LEVI PATTERSON
Prominent among the earlier merchants of Roann, Paw Paw township, was the late Levi Patterson, a man of ability and integrity, whose influence for good has been felt throughout the community in which he so long resided. He was born in Henry county, Indiana, January 4, 1842, and died July 14, 1912, in a hospital, at Huntington, Indiana. He came of pioneer ancestry, his father, Daniel Patterson coming to Wayne county from the East in pioneer days, and for awhile taught school in Cambridge City, although he was later engaged in farming in Henry county.

Levi Patterson was reared to farm labor, and received his education in the rural schools of his native county. At the age of eighteen years he enlisted in the Second Indiana Cavalry, and did brave service for his country until the close of the Civil war. Subsequently clerking in a store at Wabash, Mr. Patterson became familiar with the details of mercantile pursuits, and later-opened a store at Stockdale. Just after the incorporation of Roann as a town, Mr. Patterson established the first mercantile establishment of the new town, and for twenty-one years thereafter carried on a substantial business. Having accumulated a competency, he spent his last days retired from active pursuits, devoting his time to the care of his three farms, which were located in Wabash and Fulton counties. He was a self-made man in the broadest sense of the term, and was decidedly domestic in his tastes, preferring to spend his leisure with his family rather than in lodge or club rooms. He and his wife, who is a woman of great executive and business ability, managed the Roann Hotel for awhile, making it one of the most popular houses of the kind in the county. Mr. Patterson was a stanch republican in politics, and while in the store was elected clerk of the County Court, succeeding Mr. Brady, and served ably for one term, but refused a re-election to the same office.

Mr. Patterson was twice married. He married first, in 1869, Harriet Thacher, who died in 1875, leaving two children, namely: Luther, who died at the age of sixteen years; and Thomas, who is engaged in the asphalt business in Chicago, Illinois.

Mr. Patterson married second, March 2, 1876, Elsbie Shiveley, a daughter of Henry Shiveley. Her father came to Indiana with his family when Mrs. Patterson was eighteen years old, and was for several years engaged in farming near Stockdale. On retiring from agricultural pursuits, he lived first in Cambridge City, from there moving to Roann, where both he and his wife spent their last days, he dying at the venerable age of eighty-six years, while she died when but seventy-seven years old. They were the parents of twelve children, as follows: Josiah, Louis, Malinda, Rebecca, and Christina, all deceased; Elsbie, now Mrs. Patterson; Henry W., deceased; Maria, deceased; Hon. Judge Harver, deceased; Amanda; Emma; and Charles. Mrs. Patterson was educated in Ohio, and after coming to Indiana taught school in Wabash county four years prior to her marriage. Henry Frederick Patterson, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Patterson, was born in Roann, August 15, 1877.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914



CALVIN GANES FRUSHOUR
The name of Calvin G. Frushour is perhaps more widely known among the venerable pioneer citizens of Lagro township than that of any other man of his time, and wherever it is spoken it recalls a character not only notable for the length of his residence, but also for the sterling integrity, the steadfast industry, and the kindly qualities which have made him a distinct influence for good in his community Mr. Frushour is owner with his daughter, Mrs. N. Harter, of a valuable farm of eighty acres in Lagro township, situated on the south side of the pike, about two and a half miles east of Urbana. He is one of the oldest, if not the oldest man, from point of residence, in this part of Wabash county.

Calvin G. Frushour, or "Cal" as he is familiarly known to his hosts of friends, was born at Winchester, Randolph county, Indiana, February 15, 1836, and has lived in Wabash county practically all his life. However, anyone not acquainted with the date of his birth would readily place it as at least ten years later than as above given. Mr. Frushour, although he has led a busy life, has grown old gracefully, and is one of the youngest old men in the county. He is a son of Andrew and Sarah (Spohr) Frushour. They were born, reared and married in the old commonwealth of Virginia. Soon after their marriage they put their goods in a big wagon, and moved over the mountains, crossing over the Ohio river and settling in the state of that name. This did not long remain their home, and they again packed their belongings into the wagon and moved to Randolph county near the eastern edge of Indiana. Two years later they again determined to make a change. The "scoop-bed wagon" was again called into service, and with it they pushed on through the wilderness until they reached Wabash county and located in Lagro township about a quarter mile east of the present residence of Calvin G. Frushour. While the family was camping out one night Andrew, the father, heard the dogs barking about a tree, up which was a catamount. Like most men of the time, Andrew Frushour had almost as much skill with his gun as with the plow and the reaping hook, and taking up his trusty old flint-lock, he brought the "varmint" down with a shot between the eyes. As it was a good specimen, and he desired those at the camp to see it, he took up the carcass by the hind legs, placing it over his shoulder and brought the catamount into camp with its nose dragging on the ground. Soon after they reached Lagro township they decided upon their permanent location, but did not find time to start a building until the fall of the year. In the meantime the household continued to live in the big wagon, which had served them in their various removals towards the west. Besides their bed clothes, the two hound dogs and flint-lock gun already mentioned, they had four horses and a good set of carpenter tools. Besides the immediate family, there was a hired man. The land selected by Andrew Frushour was all covered with wood, and the nearest neighbor was about four miles away, near Lagro village. The canal at that time was just being constructed through Wabash county. In this connection one fact deserves mention. The building of a canal, unlike railroad construction, proceeded very slowly, and the force of workmen usually camp in a sort of temporary village along the right of way for several seasons before the work has proceeded so far as to justify their stage of advance. Many of the workmen therefore utilized their farm in cultivating small gardens and farms along the canal route. Andrew Frushour in this saw an opportunity to make some ready money which was then a very scarce commodity in Wabash county. He and his hired man each took a team, and secured contracts to plant corn for the canal builders, and later in the season did the harvesting. This work kept them away from home several days at a time, and the mother and children, of •which there were several by this time, were left alone. Though the family had but little money and only a small store of provisions, the abundance of game in the woods practically supplied the table with fresh meat, and it was necessary to hunt only an hour or so in order to secure enough game to last a week. At the same time the wolves were numerous, and often became so bold that they would chase the dogs into the big wagon, where the family still kept house, and then stood on guard and howled throughout the long dark night. On one occasion the family, while the men folks were away, almost ran out of provisions, and for four days the mother had nothing to offer her children except baked potatoes, however, it was a clean, healthy outdoor life they were all leading, they had keen zest for any plain food, and continued to eat their potatoes with great relish.

After Andrew Frushour and his hired man had finished harvesting for the canal men, they started the construction of a log house on the eighty acres which he had bought, paying only forty dollars for the land. He designed this habitation as a temporary structure, and with the thought in view that he would in a few years probably put up a better residence, he built the log house in such a position, on the side of a sloping hill, that later it would not interfere with the building of a larger and better house on the top of the slope. In building the log house no door was constructed at first in the side of the building. One wall rested flush on the ground at the upper side of the hill, while the opposite wall, in order to be made level, rested on high piles, and steps were made and a sort of trap-door was cut in the floor to afford means of egress and entry. The principal timbers for the building were of split logs, all cut and hewed with an ax, while the roof was covered with clapboards, each four feet in length. Nails, and in fact practically all articles of iron were very scarce in Indiana at that time, and in order to secure the clapboards they laid across them long poles, to weight and tie the roof, each end of the poles being fastened with a wooden pin. Somewhat later the house was improved by the construction of a door in the side, and a more homelike appearance was given the rude habitation. In those days the most convenient grist mill was located at Goshen, in Elkhart county, and a good many miles from Lagro township. When Andrew Frushour wanted to take some grain to be ground at this mill, he put a tongue in the rear axle and wheels of his wagon, put a box upon the gear, and in that way had a much lighter vehicle for traveling over the rough roads to the mill. Gradually, however, they cleared up the land and got it under cultivation, and since those humble beginnings of seventy-five years ago many hundred rods of tile has been laid, and the eighty acres for which Andrew Frushour gave forty dollars in 1836 would now bring at least one hundred and fifty dollars an acre. On that old homestead both Andrew and Sarah (Spohr) Frushour died, she on June 7, 1853, in her forty-fourth year, and he on May 25, 1873, at the age of seventy-three. They were the parents of ten children who grew to maturity, namely: Mary Virginia; Susan, deceased; Angeline, deceased; Calvin G.; Eliza Jane, deceased; Edward; Charles; Francis, deceased; Andrew C.; and Theodore, deceased.

Calvin Frushour was six weeks old when the family moved from Randolph to Wabash county in the big wagon. At the old home place just described, and in the midst of an environment which was being rapidly changed as a result of the labors of many pioneers, he grew to manhood, and did his full share in clearing up the land. As the oldest son, from the time he was big enough to wield an ax, much of the rough work of the place fell to him, and he is one of the few survivors among the early citizens of Wabash county who can recollect actually ever sharing in the development of this region. By the time he was old enough to attend school, some eight or ten families had settled in that immediate vicinity, and their children went to school in a little log house about a mile distant by a path cut through the woods and north of the Frushour farm. The house in which school was taught had been abandoned by a settler who came out from Ohio and finally became discouraged and left the country. It was fitted up with a mud and stick chimney, and light came in through greased paper stuck over openings between the logs. For seats, rough benches were hewn out of logs, and a rough plank was placed on wooden pins driven into the wall to serve as a desk. Probably not a person in that community in that day dreamed that half a century later a comfortable bus, tightly screened against the storm, and with provisions for heat in the cold weather, would drive daily along the hard pike road, collecting the children in the morning and carrying them to school, and then in the evening taking them back to their home.

When Mr. Frushour reached the age of twenty-one, his father told him he was free to do or work as he pleased, but offered him a position at ten dollars a month to remain on the home farm, this offer was accepted, and he continued with his father for fourteen months. In that time practically every cent of his wages was saved, and this thrift gave him his first practical start in the world. About this time Mr. Frushour married Anna Brechner, whose death occurred a few years later, after the birth of two children, as follows: Lenora, wife of James Hippensteel, of Wabash county, and they are the parents of twelve children and several grandchildren; George Wilson, who married Etta Ramey, and they also live in Wabash county, and have eight children.

On April 10, 1864, Mr. Frushour married for his second wife Catharine Good. She is the daughter of Peter and Catharine Good. The only child of this marriage is Dellie. She married Professor Noble Harter, who at the time was superintendent of the Warsaw, Indiana, public schools. Later they moved to Pasadena, California, where Professor Harter became identified with the city public schools, and he died while at Pasadena, leaving his widow and twin daughters: Mary, who died in 1912, and Catharine. Both these daughters also became teachers and were connected with the schools of Pasadena. Soon after his first marriage Mr. Frushour moved to his present farm, it was then owned by his father who had acquired possession of about two hundred and forty acres in Lagro township. The only improvement on the land which Calvin Frushour came to occupy was a little log cabin, and about ten acres cleared. Then followed a number of years of hard work, industrious management, and a steady thrift, at the end of which time practically all the farm had been cleared, the old house had been remodeled and made thoroughly comfortable, much tile had been laid in the low places, and the farm was developed until in its improvements and productiveness it ranked second to none in the township. After the death of his father Mr. Frushour bought the interests of the other heirs in the eighty acre farmstead. Besides managing his farm, Mr. Frushour, who in his earlier years was all indefatigable worker, spent about fifteen years in the employ of the Wabash railroad, and was one of the crew of eleven men who did construction work of bridges, stations, and other similar work along the line between Toledo, Ohio, and Danville, Illinois. Mr. Frushour made it a point whenever possible to get home over Sunday during this employment, but in the meantime Mrs. Frushour practically had the actual supervision of the farm alone, and its gradual improvement, its yearly productive harvest, and the increasing prosperity of the family, w'ere in no small measure due to her judgment and sagacity and untiring efforts. She and her daughter put in many days in the field, and did work that would be a credit to any man.

After remodeling the old house and living in it for many years, Mr. Frushour in 1910 erected his present substantial eight-room modern frame residence, equipped with all the conveniences and comforts which the best country homes of Wabash county affords, and where he and his wife expect to spend the rest of their days and enjoy the well won fruits of earlier years. Besides their three children, there are twenty-three grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. They have also taken in and reared in their home several orphans. In fact, their friends frequently refer to the Frushour farm as the "orphans home."

This generous prosperity, all won as a result of honest toil and good management, has been used in such a war as to add to the total wealth of the community, and not alone for the benefit of his immediate family but in such a way as to make the lives of others easier and richer. Mr. Frushour is a republican in politics, and like his wife is a true Christian. They are members of the Evangelical Association.

The parents of Mrs. Frushour, Peter and Catharine Good, while not coming to Wabash county at so early a date as the Frushours, were still early residents. Both were natives of Virginia, were married in Ohio, and came to Wabash county when Mrs. Frushour, who is about ten years younger than her husband, was a child. Their location was about two miles south of Lagro. When Mrs. Frushour was seven years old her mother died, and her father later married and moved out to Kansas, where the rest of his days were spent. Mrs. Frushour was one of a family of children mentioned as follows: Jacob, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; Nancy Ann, deceased; Catharine, Mrs. Frushour; William; John, deceased; :Mary, deceased; and Frank.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914



F. H. BLOOMER, M. D.
For thirty years Dr. Bloomer has quietly performed his round of professional services and duties at Lagro and vicinity, and is the oldest physician in point of residence in that locality, being likewise one of the most highly esteemed practitioners of Wabash county. Dr. Bloomer saw service as a soldier of the Union during the Civil war, and is one of the honored veterans, who still survive in Wabash county. After the war he took up the study of medicine, and for more than thirty-five years has lived and practiced his profession in this county.

Born in Fayette county, Ohio, May 6, 1847, Dr. Bloomer is a son of Elijah and Nancy (Hopkins) Bloomer, the former a native of Kentucky, and the latter of Virginia. The old Hopkins homestead in Virginia was included within the battleground in one of the engagements in which Dr. Bloomer fought as a soldier during the war, and the old home was destroyed at that time. Elijah and Nancy Bloomer were married in Ohio, where they spent most of their active years.

Dr. Bloomer grew up in Fayette county, attended the district schools and the grade schools at New Holland, and for three years was a student in the Academy at Bloomingburg. At that time it was his intention to take up the profession of civil engineering. When the war broke out, he was fourteen years of age, but had the advantage of physical proportions above those of his years. However, two years passed before he got his opportunity to go to the front. Laying aside his books in the spring of 1863, he was accepted for service in Company C of the Seventy-Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry. With that regiment he went through all the campaigns and battles, in which it was engaged, until the close of the war and then remained in the service until September, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. The Seventy-Third Ohio Regiment, from the spring of 1863 saw a great deal of hard service. Young Bloomer then sixteen years of age, took his share of the hardships without complaining, and was a gallant soldier, always devoted to duty. After the battle of Gettysburg, in which the Seventy-Third took part, in the fall of 1863 he and his command went south to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and fought under Hooker in the "battle above the clouds" and participated in the four months of continuous fighting against Johnston from Chattanooga to Atlanta. The Seventy-Third was with Sherman from Atlanta to the sea, and thence up through the Carolinas. Dr. Bloomer was one of the twenty-eight thousand Federal troops that left Washington, and in five days reached Bridgeport, Alabama, one of the most rapid movements in the Civil war, and one which could hardly be excelled even at this time. The Seventy-Third Ohio might be said to have been under constant fire during the last two years of the war, and yet the young boy soldier was slightly wounded only once or twice, and was with his regiment from the beginning of his service until the end. Upon his return to Fayette county after the war the young veteran began the study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. C. M. Smith at Bloomingburg. Dr. Smith was a graduate of Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, and later Dr. Bloomer went to the same institution, where he attended lectures and was graduated M. D. with the class of 1872. For active practice he moved to Wabash county, locating in La Fontaine, and remained there for six years. Then for about nine years he practiced at Pleasant View in this county. In 1885 Dr. Bloomer moved to Lagro, and has since practiced with that village as his home and center of business. Dr. Bloomer has membership in the Wabash County Medical Society, the State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. Fraternally he is a member of the Masons, and has long been identified with the Grand Army post at Wabash.

On November 17, 1885, occurred his marriage with Eliza McElvane. They are the parents of two children: Clarence, who is in the railway mail service, having his headquarters and home in Ohio, and who married Metta Freshour; and Mary, who resides at home.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914



CHARLES FREDERICK HETTMANSPERGER
One of the productive and well-cultivated farming properties of Paw Paw township is that owned by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Frederick Hettmansperger, a tract of 130 acres, on the east side of the Chippewa turnpike, about seven and one-half miles northwest of Wabash and two and one-half miles southeast of Roann. Through this farm runs Paw Paw creek, which gives it splendid irrigation, and its numerous other natural advantages have been supplemented by Mr. Hettmansperger's intelligent treatment of the soil, his modern methods of operation and his comprehensive knowledge of the business of farming. He is now sixty-seven years of age, but so thoroughly has he kept himself abreast of the times and in sympathy with modern ways, that he is able to successfully compete with the younger generation about him, and to realize a full amount of prosperity from the labor which he expends upon his land. More than forty years have passed since he located in Wabash county as a farmer on his own account, and during this time he has watched with the eye of a proprietor the growth and development of this section, an advancement to which he has contributed by his labors as an agriculturist and his fidelity as a good citizen.

Mr. Hettmansperger is of German nativity, born in Baden, December 20, 1847, a son of Christian and Catherina Hettmansperger . He was seven years of age when he accompanied his honest and hard-working parents to the United States, the family first settling on a farm in the vicinity of Buffalo, New York, and later on a property which the father purchased about forty miles east of that city. There they remained for but a short time, when the land was sold and the family returned to the Fatherland. The attraction of American life, ways and methods, however, proved too strong and soon the Hettmanspergers returned to this country, this time coming to the agricultural district of Wabash county, Indiana, of which region they had received glowing reports. For several years the father rented land, but when he had become fully satisfied as to the productiveness of the soil he purchased a property in Paw Paw township, northwest of Urbana. In later years he turned his attention to commercial affairs in that city, and there both he and his wife passed away. A more comprehensive review of this sturdy old couple will be found in the sketch of Christian Hettmansperger, a brother of our present subject, who is engaged in farming in Lagro township, appearing on another page of this work.

Charles Frederick Hettmansperger, who is better known, perhaps, as Fred, was given few advantages in his youth. He attended the public schools of Germany for short periods, but the greater part of his education was given him in the school of hard work, for his father was in modest circumstances and the lad's assistance was needed in working the home farm. He was a sturdy youth of thirteen years when the family came to Wabash county, and although he was never able to attend school here he was keen and observant, made the most of every opportunity, and thus gained a good, practical knowledge, which has made him more shrewd in business matters than many who have been given far greater opportunities for schooling. He continued to assist his father, and remained under the parental roof until he was twenty-one years of age, at which time he started out to face the world on his own account. As may be supposed he had some difficulty in gaining a foothold, as he was without capital save that represented by his willing heart and strong hands, but he persisted confidently, did whatever task he was assigned to well, and soon found himself on the highway to success.

After working for two years on the farm of Christian Eby, Mr. Hettmansperger went south of the city of Wabash, and there accepted a contract to build a fence for Mr. Connor, a piece of work, it may be said, that was well and capably done. At that time he accepted employment on the farm of his future father-in-law, Almon Riddle, of Paw Paw township, and at his home, in September, 1871, was married to his daughter, Almoriah Malinda Riddle, who had been born in an old log house, on the old Reed farm, located on the border of Miami county, but on the Wabash county side. She was thirteen years of age when she came to the Paw Paw township farm, and this has continued to be her home to the present time. Mrs. Hettmansperger's parents, Almon and Carolina Octavia (Nash) Riddle, were born not fifty miles apart, in Massachusetts, but did not know of each other until they were young people. Mr. Riddle's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Riddle, moved from Massachusetts to Ohio, where the father passed away after some years spent in farming, while Caroline Nash left the Bay state in young womanhood and went with a cousin to Ohio, where she met Almon Riddle. They returned to Massachusetts, where they were married, then came back to Ohio, and finally came to Wabash county, Indiana, where Mr. Riddle bought a farm west of Paw Paw, partly in Wabash and partly in Miami county. He later disposed of this property and bought a farm in the woods of Paw Paw township, on which he put up a log house and stable, these later being replaced by good substantial buildings. Mr. Riddle was a carpenter by trade and also followed school teaching for some years, but was not a success as a farmer. He continued to reside on this property, however, until his death at the age of seventy-seven years, while the mother followed him to the grave when she was seventy-nine years old. They were the parents of three children, namely: Frank, who enlisted for service in the Third Battery, Indiana Volunteers, at the outbreak of the Civil war, and after the expiration of his three months' service, reenlisted for the entire period of the war, following the close of which he went to Arizona and there passed away; Almoriah Malinda, who is the wife of Fred Hettmansperger; and Darius, who served as a soldier during the Civil war and died while on his way home after the close of that struggle.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hettmansperger settled on their present farm, he working for his father-in-law until the latter's death, when the farm was bequeathed to Mrs. Hettmansperger. He has cleared a great deal of this land, which is now in a high state of cultivation, and is engaged in successful general farming operations. A friend of modern methods, he keeps abreast of the times, and the general appearance of his tract denotes his knowledge of his business and the able manner in which he is directing it.

Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hettmansperger, namely: Francis Orlando, who is managing the operations on his father's farm, married Flora Jay, and has six children, Louisa, William, Mary, Paul, Ruth and Catherine; Lilly, who died at the age of two years, three months; and one child who died in infancy.

In politics Mr. Hettmansperger is a democrat in national matters, but in local affairs is liable to give his support to the man he deems best fitted for the office, irrespective of party lines. He is alive to all of the real questions of the day, and takes a keen interest in all matters that affect the welfare of his community and its people. He has been a member of the Methodist church since boyhood.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914



ADAM COOK
In considering the business men of a community, it is not difficult to discover why some are frankly prosperous while others advance but little year after year. Persistent industry is a very necessary factor in achieving success, and those who possess the quality in the greatest degree are the ones who make their undertakings prosper. More than a quarter of a century has passed since Adam Cook first established himself in business in Urbana, this making him the pioneer merchant of the place. At that time this was little more than a hamlet with but one other store and no brick buildings or sidewalks. Not long after his advent in business he suffered a serious loss which nearly wiped out his small capital, yet he constantly persevered, and as the town has grown in population and prosperity, so has his trade grown and prospered, and today he is numbered among the substantial men of this part of Wabash county.

Mr. Cook was born in Allen county, Ohio, June 30, 1866, and is a son of Adam and Hannah (Long) Creek. For the following facts regarding the Cook family, we are indebted to an aunt of the subject of this review, Mrs. Martha Welsch of Urbana. Adam Cook, the father of Adam Koch, as the name was formerly spelled, was born in May, 1838, in Germany, and was a son of John Adam and Gertrude (Strube) Koch, both of that country. The grandfather was the owner of a nice little property in the Fatherland, but after the death of his wife decided to cast his fortunes with the people of America, and accordingly, in 1852, left the land of his birth with his seven children. They took passage on the sailing vessel Martha, which after a voyage of seven weeks made port in the harbor of New York, July 3rd, although they were not permitted to land until the following day. From New York the family went by rail to Buffalo, and thence by way of Lake Erie to Cleveland, Ohio, and from that point through the canal to Port Washington, where the grandfather purchased forty acres of land. Of this he disposed shortly thereafter and went to Allen county, Ohio, there settling on forty acres of wild land. At this time that section was still in the midst of a wilderness, and Mr. Koch was constantly able to keep the family larder well supplied with game. He began clearing and breaking his land for the cultivation of a farm, but did not live long to see his efforts bear fruit; as in 1854 he passed away, aged fifty-four years. A sturdy, courageous, self-reliant man, true to all things which he considered right, he belonged to that class to which America owes so much for the pioneer element that contributed in such great degree to the development of the country. He was the father of six children, namely: Catherine, who is now deceased; Gertrude, deceased, who became the wife of Conrad Baker; Elizabeth, deceased, who was the wife of Fred Roush; Martha, the only child living, who is the wife of William Welsch, and a resident of Urbana; Adam, and Mary, who are both deceased.

Adam Koch was born in Germany in 1838, and there secured his education in the public schools, where he was confirmed. He was about fourteen years of age when he accompanied his father and sisters to the United States, and here he and a younger sister received instruction in an English school for a short time. Reared a farmer, he assisted his father in breaking the wilderness farm until the elder man's death, and then accepted employment as a farm hand. He was thus engaged at the time of the outbreak of the Civil War, and he soon enlisted from Spencerville, Ohio, in the Ninety-ninth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, giving the recruiting officers the name of Adam Cook. This style has been retained by the family ever since. Mr. Cook's service was one of the utmost activity, and was at all times characterized by faithfulness and bravery. In all he was in twenty-two severe battles, in addition to a number of skirmishes and the long, hard marches that tried men's souls. Although he was never wounded, he once suffered a sunstroke, from which he never fully recovered, and it is probable that this was the direct cause of his early death. On numerous occasions he narrowly escaped capture by the enemy, particularly one time when, hard pressed by the enemy, he fell exhausted by the side of a dead comrade, and so cleverly shammed death that one of the Confederate soldiers kicked him and remarked carelessly: "'Here is another dead Yank." When he had fully completed his services to his adopted country and had been granted his honorable discharge, he returned to his Ohio home and was married to Miss Hannah Long, to whom he had been engaged prior to the war. She was born in the Buckeye state, and was a daughter of John Long, who had come to this country with his wife from Wurttemberg, Germany, shortly after their marriage. Mrs. Long died many years ago, while John Long passed away recently, being almost ninety years of age. He was the owner of a fine farm in Allen county, and was a man of substantiality and worth and a citizen of sterling character. After his marriage, Mr. Cook purchased a farm and began clearing it, but, like his father, did not live to realize his ambitions, death coming about two weeks before the birth of his son Adam. Here was another of the strong characters of his time, a man public-spirited and patriotic and true to every trust. A faithful member of the German Methodist church, he was a class leader for many years, and had thought seriously of entering the ministry. After his death, his widow was married a second time, being united with Jacob Ritzhaupt, a union which resulted in the birth of four children: Anna, who became Mrs. Seipert; George, who died at the age of ten years; and Louis and William, both of whom died in infancy, the mother following them to the grave not long thereafter.

Adam Cook was the only child born to Adam and Hannah (Long) Cook. His father had passed away before his birth, and he was still a child when his mother died, so that he was reared by his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. John Long. The latter died one year after the death of Mr. Cook's mother, but Adam remained with his grandfather until the age of eighteen years, dividing his attention between the work of the farm and attendance at the district school. In 1885 Mr. Cook came to Wabash county, Indiana, and joined his uncle, Fred Roush, Sr., a pioneer shoemaker here. For six weeks he worked in the restaurant and bakery of Alber Brothers, but this work did not prove congenial, and at the end of that time he went to the farm of his uncle, William Welsch, in Lagro township. He was reliable, industrious and energetic, and accepted whatever honorable occupation presented itself, in addition to farming carrying on carpentering for one season. He also worked for a short time on the farm of D. L. Speicher, but in June, 1887, purchased a small shoe stock at Urbana, from Mr. Gottlieb Amacher, with the little money which he had received from his father's estate. In March, 1888, he was so encouraged by the success that had attended his first effort that he bought the general store from Peter S. Speicher. Business was prospering and Mr. Cook was making satisfactory progress, when, in the following May, the old C. W. & M. freight depot was consumed by fire, the flames communicated themselves to Mr. Cook's place of business, and his building was destroyed, although he was able to save the greater part of his stock. At this time there was but one other store in Urbana, that conducted by Charles Miller. No brick buildings had as yet been erected, and the town was devoid of sidewalks. In spite of his misfortune and the somewhat doubtful outlook of the community, Mr. Cook courageously re-established himself in business, and with sincere faith in the future of Urbana again bid for the trade of the section. His persistence, his industry, his honorable dealing and his unfailing courtesy won him a full share of the people's patronage, and as time went on and his finances increased he gradually enlarged the scope of his operations, keeping fully abreast of the development both of Urbana and of other business enterprises. At this time he is justly accounted one of the substantial men of this section, and his success may be laid at the door of his own diligence and well-applied effort. He has given the greater part of his attention to the development of this business, but has also entered other fields of endeavor, where his ripe judgment and wise counsel are sought and appreciated by his associates. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers State Bank, of Urbana, in which he is still a stockholder. With his family, he belongs to the Evangelical Association. A prohibitionist in his political views, he has been an active and energetic worker in behalf of his party, which he has represented on several occasions on the Wabash county ticket.

On April 30, 1890,Mr. Cook was married to Miss Sarah E. Speicher, daughter of Fred and Elizabeth (Schultz) Speicher, one of the oldest and most highly honored families of Lagro township, mention of which is made elsewhere in this volume. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cook, namely: Howard F., who is attending Northwestern College at Napersville, Indiana; Myra E., and Pauline May.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914



JOHN W. G. STEWART, M. D.
A career of useful and honorable activity, largely devoted to the service of his fellowmen has been that of Dr. John W. G. Stewart, for many years actively identified with the growth and development of this locality. Dr. Stewart is now one of the older physicians in point of years of practice in Wabash, and is one of the best examples of the physician who labors unselfishly and with all the resources at his command for the benefit of his clients.

Dr. Stewart is one of the comparatively few men now in active affairs, who were born in log cabins back in the periods between the era of pioneer settlement and that of later growth and development. He was born in a log cabin on a farm in Liberty township, Wabash county, October 22 ,1861, a son of Robert and Elizabeth Stewart, and a grandson of James Stewart who was born in Scotland and who founded this branch of the Stewarts in America. James Stewart on coming to America located in Eaton, Ohio, not far from Wheeling, West Virginia, and there on July 4, 1824, was born his son Robert. Robert Stewart inherited the industry, thrift and proverbial shrewdness of his Scottish forebears. In 1835, when he was eleven years old his parents moved to Coshocton county, Ohio, and there he lived until after he was grown and married.

In 1853, Robert Stewart transferred his household to Wabash county, Indiana, and located on a tract of land that was unimproved in Liberty township. His labors contributed one item to the general improvement of Wabash county lands, from the domain of the wilderness, and he and his wife during the first years of their residence here experienced many of the adversities and hardships which were the common lot of pioneers. Robert Stewart was a man of wide general information, thorough-going in his habits, strictly honest and upright, and a man whose character and deeds were above reproach. In the later years of his life he moved to LaFontaine, and there passed the remainder of his days retired from the strenuous duties which have been his during the first part of his residence in this county.

Dr. Stewart grew up on a farm, attended district school, spent two years in the LaFontaine high school and completed his literary education with two years in the Northern Indiana Normal school at Valparaiso. At the age of twenty he taught his first term of school, and with the proceeds of those earnings went west and preempted a tract of land in South Dakota. That homestead he has owned ever since and it is not only a valuable farm, but a memorial to his early enterprise. It was largely from his work as school teacher that he derived the funds which enabled him to pursue his studies in medicine. His first studies were carried on under the direction of Dr. W. A. Dunn of Wabash. Subsequently in 1886 he entered the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago where he was graduated in 1889, with his degree of doctor of medicine. For a few months in the same year he remained in Chicago, pursuing post-graduate studies in the Chicago Homeopathic College, but before the close of 1889 had established his office in Wabash, and has since enjoyed a large general practice in the city and vicinity. He has membership in the Indiana Institute of Homeopathy and the American Institute of Homeopathy.

Dr. Stewart is a council degree Mason and a Knight of Pythias. In politics a republican, he was the unsuccessful nominee of his party in 1912 for congress. On February 27, 1889, occurred his marriage to Miss Nora Gillen, youngest daughter of Dr. Henry H. Gillen, of Wabash. The two children born to their union are Lawrence Gillen and Bruce, the latter of whom died at the age of five years.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914



JOHN GROSHON
Paw Paw township is the home of this honored old soldier and resident of Wabash county for seventy years. John Groshon came into the serious responsibilities of life without capital, with little education, but with capable hands and an ambitious spirit, and from working at wages as a farm hand went on from one advantage to another, provided liberally for his family, and now has a well ordered and substantial prosperity. His homestead comprises sixty acres of land, and that has been his place of residence since 1876. Among his children he has divided a large amount of land in Michigan.

John Groshon, who is one of the oldest living native sons of Wabash county, was born December 12, 1844, near Lafontaine, this county, the son of Ferdinand and Mary (Wentling) Groshon. His father was a native of Switzerland, was reared a farmer, and when twenty years of age accompanied his parents to the United States. The father of Ferdinand Groshon died in Ohio, where he located, and Ferdinand then married Mary Wentling. She was born in Pennsylvania, went with her parents to Ohio, and they afterwards moved to Wabash county and died there. Soon after their marriage Ferdinand Groshon and wife came to Wabash county, and took up their home on a rented place near Lafontaine, taking the contract to clear the land for such crops as they could raise. In the meantime Mrs. Groshon's father had bought land half a mile south of the place where John Groshon now lives, and gave his daughter eighty acres, and Ferdinand Groshon subsequently bought another eighty acres from Mr. Wentling and paid for it by labor. That gave him one hundred and sixty acres, and he subsequently sold sixty acres to his brother-in-law, Abe Flora. Mr. Flora came out from Ohio after the death of Mrs. Ferdinand Groshon and Mrs. Flora looked after the family of Ferdinand in addition to the duties of her own household. Ferdinand Groshon died on the old farm at the age of fifty. His first wife had died when her son John was four years of age. The second wife was Eliza Groshon, and though of the same name they were not related. She died about three years before her husband. Ferdinand Groshon was a typical pioneer, hard working, thrifty, and though he came to Wabash county poor, had cleared up before his death about half of his estate, and was in substantial circumstances for his day. John Groshon has a half-brother, Florian, who now lives in Los Angeles, California.

It was on the place near Lafontaine, then called Ashland, where his father and mother first made settlement, that John Groshon was born. When he was a year and a half old they moved to Paw Paw township, and his earliest recollections were of the old log house, which was the family abode. When his father died John Groshon was fifteen years old, and at that early age had to begin to look out for himself. Most of his schooling was attendance at a log schoolhouse, but the abundance of work at home kept him from his books so that he seldom had many days of continuous schooling in all his life. After the death of his father he worked out for wages among different farmers in the county, and at his last place, George Beck's near Wabash, remained two years and was paid ten dollars a month. Though his wages were meager, his thrift enabled him to save up about seventy-five dollars before he went to the war.

In July, 1862, Mr. Groshon responded to the call of his country, and enlisted in Company A of the Seventy-fifth Indiana Infantry. His service was largely in the western armies through the campaigns in Tennessee, Georgia and the Carolinas, and among many engagements he was present at Chickamauga, was with Sherman on his march to the sea, and continued until the close of the great struggle between the North and South. His honorable discharge was received at Indianapolis in June, 1865. Returning to Wabash county, Mr. Groshon continued to work out for different farmers until his marriage.

On January 16,1868, John Groshon and Margaret Rudy were united in marriage. Mrs. Groshon died in 1904. She was the mother of four children. Charles, who lives on a farm in Michigan, married Laura Richardson, and their children are Virrel, Eugene, Roy, Vaine, Arthur, Laura, Dessie and Lilly, twins. Emma is unmarried and is a stenographer in Chicago. Minnie is now Mrs. Lewis Gokey of Michigan, and her first husband wag John Kittsmiller, now deceased, and her two children are Ruth and Mabel Kittsmiller. Earl, who also lives in Michigan, married Chloe Clevenger, and their three children are Meredith, Paul and Robert.

In November, 1910, Mr. Groshon married Emma Long, widow of Samuel Long and daughter of Eli and Hannah (Applegate) Swank. Both her parents are living, both more than eighty years of age, and their home is at Speicherville in Wabash county. Mrs. Groshon was born in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, and came out to Indiana after the death of her first husband, Henry Derr, who was killed in a coal mine. Her two children by Mr. Derr are: Alec Derr, who lived with Mr. John Groshon; and William Derr, who is connected with the Wabash Plaindealer, and by his marriage to Edna Miller, has one child, Harold. After his first marriage, Mr. Groshon, in the absence of capital sufficient to buy a place of his own, worked as a renter for eight years, and then bought his present farm, paying sixteen dollars an acre for it. Its original owner was Amos Gipe. All the land was then in the woods, there were no buildings, and confronted with the heavy task of making a home Mr. Groshon set himself manfully to the work and his record has been one of steadily increasing prosperity for forty years. The Groshon farm has improvements which class it well to the front among similar estates in Paw Paw township, and Mr. Groshon has made all these by his own labor and good management. His home is a large eight-room frame house. With the fruits of his prosperity some years ago Mr. Groshon bought four hundred and forty acres in Benzie county, Michigan, and his children now occupy and manage that farm. Mr. Groshon is one of the esteemed surviving members of the Grand Army of the Republic, with affiliation at Roann. A democrat in politics, he is independent frequently, and votes for the best man. He is one of the active members of the Christian church of Half Acre in Paw Paw township, and is treasurer of the organization.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914



WARREN MASON
For many years the agricultural interests of Wabash county were worthily represented in Lagro township by the late Warren Mason. M. Mason's career contained no thrilling or dramatic experiences, yet his life was a useful and helpful one, for he lived through the period of Wabash county's development from a practical wilderness to a center of agricultural, commercial and industrial activity, and did his full share in promoting the progress and advancement of his section. Mr. Mason was a native of Fayette county, Indiana, born April 11, 1823, a son of Horatio and Amelia (Perrin) Mason, who were born in Herkimer county, New York, and Berkshire county, Massachusetts, respectively. The family is descended from Sampson Mason, a Baptist, who was a dragoon in the army of Oliver Cromwell, and who founded the family in America during Colonial days. He came to this country in 1650 and settled at Rehoboth, Massachusetts, there married Mary Buttenworth, and had thirteen children, and their descendants became prominent in various avenues of activity, and in the making of American history.

Alonzo Mason, a son of Horatio Mason, came to Wabash county in 1851. He married Elizabeth Green, and they became the parents of five children, all being now deceased. Some of the grandchildren of Alonzo Mason are now living in Wabash county. Alonzo Mason was a member of the Christian church, and was a well-known republican of his day, serving the county as commissioner and in other ways becoming influential in his community. Warren Mason, son of Horatio Mason, and brother of Alonzo Mason, was a man grown when he came to Wabash county, in 1853, and had married September 11, 1845, Mary Handley. They located in Lagro township, on an adjoining tract of land to that of Alonzo. Warren Mason and his wife here experienced much of the hard work and many of the privations incident to those pioneer days. Both worked hard and were among the substantial people of their locality in after years as the result of their industry and good management. As has been said before, there was nothing remarkable in the life of Warren Mason. He became known as an industrious man, a free supporter of all that looked to the good and advancement of the community, he contributed liberally to the support of all laudable public enterprises, and was an advanced farmer along stock, buildings and scientific farming lines. He became conspicuous as a breeder and exhibitor of Short Horn cattle, and was usually successful with his stock in prize contests. Perhaps his most marked characteristics were his rugged honesty, his straightforward actions and the general high esteem with which he was regarded by his neighbors and associates. He served as president of the New Holland Turnpike Company and as president of the Wabash County Agricultural Society from 1881 to 1882. Mr. Mason's death occurred August 29, 1893, and his widow passed away August 18, 1900. They were the parents of seven children, of whom but two grew to maturity: Oliver H., who is a resident of La Fontaine; and Oren W.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914



OREN W. MASON, who is now living a somewhat retired life at South Wabash, after many years passed in agricultural pursuits, was born on the old homestead place in Lagro township, Wabash county, Indiana, September 26, 1865, and as a boy attended the neighboring district schools. He assisted his father in working the farm during all of his school period, adopted agricultural pursuits as his field of labor on attaining his majority, and is still the owner of the family property, a tract of 160 acres. It was here that he made his home until 1900, when by reason of failing health he moved to South Wabash, which has since been his home. He has been successful in his business affairs because of good management and foresight, and is numbered among the substantial citizens of his community, where he bears an excellent reputation for honesty and reliability. On March 21, 1894, Mr. Mason was married to Miss Nellie Pyle, daughter of Burr B. and Elizabeth (McNamee) Pyle, who were among the early settlers of Wabash county. To this union there have been born two children: Walter G., born January 14, 1895; and Mary E., born March 10, 1899. Mr. Mason is a republican in his political views, and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914



HENRY I. BOWMAN
In a community like Wabash county it is possible to obtain a fair estimate of a man's accomplishments from the appearance and condition of the property which has been developed under his proprietorship. Measured by this standard, Henry I. Bowman is easily in the front rank of the county's agricultural citizens, and to the traveler along the Minich Pike in Paw Paw township the Bowman farm stands out impressively as one of more than ordinary importance and value. Mr. Bowman owns altogether one hundred and ninety-six and a half acres in that township. It is divided into two adjoining tracts. His home place has one hundred fifty-five and a half acres, and to the south is a smaller farm of forty acres. All this land lies on the west side of the road, and about ten miles northwest of Wabash and three miles east of Roann.

Henry I. Bowman was born on his father's farm adjoining his present place on December 14, 1860. Isaac and Hannah (Neff) Bowman, his father and mother, were both natives of Franklin county, Virginia, were married there, and had one child born in that state. In 1852 they accomplished the long journey from the east side of the mountains to Indiana. The father had been a farmer and tobacco planter in Virginia, and on coming to Wabash county confronted the pioneer conditions and settled in the midst of the woods in Paw Paw township. He was here only a few years after the Indians had disappeared, and was one of the men whose labors contributed to the substantial development of this section. His first home was a log house, and by hard work he extended his fields and gained a good home. His first purchase was of eighty acres, he afterwards added forty more, and eventually the old log buildings were replaced with modern houses and barns and other equipment. His first house was burned. On that farm the mother passed away in March, 1900, and the father spent the next seven years at his own place and with his son Henry, and died at the latter's home. The seven children of the family were: Benjamin, of Roann; Mary, deceased, who was the wife of John Foultz; George W. of Logansport; Henry I.; John M., deceased; Charles, deceased; Jesse, of Oklahoma.

It was on the old homestead that Henry I. Bowman spent the years of his childhood and early youth, and while his muscles were being sharpened by application to the plow and the axe and other implements of farm husbandry, his mind was developed by attendance at the district schools. He lived at home until after he was grown, and for several years was engaged in the buggy and wagon and implement business at Roann, and later conducted a livery stable there. Finally returning to his father's place, he managed it for the elder Bowman, and in 1900 bought his present farm from the Benjamin Neff estate. Mr. Bowman has resided here since 1903, and has effected many important improvements. Among these are noticeable the large nine-room frame house, with all the comforts of a city home, a barn, and practically all the older buildings have been replaced by new since he came. Mr. Bowman plants a large acreage in staple crops each year, and feeds practically all his grain to his own stock.

On November 11, 1891, Mr. Bowman married Laura Carver, daughter of Amos and Hester (Rosewalt) Carver. The mother died when Mrs. Bowman was a girl and her father now lives in California. The Carver children were three in number, as follows: Emanuel, of California; Mrs. Laura Bowman and Wilmer, who lives in British Columbia. Mr. Bowman and wife have four children: Hubert, Vera, Beulah and Millard.

In his political attitude Mr. Bowman stands for the prohibition principles, but usually tries to vote for the best man for the office. He is a deacon in the Brethren church at Roann. His successful career is the result of his own industry and ambition, since he made his own way and got his start in life without any help, and received nothing by inheritance until after the death of his father, when his share of the estate was sixteen hundred dollars.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914



Deb Murray