Mr. Merrill was born in the City of Toledo, Ohio, August 2, 1891, and is a son of William B. and Anna G. Merrill, both likewise natives of the fine old Buckeye State, where they were reared and educated and where their marriage was solemnized. William B. Merrill gave his attention to newspaper and theatrical business during the greater part of his active career and was a resident of Fort Wayne at the time of his death, his widow being now president of the Merrill Company, of which her son Thomas H., of this review, is secretary, treasurer and general manager, and her home being maintained in Fort Wayne save for the intervals that she passes in the State of California.
In the public schools of Toledo Thomas H. Merrill continued his studies until he was graduated in the high school, and his initial business experience was there gained by his serving as clerk in a hotel. Later he went to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was in the employ of the Westinghouse Electric Company until 1911, when he came to Fort Wayne and associated himself with the Fort Wayne Bill Posting Company. A few months later his father purchased the business, which the latter thereafter continued under the original title until 1925. He then effected the organizing of the Merrill Company, which has since continued the enterprise with unqualified success and prestige and under the progressive management of his son, Thomas H. Merrill. The concern has recognized leadership in outdoor advertising service in Fort Wayne and vicinity, and its headquarters are now established in the modern building that was erected by the company in 1927, at 121 South Clinton Street.
Mr. Merrill is not only a vital and popular young business man of Fort Wayne but is also a loyal and public-spirited citizen, he being an active and valued member of the local Chamber of Commerce, his political allegiance being given to the Republican party, and he being now secretary of the board of trustees of Fort Wayne Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, besides which he has membership in the Fort Wayne County Club.
In September, 1915, Mr. Merrill was united in marriage to Miss Irma Thrasher, of Fort Wayne, and their attractive home, at 1021 Pasadena Drive, is a center of gracious hospitality, with Mrs. Merrill as its popular chatelaine.
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INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
EDWARD HENRY SCHLEGEL, M. D., is conferring honor on his native City of Fort Wayne by the loyal professional service he is here ably rendering, and his is definite standing as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of the younger generation in Allen County. His office is maintained at 1129 Maumee Avenue and his residence at 2219 North Anthony Boulevard.
Edward Henry Schlegel was born in Fort Wayne on the 30th of January, 1893, and is the only child of John F. and Sophie (Alfeld) Schlegel, both of whom were born and reared in Allen County, where they still reside in the City of Fort Wayne. In the public schools of his native city Doctor Schlegel continued his studies until he was graduated in the high school, in 1911, and thereafter he was a student in the University of Chicago, from which great institution he received in 1915 the degree of Bachelor of Science, and from the medical department of which, famous old Rush Medical College, he won in 1917 his degree of Doctor of Medicine, he having entered that department prior to receiving his academic degree of Bachelor of Science, and having thus carried a double burden of studies. In 1917-18 he had fortifying clinical experience through his service as an interne in Cook County Hospital, this Chicago institution being one of the greatest of its kind in the United States. In connection with the nation's participation in the World war, Doctor Schlegel then enlisted in the Medical Corps of the United States army, and with his unit was attached to the Seventy-ninth Division of the American Expeditionary Forces. He had nine months of active overseas service, much of that service having been at the front in conflict sectors. He was in France at the time the armistice brought the war to a close, and upon his return to his native land he received his honorable discharge, with the rank of first lieutenant in the Medical Corps.
Thus Doctor Schlegel had exceptional practical experience prior to establishing himself in active general practice in Fort Wayne, and here his personal popularity and distinctive professional ability have brought to him success and prestige in his chosen vocation. He has membership on the visiting staff of physicians and surgeons of the local Lutheran Hospital and also those of the Methodist Episcopal Hospital and Saint Joseph's Hospital, besides which he is a member of the board of managers of the Irene Byron Sanatarium. The Doctor has membership in the Allen County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
On the 30th of September, 1919, was solemnized the marriage of Doctor Schlegel to Miss Marguerite Parsons, who was born in the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she was graduated in the University of Michigan as a member of the class of 1913 and with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Mrs. Schlegel, prior to her marriage, taught four years in the public schools of Michigan-one year at Wayne and three years in the City of Detroit, and in the World war period she was secretary to the manager of the Detroit Legal News, a leading periodical of the Michigan metropolis. Her widowed mother, Mrs. WilIiam Parsons, still resides in Ann Arbor. Doctor and Mrs. Schlegel have two children: Edward Henry, Jr., born December 25, 1921, and Robert John, born December 31, 1927.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
ELMER ELSWORTH ELEY, manufacturer of lumber at Argos, Indiana, is not an average man, his position in the industrial and commercial life of Marshall County could not have been attained by the average man. In the review that follows it will be endeavored to show how he has worked and won his way to the forefront. He was born in Marshall County, Indiana, August 2, 1865, a son of Lewis and Milly (Bell) Eley. The father was born at Mount Vernon, Ohio, in 1836, a son of Benjamin Eley, who moved from Pennsylvania to Mount Vernon at an early day. Lewis Eley died in 1916, his wife, also a native of Mount Vernon, having passed away in 1907.
Largely self-educated, Elmer E. Eley’s educational advantages were those afforded by the country school of his district held in a log schoolhouse, and even while still a boy he earned his way during his vacation periods by working in neighborhood lumber mills. When he reached his majority he entered a lumber mill at Talma, Indiana, and was there engaged in manufacturing oak staves and hardwood lumber, remaining there until 1904, when he embarked in the manufacture of slack barrel hoops and staves. This business occupied him for only a few years because of the difficulty he encountered in securing his raw material, and he then came to Argos, where he is now operating two mills. One, run by electricity, is used for cutting hard maple and dimension stuff, and the other for cutting all kinds of hardwood. His annual output is about 2,000,000 feet, with 150,000 to 900,000 dimension, and he carries a stock of 500,000 and from 500,000 to 1,000,000 feet of standing timber. In 1917 he began using trucks to transport his material from forest to mill has found this change more than satisfactory. According to his estimate there is plenty of raw material for years to come. He has not confined himself exclusively to business affairs, but has long been a member of the town board, and for twelve years was its presidency. For some years he has been a member of the hospital board, and of its improvement committee. The Christian Church holds his membership, and he is active in its good work. Fraternally he belongs to Argos Lodge No. 399, A. F. and A. M., and the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. In political faith he is a Democrat, and active in party affairs. Mr. Eley is a man of sound judgment and has accumulated a fund of knowledge superior to many possessed of a college education. In his business he has had many difficulties and misfortunes; he suffered from two disastrous fires, but he has never admitted defeat, and now, in the prime of mature manhood, is enjoying the fruits of his years of hard work.
Mr. Eley married Miss Alice L. Miller, and the have five children: Cleo F., who was born in 1899, married W. O. Hill, an employee of the Indianapolis road department, and they have one daughter, Alice E., born in 1910, and now a student of Butler College. Millie, who was born in 1890, married Arthur Tucker, and they have one son, Wayne, born in 1908, who married Maxine Tronoski, and they have two children, Jean and Wayne Arthur. Norman Claud, who was born in 1891, married Edith Deck, of English ancestry, and has had three children, Ruth Gladys, who was born in 1910, attended the Argos High School, and is now a student of the Chicago Nursing School; George E., who was born in 1913, is attending Argos High School, and Norman Claud, who died in Colorado in 1922, of tuberculosis. Elmer D., who was born in 1893, married Miss Myrtle Hizer, and they have two children, Morris D., who was born in 1916, is attending the Argos High School, and Jack, who was born in 1925. Orval M., who was born in 1895, married Grace McClain, and he is with his father in business.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
WARREN D. WELLS, editor of the Fremont Eagle and long identified with the history of Steuben County, is a man who is held in high esteem both as a newspaper writer and a citizen. He was born in Allen County, Indiana, November 17, 1859, a son of John Wells, the latter of whom was born in Otsego County, New York, in 1825, and died in Allen County, February 2, 1901, his remains being interred in Garcreek Cemetery in that county. He married Miss Julia Ann Dewey, who was born in Steuben County, New York, September 10, 1835, and died at Fremont, May 30, 1910. Shelies in the cemetery at Fremont. The parents had two children: George Wells, who was born in Allen County, Indiana, September 23, 1850, and died November 3, 1854; and Warren D., whose name heads this review.
On September 10, 1884, Warren D. Wells married Miss Anna Clark, who was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, March 8, 1864. She is a daughter of Thomas Reynolds Clark, born November 17, 1836, at Juniata, Pennsylvania, and died April 17, 1906. He is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, near Fort Wayne. The wife and mother was Mrs. Margaret (Miller) Clark, born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1840. She died April 19, 1896, and lies by the side of her husband in Oak Grove Cemetery, near Fort Wayne. Mr. and Mrs. Wells have had the following children born to them: Emma G., the eldest, was born in Allen County, October 1, 1885. On June 8, 1909, she was married to Otto Wolter, of South Bend, Indiana, inspector of the Mishawaka Rubber Works, and they have no children. Arthur D. Wells, the second child, was born October 16, 1887, in Allen County. Formerly editor of the Orland Zenith, he is now a traveling salesman. He married Miss Hazel Whitmore, of Mongo, Indiana, and they have one daughter born in Steuben County, July 23, 1913, now a student of Garrett, Indiana. Edgar D., the third child, was born June 7, 1890, in Allen County, and is editor of the Plainwell, Michigan, Enterprise. He married Miss Pauline McKensie, of Battle Creek, Michigan, and they have two children: Julianna, who was born August 23, 1925; and McKensie, who was born July 11, 1928. The fourth child, Donald H., was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, November 25, 1892. On September 22, 1922, he was married to Miss Lucile Taylor, of Kinderhook, Michigan, and they have one child, Lorianne, who was born April 27, 1927, at Washington City. He is in the employ of the Government printing office at Washington, and has been for some time. Henry F., the fifth child, was born at Fremont, Indiana, June 24, 1897, and is in the newspaper business with his father at Fremont. On July 19, 1917, he was married to Miss Sylvia Noggle, and they have two children: Levere, who was born in Fremont, January 13, 1919, is a student in the public schools of Fremont; and Jean, who was born July 30, 1921. The sixth and youngest child is Winnifred, who was born at Fremont, October 14, 1899. She is secretary to the manager of the Northern Indiana Railway Company of South Bend, Indiana. The family all attend religious service at the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Wells is a member of the Blue Lodge of Fremont, and the Chapter and Council of Angola, all in Masonry; of the Knights of Pythias and the Chamber of Commerce, both of Fremont. Mrs. Wells is a member, of the local chapter of the Eastern Star and of the Pythian Sisters.
The Wells family has an excellent war record, beginning with John Wells, father of Mr. Wells of this review, who enlisted in Company D, Thirtieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, from Allen County, and served until after the battle of Shiloh, April 6, and 7, 1862, when he was honorably discharged for disability. Henry F. Wells was the first of the Wells boys to enter the service for the World war, enlisting April 9, 1917, and being a member of Battery C, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Field Artillery, Thirty-third Division. His unit was sent overseas, and participated in major engagements on the western front. Returned to the United States after the close of the war, he was honorably discharged June 12, 1919. Donald H. Wells entered the service in June, 1918, was stationed at Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio, and retained there until his honorable discharge, July 3, 1919. Edgar D. Wells enlisted in August, 1918, from Battle Creek, Michigan, was sent to Camp Grant, Illinois, and was honorably discharged from there in March, 1919.
The Wells family is one of the best known throughout Steuben County, and the Fremont Eagle, the product of the father and youngest son, has a large circulation. All of the sons learned the newspaper business under their father, and several, as the record shows, have continued in it. Mr. and Mrs. Wells have every reason to be proud of their children and grandchildren, for they, the children have made good in several undertakings, and the next generation shows evidence of doing the same.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
CONN H. L. SMITH. Able lawyer, fine scholar and true gentleman, Conn H. L. Smith, of Fremont, Indiana, has been advanced to a high position in his learned position. His clients know him to be a man of honor and integrity and none fear at his hands any chicanery. He was born in Steuben County, Indiana, October 17, 1902, a son of Ira I. Smith.
The father was born in Williams County, Ohio, August 31, 1867, and is now living on his farm in Steuben County, Indiana, his entire mature years having been spent in farming, in which occupation he has been more than ordinarily successful. At the same time he has won and holds the confidence of his neighbors, and few men stand any higher in public opinion than he. His wife, mother of Conn H. L. Smith, was Miss Gonza Raseley before her marriage. She was born in DeKalb County, Indiana, August 10, 1875, and she is also living. The parents had the following children born to their marriage: Opal L., who was born in Steuben County, Indiana, July 20, 1896, is the wife of Glen L. Falka, a farmer of Steuben County; K. M., who was born in Steuben County, February 15, 1898, resides at Lagrange, Indiana, in the employ of the Standard Oil Company, and he married Miss Mary Braman, of Reading, Michigan; and Conn H. L., who is the youngest. These children were given good educational advantages, and all of them are a credit to their parents and the community in which they were reared.
The elder son, K. M. Smith, enlisted for service in the World war, in September,. 1918, and was honorably discharged in March, 1919. His enlistment took place at Fremont, Indiana, and from there he was sent to Camp Knox, Kentucky. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he also belongs to the Lagrange Chamber of Commerce, in which organization he is active. These two brothers, one a live, upstanding business man, the other a brilliant member of the bar, are closely united by the bands of brotherly affection, and are proud each of the other's progress.
Conn H. L. Smith was reared in Clear Lake Township, Steuben County, Indiana, and there he attended the district schools, and when he had completed the common school course, graduated from the Fremont High School, leaving to go to Tri-State College at Angola. His legal training was taken through a correspondence course with the LaSalle Extension University of Chicago, and after his admission to the bar of Indiana he opened his law office at Fremont, and here he has since been engaged in practice, building up a fine connection, clients coming to him from allover Steuben County. Mr. Smith is not married. While his father attends the meetings of the Latter Day Saints, and his mother is a Baptist, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a man who has never been round wanting no matter how he has been tried, and it is his ambition, and always has been, to live up to the ethics of his profession, and his religious faith, and to be a good citizen, and he is attaining it, even more, perhaps, than he realizes.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
HON. DELPH L. McKESSON, one of the ablest lawyers practicing at the bar of Plymouth, has made an enviable record as a member of the Indiana State Legislature, in which body he represented Marshall County. He is a fitting type of his state and profession, is recognized as a good lawyer, close student and a reliable citizen, who from the beginning of his career has been ambitious, energetic and determined to carry through to a successful conclusion whatever he undertakes.
The birth of Delph L. McKesson took place near Tyner, Marshall County, Indiana, February 14, 1879, and he is a son of William McKesson, the latter of whom was born near Sandusky, Ohio, at Sand Hill, a son of a Pennsylvanian, and a member of a family which originated in Scotland, later going to Ireland, and thence came to the United States. Delph L. McKesson's mother bore the maiden name of Lydia Carpenter. Her father died of smallpox while serving in the Union army during the war between the states.
Growing up in Marshall County, Delph L. McKesson attended its public schools, after which he went to Valparaiso University and completed the scientific course, and also studied law. After leaving the University he taught school for a few years, first in the country schools of Polk Township, after which he was principal of the high school at Tyner for five years, and then for five years was principal of the grade schools of Plymouth. In the meanwhile he had continued his legal studies and was admitted to the bar in 1097, and began the practice of his profession in 1911.
On June 22, 1907, Mr. McKesson was married to Miss Rachael A. Jones, of Tyner, Indiana, born January 26, 1886. She was educated in the grade and high schools of Tyner, and was graduated from its high school in 1906. Mr. and Mrs. McKesson became the parents of the following children; Jones D., who was born in November, 1908; Fern, who was born July 28, 1910, is majoring in music at DePauw University; Dale E. who was born January 23, 1913, is attending high school; and Alice M., who was born June 15, 1915. The eldest of these children, Jones D., died February 24, 1912.
Even before he entered upon the practice of the law Delph L. McKesson served for two years as a justice of the peace, and the year following his opening of his office, in November, 1912, he was elected district prosecutor, in which office he was continued for two terms, or four years. For two years he was county attorney, in both offices rendering a vigorous service that was productive of splendid results. Among other important cases he prosecuted was the celebrated one in which Judge Clarence Dearth was impeached, the impeachment proceedings growing out of the suppression of the Dale newspaper of Muncie, Indiana. In 1926 he was elected to the State Assembly, where his work was of value to his county and state. He was reelected in 1928 and 1930 and was the Democratic floor leader in the 1931 session of the legislature. He is an ardent Democrat, and very active in local politics. High in Masonry, he belongs to all of the bodies of both the York and Scottish Rites, excepting the thirty-third degree, and he also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. In, Masonry he 'has passed all of the chairs up to and including those of the Commandery, and he is a grand officer of the Order of the Eastern Star, and his wife is a member of the latter order. They enjoy membership in the Country Club. Their religious home is in the Methodist Episcopal Church of Plymouth, and they are regarded as very valuable members.
Near the close of the Seventy-sixth General Assembly a resolution was adopted for the impeachment of Judge Clarence W. Dearth of Muncie. This resolution was referred to a committee on Judiciary A. The proper hearing was had and much evidence gathered, and when the vote was taken on the impeachment resolution, ninety-three votes were cast for the impeachment and one against it. Articles of Impeachment were prepared by a committee of six, three Republicans and three Democrats, and submitted to the House for its approval. They were then filed at the bar of the Senate and received by the president of the Senate. Notice was served on the defendent and the hearing was had and resulted in the acquittal of the defendant, the State lacking two votes of having the necessary two-thirds of the Senators elected. This was the first impeachment trial before the Senate since 1835. It made history in Indiana. Many legal questions of importance were involved. Mr. McKesson was elected chairman of the Prosecuting Committee for the House to prosecute the case before the bar of the Senate.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
JOHN C. CROSBY. Prominent among the legal practitioners of Huntington, one who has gained distinction and success through the possession of inherent and acquired talent is John C. Crosby. Mr. Crosby's career has been a remarkable one in every particular, as he began to make his own way in the world at the tender age of eleven years, and from that time to the present his industry and ambition have carried him to a high place in his profession and to leadership in the ranks of the Democratic party, of which he is chairman for Huntington County.
Mr. Crosby was born at Huntington, August 16, 1885, and is a son of Michael and Clara Susan (Boos) Crosby. His father, a native of Ireland, was brought by his parents to America during the early '60s, the family settling in Canada. In 1878 Michael Crosby, who was a railroad engineer, came to Huntington to assist in operating the first trains over the new C. & A. Railroad, and continued to be a locomotive pilot until his retirement shortly before his death in 1896. He married Clara Susan Boos, who was born at Hesse-Darmstadt, on the Rhine, Germany, and was twenty years of age when she came to the United States. Her death occurred in 1912 and she is survived by two sons: John C., of this review; and Philip Henry, a resident of Chicago.
John C. Crosby attended St. Peter's and St. Paul's Catholic parochial school until reaching the age of eleven years, at which time he secured a humble position in a cafe, where his labors were heavy and his emolument light. He had real ambition and enterprise, however, and soon graduated to a position in Arnold's dry goods store. When he was sixteen years of age he was given employment in the office of the city engineer of Huntington, where he remained four years before becoming assistant city engineer, in which capacity he served another four years. During this time he took a correspondence course and then spent one year in the office of the county surveyor, but at the age of twenty years turned his attention to railroad work, first as a brakeman. In 1912 he was promoted to conductor on the Erie Railroad, working out of Huntington and Chicago until 1922, and during this period he read law at the Chicago Law School, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1922, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He commenced the practice of his profession in May of the same year and has since built up one of the best practices in the city, his well-appointed offices being located at 216 North Jefferson Street. Mr. Crosby is a general practitioner and is admitted to practice in all the courts. He belongs to the Huntington County Bar Association, the Indiana State Bar Association and the American Bar Association, and stands high in the esteem of his fellow-practitioners. From the time that he reached his majority he has been interested in politics, and the same qualities of determination and force of character that have made him successful in his profession have also carried him to recognized leadership in the Democratic party. In November, 1922, he was elected to the Indiana State Senate to represent Huntington and Whitley counties, and served in that body with marked ability until 1926. In 1930 he became the nominee of his party for the office of prosecuting attorney of Huntington County. He has been chairman of the Democratic county committee since 1924. Mr. Crosby still has a large following in railroad circles and maintains his membership in the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. He is a charter member of the local council of the Knights of Columbus and belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and to St. Mary's Catholic Church. A busy lawyer and politician, he has little time for leisure, but makes a hobby of working with bird dogs.
On July 12, 1916, at Lima, Ohio, Mr. Crosby was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Van Fleet, a native of Ohio, and only child of John Van Fleet, of Darke County, that state. Her mother is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Crosby have no children and reside at 46 Etna Avenue.
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INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
