locality. In 1846, he ventured into another field, starting a nursery, which he operated for many years, and supplied much of the fruit stock used by the farmers over a large surrounding territory.

John S. Pike was married September 13, 1850, to Lucretia Wright. Besides the two sons already named, they had a daughter who died in infancy. The mother died in 1888. John S. Pike was of Quaker parent¬ age, stern, sturdy, honest and methodical and just in all his transactions. The death of this honored pioneer occurred in November, 1901. About 1877, he moved from New Holland to South Wabash, where he lived some eleven years, then lived in the city of Wabash, and elsewhere with his children the rest of his days.

The first of his sons was the late Albert Pike, who was born July 2, 1851, at New Holland in Wabash county. After attending the public schools, he started in to help his father, and at the age of sixteen was performing a man's labors. It was not until after he reached his majority that he was able to better his early limited opportunities for attending school, and then studied for a while in the South Wabash Academy. In 1874, he and his brother Irwin succeeded to the sawmill and tile business founded by their father.

On October 14, 1875, Albert Pike married Anna B. Small, and in the following spring they moved to a place three miles south of Wabash on the Vernon Pike, where the two brothers built a large tile and brick factory. This factory was destroyed by fire in 1880. After that Mr. Pike moved into Wabash, and became a traveling salesman for clay-working machinery. He continued in that line until his death on December 13, 1891. He was a man of superior business ability, and executive powers, was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and a republican in politics.

Irwin W. Pike, a brother of Albert, is now a farmer in the state of Maine. His early youth and manhood were trained in much the same manner as was true of Albert Pike. The two brothers were brothers in fact as well as in relationship. One common pocketbook served them both; in youth they were inseparable, and as manhood approached the tie of affection grew still stronger. For his first wife Irwin W. Pike married Mary' E., the daughter of Reuben Small and a sister of Albert Pike's wife. Mrs. Mary E. Pike died in December, 1887. The present wife of Irwin Pike before her marriage was Julia Coe. Each of these wives became the mother of one son and one daughter.

Mrs. Albert Pike survives her husband and still resides in Wabash. She is the mother of four children: Myrtle, Durward A., Julia Hazel and Elsie Marie. Of the daughters, Hazel is the only one married, being the wife of James C. Green.

Reuben Small, father of Mrs. Albert Pike and also of the first Mrs. Irwin Pike, though not a pioneer of Wabash county, was one of the prominent early settlers in this section of Indiana, and for many years was influentially identified with Wabash county affairs. He was born April 5, 1812, in Highland county, Ohio, a son of Joseph and

Clarkey (Perisho) Small. His early training was necessarily in the midst of pioneer surroundings, and he was a product of the early decades of the nineteenth century. When a young man he came to Grant county, Indiana, and acquired a section of land on Deer Creek. Later, in 1858, he had a store and sawmill at Jonesboro, where he was one of the prominent men in that old Quaker community. It was at Jonesboro on March 25, 1835, that he married Elizabeth Shugart. Their marriage was solemnized according to the customs of the Quaker faith, that is, by verbally repeating the marriage ceremony without the aid of a preacher or magistrate. During the ante-bellum days, Reuben Small became identified with the abolition movement, and especially with the operation of the underground railway, and his house was a station on that line and through his aid many unfortunate slaves were furthered in their flight to Canada and freedom.

About the year 1866, Reuben Small moved with his family to what is known as the Upper Treaty Creek Mill in Noble township of Wabash county, and in 1870, he bought the Lower Treaty Creek Mill. He con¬ tinued milling until his retirement about 1880, when he moved to the city of Wabash and died there March 8, 1887. Mr. Small was of medium stature, genial in disposition, and a man whose companionship was eagerly sought because of his optimism and good cheer. Firm in the Quaker faith, he was a firm advocate of peace and temperance, and during his later years wrote a good deal for the local press along those lines and for the general upholding of moral conditions. The wife of Reuben Small was born October 11, 1817, and died May 10, 1895. They had thirteen children, only two of whom are now living in Wabash county: Anna, widow of Albert Pike; and Julia, wife of Edwin Forest, of Wabash. One Son, Enoch, was actively identified with the milling business in Wabash county, and was also associated with his father in that industry.

Durward A. Pike, a son of Albert and Anna B. (Small) Pike, was bom December 5, 1878, at the Pike factory south of Wabash. He attained the greater part of his education at Wabash and in a business college at Lafayette. When seventeen years old he started out for him¬ self, and at the age of eighteen was in the grocery trade, a line which he followed for two years. On October 18, 1898, he married Eva Beck, daughter of Francis M. Beck. For the first five years following his marriage, Mr. Pike bought and sold wood. In November, 1904, he engaged in the sawmill business at Wabash, and that has been the chief line of his endeavor and business effort ever since. He also owns a farm of seventy-five acres, but rents out that place. Mr. Pike is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Maccabees, and in politics supports the progressive party. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Their two daughters are Gwendolyn and Helen.

Jesse Talbert and William 0. Talbert. The record of the Talbert family in Wabash county goes back nearly half a century, and has been one of quiet but effective participation in the business and community life. While great wealth or conspicuous attainments in public affairs have never been accomplished nor desired by any member of the family, on the other hand there has never been failure nor any demerits that might be written across the family history. The late Jesse Talbert was one of the early settlers, and a man who accepted the responsibilities of life as they came, and discharged them with credit. Mr. W. O. Talbert has for many years been a Wabash business man, and has made a spe¬ cially successful record as a buyer and shipper of horses.

Jesse Talbert came to Wabash county from Hamilton county, In¬ diana, in 1866. He was born in Preble county, Ohio, on March 19, 1819, and was of Quaker parentage. The Quaker religion has always been retained by the family, and the present generation as well as the earlier are identified with that simple sect. Jesse Talbert was reared on a farm, and when a young man moved to Hamilton county, Indiana, where he was a settler sufficiently early to get his full share of the heavy tasks involved in clearing, grubbing and improving a farm from the midst of heavy timber. While living in Hamilton county, on January 22, 1848, he married Elizabeth Denney, also of Quaker stock. In 1866, they moved to Wabash county, and settled in Noble township, his farm being on the northern boundary of Waltz township. While the farm, known as the old Murphy farm at that time had some improvements, it was far from being a well developed property, and only from the hardwork and good management supplied by Jesse Talbert did its soil become thor¬ oughly productive and its resources utilized. Jesse Talbert was a pioneer of Hamilton county, and an early settler of Wabash. His quiet unob¬ trusiveness, his industry, and his excellent neighborly qualities com¬ manded universal respect. He was alwTays generous of his means in supporting the Quaker church. There was nothing remarkable in his career beyond the fact that he was an upright citizen, doing his work on the farm and meeting his responsibilities to man with a strict regard for both the spoken and written word. He and his wife were the par¬ ents of four children : Cordelia, who is the wife of J. S. Kerr, a farmer living in South Wabash; Alonzo, who is married and lives in South * Wabash; William 0. and J. Franklin. Jesse Talbert died July 1, 1909, when past ninety years of age, and his widow passed away November 3, 1912.

William Orlando Talbert a son of Jesse Talbert was born in Hamil¬ ton county, Indiana, February 20, 1857, and was nine years of age when the family was moved to Wabash county. He lived on the old home¬ stead until reaching manhood, had a common school education, and began doing for himself as soon as he had reached his majority. Dur¬ ing the next two years he spent most of his time employed as a farm hand, and in that way accumulated a little money, and took the next straight step in his career which was marriage. That event was cele¬ brated February 26. 1880, when Miss Mary Jeffrey became his wife.

Her father, Joel Jeffrey, settled, in Hamilton county of this state in pioneer days, and subsequently moved to Wabash county. After his marriage Mr. Talbert moved to a home on West Main Street in Wa- bash, and for several years was engaged in the teaming business. From that he got into the livery and feed line and continued in that way for nearly twelve years. The handling of horses for livery purposes natur¬ ally opened an avenue for dealing in these animals, and wThile conducting a livery he was to some extent engaged in the buying and selling of horses. Since disposing of his livery business Mr. Talbert has con¬ fined his attention wholly to the buying and shipping of horses, and has long been one of the largest buyers in this part of Indiana. One year he shipped as high as one thousand head to Europe, and his exportation to Europe would aggregate about three thousand head. Associated with him in this line of business for about three and a half years was Harman Wolf, who had charge of the selling department, while Mr. Talbert did the buying and shipping. Since the dissolution of their partnership, Mr. Talbert has continued in the business alone, and also in association with his son.

Mr. Talbert is a republican in politics, and has a birthright mem¬ bership in the Quaker church. The four children of himself and wife are Louis, Veva, Harold, and Mary.

Allen W. King. Youngest of the sons of the late Peter King, Allen W. King has had a long and active career. Before reaching his majority he had served his country as a soldier, and he was broken in health by the rigors of military life before he had fairly begun his career.

Born at Wabash, Indiana, July 13, 1845, he was educated in the public schools and his boyhood recollections all center about his native city. Sixteen when the war broke out, he remained at home until Jan¬ uary 1, 1864, when he enlisted in Company E of the One Hundred and Thirtieth Indiana Infantry. This regiment, though recruited toward the close of the war, was soon given a baptism of fire and participated in some of the hardest fighting of the entire war. He joined Sherman 's army prior to the beginning of the Atlanta campaign, and fought at Resaca, Lost Mountain, Pine Mountain, and Kenesaw Mountain. After the last engagement his health broke down, and he did not recover from his disability until after the fall of Atlanta and the march to the sea. He was present at the severe fighting at Wise's Forks, North Carolina, and joined Sherman's army again at Goldsboro in that state. When John¬ ston had surrendered Mr. King's regiment was stationed at Charlotte to guard government stores, and remained there until his honorable dis¬ charge on December 2, 1865, after almost two years of service.

Mr. King's army career seriously affected his health, and for a num¬ ber of years he lived alternately in Wabash county and Minnesota. While in the latter state he met and on August 8, 1868, married Miss Mary E. Wheeler, at Cedar Mills. In the spring of 1873, he settled permanently in Wabash county, and while health did not permit active participation in farming he has looked after his country property and has been a capable business manager. Mr. King is a Republican, and affiliates with the Grand Army post at Wabash. He and his wife are the parents of two sons, Allen W. Jr., and Fred I.

Allen W. King, Jr., was bora February 17, 1870, at Cedar Mills, Minnesota, but has lived in Wabash county since infancy, and for twenty years has been an active man in business affairs. Educated in the Wabash schools and graduated from the South Wabash high school in 1884, he later spent two years in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. In 1888, when he was eighteen, the Wabash National Bank, as its present title is, took him in as a clerk and bookkeeper, and he had four years of that experience. In 1892 he succeeded his uncle, Thomas Wellman King, in the hardware business, with which his enterprise has been identified ever since. In January, 1913, he and his brother Fred took over the ele¬ vator and grain business which had been founded by Thomas Wellman King and which had been continued by the latter's son Harry S. until the death of Harry King, and the brothers are now active managers of the King Grain Company, which for many years has been a factor in local commerce.

Mr. King, Jr., has accepted the progressive brand of politics, and is a broad-minded business man and public-spirited citizen. August 13, 1890, he married Morttie Weesner, of Wabash. They have* three children, Muriel, Dorothy and Elizabeth. Mrs. King is a member of the Presby¬ terian church.

Hon. Fred I. King. With several generations of solid family success behind him, Fred I. King seems to possess in a conspicuous degree the commercial talents that have characterized the various members of the King family in Wabash county, and by his varied relations with the busi¬ ness community has done much to uphold the prestige of the old name in this county. Fred I. King is president of the Plain Dealer Company, publishers of the Wabash Plain Dealer , is editor of that old and influen¬ tial newspaper, is vice-president of the Citizens Savings & Trust Com¬ pany of Wabash, and made a name for himself in republican politics a few years ago as minority leader in the legislature.

Fred I. King, who is a son of Allen W. King, Sr., and Mary E. (Wheeler) King, and a grandson of Peter King, the pioneer of the family in this county, all of whom are mentioned on other pages, was born on a farm in Noble township of Wabash county, one and a half miles southwest of the county seat, October 6, 1874. His early life was spent on the farm, but he was liberally educated. After the district schools he attended the South Wabash public schools and graduated in 1893 from the Wabash high school. Entering the Indiana State Univer¬ sity, he completed the classical course and received the degree A. B. in 1897, and on his return to Wabash was for eighteen months a reporter for the Wabash Plain Dealer, of which he is now editor. This experience in practical newspaper work was followed by his entrance to the Indiana Law School at Indianapolis, which gave him the degree LL. B. in 1899, and on his admission to the bar he established an office for practice at Wabash, and continued to take cases and engaged in a general practice until February 4, 1914. At that date Mr. King became active head of the Plain Dealer Company, and editor of the paper.

As an examination of the early incidents of his life shows, John B. Latchem achieved success by sheer force of character and admirable powers of industry and vigilance. As a boy he attended the country schools near the old home in Wabash county, and one winter with a cousin Thomas Merrick, came to Wabash to secure higher advantages. The young men walked in the distance of six miles from the farm on Monday morning and returned home each Friday night. They had a small room over a grocery store, and their food consisted mainly of bread and molasses. It was the ambition of both to become lawyers, but neither John B. Latchem nor his father could afford to buy the necessary law books, and thus one ambition was thwarted, but with a man of his deter¬ mination new paths toward success are always opening. It is interest¬ ing to note that the cousin, Thomas Merrick, subsequently became a law¬ yer and gained considerable prominence in the profession.