Jesse Talbert came to Wabash county from Hamilton county, Indiana, 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 hard work and good management supplied by Jesse Talbert did its soil become thoroughly productive and its resources utilized. Jesse Talbert was a pioneer of Hamilton county, and an early settler of Wabash. His quiet unobtrusiveness, his industry, and his excellent neighborly qualities commanded universal respect. He was always 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 parents 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 O. 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 Hamilton county, Indiana, February 20, 1857, and was nine years of age when the family was moved to Wabash county. He lived on the old homestead until reaching manhood, had a common school education, and began doing for himself as soon as he had reached his majority. During 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 celebrated 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 Wabash, 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 naturally opened an avenue for dealing in these animals, and while 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 confined 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 membership in the Quaker church. The four children of himself and wife are Louis, Veva, Harold, and Mary.

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

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 January 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 Johnston had surrendered Mr. King's regiment was stationed at Charlotte to guard government stores, and remained there until his honorable discharge on December 2, 1865, after almost two years of service.

Mr. King's army career seriously affected his health, and for a number 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 born 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 elevator 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 Presbyterian church.

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

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 University, 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.

In 1913, with C. H. LaSell and others Mr. King organized the Citizens Savings & Trust Company of Wabash, and became its first president. His duties as business head and editor of the Plain Dealer caused him to resign the executive position of president with the bank in February, 1914, at which time Elmer Burns was elected president of the bank, while Mr. King remains as vice-president.

Mr. King's legislative career was during 1907-09, when he represented his county in the legislature as a member of the sixty-fifth and sixty-sixth assemblies. He was elected on the republican ticket, and in 1909, during the sixty-sixth session, was minority leader of the lower house. His party colleagues honored him by presenting him as their candidate for speaker of the house.

The large and important interests of the King family in the grain trade in Wabash have received attention in other sketches. Fred I. King, besides his position as a banker and newspaper publisher, is partner with his brother Allen W. King, Jr., in the operation of the old King elevator in Wabash, the business being continued under the name King Grain Company. This elevator was established many years ago by Thomas Wellman King, an uncle of Fred I.

On January 6, 1904, Mr. King married Miss Jessie Squires, daughter of Howard and Alice (McCoy) Squires. The Squires family are among the prominent farming people of Paw Paw township. The two children of Mr. and Mrs. King are: Howard Allen King and Miriam King. The fraternal relations of Mr. King are with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

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

The late John B. Latchem was born in Rush county, Indiana, April 2, 1842, a son of Caleb and Sarah Baker Latchem, the father born in Delaware and the mother in Indiana. Caleb Latchem, who was born in 1819, followed the trade of miller, moved when a young man to Rush county, where he married, and in 1848 to Wabash county, locating in Noble township, and taking up an active career as a farmer on a place of one hundred and twenty acres. An industrious, hard-working citizen, he accumulated a competency through his well-directed efforts, and gained also the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens, whom he represented as justice of the peace. He died in 1882, his wife having passed away four years previously. Of their ten children, eight lived to maturity.

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 determination new paths toward success are always opening. It is interesting to note that the cousin, Thomas Merrick, subsequently became a lawyer and gained considerable prominence in the profession.

The incidents and experiences of his early career cannot be followed in detail. At the age of eighteen he took charge of a country school, and was a teacher for three winters. Six months were spent as a canvasser in the book trade, after which he engaged in the grain elevator business with William Steele, and followed that line for thirteen years. He was distinctly a man of affairs, one who could successfully manage more than one enterprise at a time. He founded the Treaty Creek Stone and Lime Company, and to that ten years later added lumber under the firm name of Hildebrand & Latchem, which under the able management of Mr. Latchem was a prosperous business for a number of years. He was a director of the first building and loan association founded at Wabash in 1880, and was later identified with the Wabash Building & Loan Association, and when the Wabash Valley Loan & Savings Association was organized in 1894, he was made its first president, a position which he held four years, and then became its secretary and manager. In October, 1907, the Wabash County Loan & Trust Company was organized, and Mr. Latehem was elected Secretary and Treasurer. This office he capably filled until his death.

During many years much of his attention and capital were devoted to the upbuilding of the industrial interests of Wabash. While he had himself started without capital, he was able to assist in realizing the ambitions of a number of younger business associates. Early in his career he was connected with the Underwood Manufacturing Company, which is now the Wabash Cabinet Company, an enterprise started when his capital was limited to five thousand dollars, but which was subsequently developed and has had a course of uninterrupted prosperity. When the Wabash Bridge and Iron Works Company was established, in 1895, Mr. Latchem was made president, and was also for a time a member of the board of directors of the Anderson Malleable Iron Company at Anderson. For sixty-five years a resident of Wabash county, Mr. Latchem gained a wide acquaintance over the county and the northern part of the state, and was esteemed for his upright character and strict integrity not less than for his business success.

From the time he arrived at manhood he voted the democratic ticket and was an active worker in the ranks of his party, being chairman or the democratic county central committee and acting as delegate to numerous state and county conventions. For ten years succeeding 1883, he served as a member of the city council, and proved himself a valuable official. Fraternally he was both a York and Scottish Rite Mason, having served as Master of his lodge, as High Priest in the Royal Arch Chapter, belonged to Wabash Commandery No. 37, and reached the thirty-second degree in the consistory of the Valley of Indianapolis. He was a member of the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows and affiliated with the tribe of Ben Hur. At his death the Wabash Commandery of Knights Templar acted as escort to his funeral, and the St. Anastasia Mesnil Lodge of Odd Fellows also attended in a body. Mr. Latchem was for many years an active member of the Presbyterian church of Wabash, having served as deacon.

While his outside interests were perhaps as varied and important as those of any other citizen in Wabash, it was in his home that his character had its finest illustration. He was devoted to his family, and it was the proud boast of his mother that he had never said an unkind word to her in his entire life. This was a fact, a keynote to his character in all its relations with his fellowmen that was properly emphasized by Dr. Little in the funeral service. But at home and on the street and in his office he was noteworthy for his remarkable control of temper, and seldom if ever was he heard to make an unkind remark to anyone. On October 20, 1869, Mr. Latchem was united in marriage to Miss Amelia Alber, daughter of Philip Alber, at Wabash. Mrs. Latehem, who survives her husband, and enjoys a large circle of friends at Wabash, is the mother of three children: Charles, Paul and Lucy. Charles is identified with the Wabash Canning Company. Paul is City Civil Engineer at Huntington, Indiana. Another member of the household was Miss Bessie Latchem, a niece of Mr. Latchem's.

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

Mr. Charles Latchem the president of this flourishing local industry is a son of the old settler John B. Latchem, whose career has been sketched in preceding pages. Charles Latchem was born in the city of Wabash, July 27, 1870, was educated in the public schools, early manifested an inclination for commercial life, and his first venture in that direction outside the domain of clerk or other minor employe was traveling salesman. He followed that line for several years, and in the meantime had planned and succeeded in interesting the capital to establish the canning industry, to which his energies have since been devoted, and with a success rivaling any other local establishment in the manufacturing field.

Mr. Charles Latchem is a democrat in politics, in religious faith prefers the Christian Science to that of any other denomination, and is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, and is a thirty-second degree Mason. On September 30, 1891, he married Miss Mary Nordyke, of Peru, Indiana. They are the parents of three children: Ruth, Clyde, and Junior.

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

Mr. Walter was an ambitious and enterprising youth and made the most of such educational opportunities as came his way, but the early death of his father forced him to begin to contribute to the family support at a time when his boyhood companions were still engaged in playing games and attending school, and he bravely faced life and apprenticed himself to a painter to learn the trade. There seems to be something in poverty that brings out the best efforts of the American youth. The mere fact of necessity appears to develop qualities of mind and heart that under different conditions and circumstances, perhaps, would have lain dormant. Thus it was with Mr. Walter, for he rapidly outgrew the limitations of his trade, and when still a young man, in 1871, entered into a partnership with Rife & Powell in the establishment of a hub and spoke factory, at North Manchester. The partners did not have confidence in the business, however, and after a short trial the association was given up, although Mr. Walter, with more perseverance, continued the business for two years more with Jesse Arnold, and then bought his partner's interest and continued the business successfully alone until 1882. In that year his worth and integrity attracted the people of his county, who elected him to the office of sheriff, and while holding this position he withdrew temporarily from business. This term in office was succeeded by another, but during the latter, in 1884, he purchased a manufacturing plant at Huntington, for the making of table slides, and this was later moved to Wabash. For a time, Thomas B. Hennessey, of Huntington, was a partner, but Mr. Walter later bought him out and continued the business alone under the name of B. Walter & Company, this style having since continued. In 1891, owing to the greatly increased business, the present large plant was erected. Mr. Walter was one of the stable and prosperous men that go to compose a stable and prosperous community. He possessed boundless energy and business foresight of an enviable character. Each enterprise with which he was connected was made to reimburse him abundantly for the labor he expended upon it. His good citizenship was never doubted, and his patriotism was shown during the dark days of the Civil War, when, as a lad still in his early teens, he shouldered a musket as a private in the 195th Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry, and fought bravely with that hard-fighting organization for a period of thirteen months. In after years he enjoyed the companionship of his old comrades in J. H. Emmett Post, of the Grand Army of the Republic. Each movement tending toward progress received his hearty approval and support. His charities were many. He and his wife were among the organizers of the Wabash County Orphans' Home, of which Mrs. Walter was president for nine years, and did much to place this institution upon a firm footing. Essentially a home man, he took pleasure in mingling with his fellows, and in addition to being an Elk, held high position in the Masonic fraternity. He was originally a member of Denning Lodge at North Manchester, but upon moving to Wabash demitted to Hanna Lodge, subsequently became a charter member of Wabash Commandery No. 37, of which he was first commander, and rose to the thirty-third degree, belonging to Indiana Consistory, A. A. S. R., and to the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His death, which occurred February 28, 1908, caused widespread sorrow, not alone among the members of his immediate family, but in business, financial and social circles, where men had had the chance to know him and were proud to be called his friends.

Mr. Walter was married in 1874 to Miss Esther E. Williams, of North Manchester, Indiana, and to this union there were born three children: Myrtle R, Josephine V. and Fred R. The last-named is secretary and treasurer of the firm of R Walter & Company, and one of the progressive business men of the younger generation in Wabash.

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

Fred B. Walter attended the public and high schools of Wabash, and supplemented this with a course at Purdue University, graduating from the mechanical department of that institution in 1903. For a time thereafter he was associated with the General Electric Company of Schenectady, New York, and then returned to Wabash to become associated with the firm of B. Walter & Company, manufacturers of table slides, an enterprise which had been founded by his father, and at the time of the elder man's death the concern was incorporated, with Mrs. B. Walter, as president; Chas. Rish V. P.; and Fred B. Walter as secretary and treasurer, and has thus continued to the present time. Mr. Walter, the son, is also the president of the Service Motor Truck Company, of Wabash, manufacturers of motor trucks. This is one of the important industries of Wabash, and is capitalized at $250,000. The other officers are: Jean Marks, V. P.; Edward Bridges, treasurer and manager, and Moi Cook, secretary. Mr. Walter is also the president of the American Coating Mills, of Elkhart, Indiana, an extensive manufacturing concern which is practically owned by Wabash capital. The capital stock of this industry is $100,000. Moi Cook is its secretary and Joseph C. Teague is the vice president, while C. C. Colbert, a former resident of Wabash, is treasurer and manager. The industry was established in Elkhart in 1910, and they erected the plant at that time. He is also a director and the second vice president of the Citizens Savings & Trust Company. Mr. Walter is a young man to whom large opportunities have been given to demonstrate what manner of man he is, and he has proved himself to be thoroughly capable, having managed the affairs of the large industries wisely and well. When war was declared between the United States and Spain he gave evidence of having inherited the patriotism that called his father to the support of the Union during the Civil war, and enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Sixtieth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, but never saw active service, as he was incapacitated by contracting typhoid fever while his regiment was in camp at Newport News. He is well known in fraternal circles of the city, being a member of the Masons and the Elks, and is popular with a wide circle of friends.

On the 28th of June, 1911, occurred the marriage of Mr. Walter and Miss Jean Graden, daughter of John Graden, and the granddaughter of the late Albert Pauling. One son has been born of this union, John Frederick.

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

William Wallace, who came to Wabash county in 1845, and began working as a farm hand for Mahlon Corey, west of the present city of Wabash, was born near Milton in Wayne county, Indiana, October 20, 1824. His father, John Wallace, and wife had established a home in the wilderness of Indiana while it was still a territory, and when practically all the population was located south of an east and west line extending through the present site of Indianapolis. Naturally, they had to contend with the hard conditions of the wilderness, they were here at a time when Indians were almost as numerous as the whites, and when the daily provision of the table was supplied by the wild game abounding on the prairies and in the woods. It was in such an environment that William Wallace grew up. He was twenty-one years of age when he came to Wabash county, and two years later he bought one hundred and sixty acres, a tract of land which has ever since been in the Wallace name and possession. This farm is situated about three miles west of the city of Wabash, on what is known as the Farr Pike, and is now owned by Charles N. Wallace, a son of this first buyer. When William Wallace secured ownership of that land it was practically in a state of nature, and it was by his hard work, clearing and grubbing and planting, that he made of it one of the fine farmsteads in that locality. Soon after locating in Wabash county, William Wallace returned to Wayne county and married Viana Ferguson. To their marriage were born five children. The mother of these children died and her husband again married. During his later years, he moved to the city of Wabash and lived a retired life until his death in 1903.

Charles Nimrod Wallace, who still owns the old homestead and carries on a flourishing business as a horse dealer at Wabash, was born May 15, 1854, at the old farm west of Wabash. His young days were spent for the greater part, after he had acquired sufficient strength, in assisting his father with the extension of the cultivated area of the land, and in the varied works of planting and harvesting, and during the intervals of this labor and at a time when his services could well be spared he attended the district school, but his advantages in this direction were limited. On reaching manhood he began farming for himself, and has always classified himself as a farmer, although for the past twenty years his business has kept him largely in the city of Wabash. He moved to Wabash in 1893, and here continued and developed on a larger scale the business of buying horses, which had been begun in connection with his farm work. In Wabash he built a large barn especially equipped for a sales stable, and has probably bought and sold as many horses as any other individual dealer in Wabash county.

Aside from his business, to which he gives his active attention, Mr. Wallace is a lover of all outdoor sports, and is one of the most skillful hunters and fishermen in the county. Among the many spoils of his hunting trips are the heads of two moose, which he brought down in the wilds of New Brunswick. The second specimen belonged to an especially magnificent animal, as is shown by the fact that there are twenty prongs on his antlers. In politics, Mr. Wallace is a democrat, and has served as a member of the Wabash city council. On December 28, 1876, he married Miss Lillie Stone. They are the parents of three children, namely: Grace, Lawrence and William. Mr. and Mrs. Wallace belong to the Christian church.

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

Mr. Davis was always known for a conservative and careful business man. He was a good friend and the sort of neighbor that one feels fortunate in claiming, and through all the years of his residence here he enjoyed the respect and esteem of all who knew him, his loss being keenly felt throughout the community. He was a republican in politics, and though reasonably active, was never an office seeker, preferring to give his time to other interests. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, for years serving as a trustee of the church to which he belonged, and his social activities were confined to the Masonic fraternity, of which he was long a member.

One son, Charles Davis, was born of his marriage with Barbara Ann Notestine, solemnized on August 12, 1855. His widow yet survives him, and maintains her residence in Wabash where she and her husband lived so long and happily together.

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

When William Kirby Davis died in 1887 his son, Charles White Davis, succeeded to the business, and he continued therein until his death, which came in 1900 as the result of injuries sustained in a railway accident, while on a trip to the south. He died on January 30, 1900, and like his father before him, he was widely mourned in the city, for he had led an upright and blameless life, proving himself a friend to those who looked to him for friendship, as well as to others who had no claims to press. It has been such men as Charles White Davis and his worthy father that Wabash is indebted for the high standard of her business enterprises as a whole, and the excellent standing of the county among the counties of the commonwealth.

On December 18, 1883, Mr. Davis was married to Miss Ida Alice Smith, a daughter of Thomas G. Smith, of Huntington, Indiana, and to them were born two children, Marie and Thomas Kirby. The daughter married Charles Huff of Wabash, and is the mother of two daughters, Alice Elizabeth and Rosanna. The son is a graduate of Wabash College and of Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore, is now interne at the New York Hospital, New York City.

The late Mr. Davis was a Mason, with Knight Templar affiliations, and he was long a member of the Presbyterian church and an usher there for years. Like his father, he was active in church duties in his denomination. He was a republican, reasonably active and having a healthy interest in local politics, though never a politician.

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

John Hipskind, the third of the brothers to come to the United States was born July 18, 1821. In his native land he received a common school education, and while there learned the trade of stone mason. To his marriage with Elizabeth Miedreich was born, while still in the old country five children, namely: Elizabeth; Philip; John; and Frederika; the first born died as an infant. The family came to America, where several other children were born, namely: Margaret, Adam, Mary, Frances, Henry, Joseph and Theodore. Of these children, all are living, except Elizabeth.

Mr. John Hipskind never accumulated any large means. He reared a large family, had to work industriously to support them, was strictly honest in all his transactions, and the best memorials to him are the many buildings which remain as evidences of his substantial craftsmanship in their stone work. He was a thorough workman, and took a personal pride and satisfaction in every piece of work that was entrusted to him.

His death occurred in August, 1888, while his wife passed away in 1895.

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

Philip Hipskind was born in Bavaria, Germany, October 8, 1848, and was six years old when brought to America. His education was necessarily limited, due to the fact that the family required some years before getting firmly established in economic prosperity in this county. His schooling was confined to about nine months in the English schools and some three months in the German school conducted by the Reformed Evangelican preacher. When still a boy he went to Evansville, Indiana, and under the supervision of two maternal uncles learned the bricklayers' trade, and also the stone mason's trade under his father. As the oldest in the family of children he had to go to work when ten years of age, and for eight successive summers was steadily employed in brick yards. Then for one year he worked in the flouring mill of King and McCrea. Having become an expert in the bricklayer's trade, he worked at that and stonemasonry for a time, and then joined his brother John in the contracting and building business. Their successful association resulted in the construction of many of the most important public and private buildings in Wabash. In later years the enterprise of Philip Hipskind diverted into more special channels, and he has made a name all over the state in contracting for and the building of street work, sewers, and highway construction. Most of the macadam street work in Wabash was done by him, and he built many miles of the fine pike road in Sullivan county of this state. He has constructed brick pavements at Portland, Geneva, Marion, Wabash, and Huntington, and a large amount of sewer construction in Richmond. Associated with him for a number of years have been his sons.

On September 10, 1871, Philip Hipskind married Miss Anna Mary Fleck. To their marriage were born the following children: George C., Mary A., .John E., Margaret, Alois F., William C., Thomas A., Herman N., James F., Samuel S., Ruth A., and Bernard P.

Philip Hipskind and sons, in connection with their contracting business some years ago, to be exact, in the spring of 1907, engaged in the retail handling of coal, lime, cement, sewer pipe and other materials of that kind, and have since conducted a large establishment at Wabash, supplying material not only in the immediate locality, but over a large territory surrounding this county. Mr. Hipskind is a republican in politics, and worships in the German Reformed Evangelical church, though his wife and children are members of the Roman Catholic Church.

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

John Hipskind was born in Germany, November 17, 1850, and was four years of age when brought to this country. As a boy he attended a private school for a time, and later was a student in the public schools. His education was abridged on account of the economic necessity of the household, and when less than ten years of age, he left school and began earning his living by work in the old woolen mill at Wabash. That was his regular line of employment until he was twenty years of age, and he then began an apprenticeship of three years in the carpenter's trade. After the death of the man from whom he had learned his trade, he continued until he had completed the unfinished contract, and by the successful manner in which he prosecuted the tasks left to his care, he established a reputation for reliable performance and careful workmanship which for many years has never suffered any diminishment.

Having completed the contract of his former employer, Mr. Hipskind began contracting and building on his own responsibility. That was his almost sole line of business in Wabash and vicinity for a period of thirty-two years. In 1899, associated with a son, he engaged in the plumbing and heating business, although for a time thereafter he continued working at his trade. Since 1907, his entire attention has been devoted to the plumbing and heating line. His record as a builder has been a very successful one, and among the larger contracts undertaken and carried out by him might be mentioned the present high school building, at Wabash, the Carnegie Library Building, two of the Ward schools, and many of the best residence and business blocks in the city.

The above by no means includes all of the commercial enterprise and relations of Mr. Hipskind with his community. He assisted in organizing the Wabash Building and Loan Association, the first association of that kind ever organized in Wabash, and of which he was a director for eight years. The Enterprise Building & Loan Association, and the Rock City Building & Loan Association, also received assistance from him at their beginning, and all those associations were operated practically about the same time. He also gave a hand to the organization of the Wabash Loan Fund and Building Association, of which he was treasurer during its entire existence. The Home Telephone Company, likewise had his support and assistance at its beginning and he has been a director and also treasurer of the company since its organization.

A democrat in politics, Mr. Hipskind has served as a member of the city counsel from 1887 to 1889, and from 1910 to the present time. He is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and he and his family worship in the Roman Catholic faith. On May 28, 1873, he married Barbara S. Fleck, of Wabash county, Indiana, a daughter of Christian and Margaret Fleck, deceased. Eight children have been born to this union, namely: Charles C., Sarah E., Thomas A., who died in infancy; Thomas F., Mary M., J. Lawrence, Josephine B., and James Henry. Thomas F., J. Lawrence and James Henry are partners with their father in the plumbing and heating business.

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

The Stiggleman family originally came from Germany, and later members of the family came to Indiana during its early history and settled in or about Richmond, in Wayne county. James H. Stiggleman was brought by his parents to Wabash county when he was a small boy, and he was reared on a farm in Liberty township. As a boy he helped in the work of the home farm, and the death of his father in his early boyhood left the burden of the responsibility of the place upon him while he was still very young in years. His education was a fairly good one, and his district schooling was followed by a period of attendance in the graded schools of Wabash, and that with a normal school course in Richmond. Following this he successfully passed the examinations for a teacher, was granted a certificate, and for six years taught in the schools of Wabash county, during one year being superintendent of the graded schools at Lincolnsville.

A natural inclination for mathematics prompted him to pursue a private course of study along those lines during the years when he was engaged in teaching. In 1891 he moved to Wabash, and there became superintendent of the Wabash Church and School Furniture Company, where he was thus employed until the corporation met with financial reverses and finally went into the hands of a receiver. During his service there Mr. Stiggleman invented a device for cutting circular pews, but he never patented it, and in similar manner he invented many improvements now in general use, which he contributed gratis to the factory of which he was the superintendent. Among his other inventions was a school desk hinge for the iron standard desk. This he patented, and he later produced another hinge, an improvement on the first, which is now being used at North Manchester and probably in other places. Mr. Stiggleman was a heavy stockholder and the vice president and manager of the Peabody-Stiggleman Company, manufacturers of school desks at North Manchester for several years, he having organized the company. He also invented a folding chair, which was in vogue for some years, and is still being produced in certain quarters. A sectional bookcase, bearing his name, was also added to the list of his inventions, and the same is now owned by a large manufacturing concern at Peru. He also invented two kitchen cabinets with sliding table tops, which are being widely manufactured. He organized the Cardinal Kitchen Cabinet Company of Wabash about a year before his death, becoming a director of the company, as well as the secretary and general manager. Prior to this time he had sold his interest in the North Manchester factory. While these are some of the principal inventions of Mr. Stiggleman, there were others of equal or greater importance which he was never able to produce owing to his untimely death.

Mr. Stiggleman was a republican in politics, and while keenly alive to the public issues of the day, he was always too deeply interested in his business affairs to enter into politics as an office-seeker or in any capacity. However, he served as a member of the Wabash school board for twelve years or thereabouts, and later served as a member of the first Carnegie library board. He was a Methodist in his religious tendencies, and in this as in other activities of life he was zealous and earnest. He was a man of social and genial habits, approachable in his manner, and he loved to mingle and exchange views with his fellow men. His fraternal association was with the Masonic order, in which he reached the Knight Templar degree.

On the 14th of April, 1885, Mr. Stiggleman married Miss Elsie M. White, the only daughter of Steele A. and Eliza J. (Waggoner) White, who were among the early settlers of Wabash county. The four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Stiggleman are Pearl L., Georgia G., James Walker and John Roger. Pearl Lenore Stiggleman, the eldest, was married on the 4th of October, 1911, to Leo Louis Baushke, of Benton Harbor, Michigan, and they now reside on a farm in Liberty township, Wabash county, Indiana, on the old White homestead of two hundred acres which is the property of Mrs. Stiggleman and her mother, Mrs. Steele White.

Mr. Stiggleman was such a man as may be regarded as a credit to his community. He was a representative of the highest type of American citizenship, and as one who was honest, earnest and thoroughly consistent in all his acts, he commanded the universal and unfailing respect of his fellows. He loved his home, and found his greatest pleasure in the family circle to the end of his days.

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

Edward Kinerk, the immediate subject of this review, is a native of Lagro township, Wabash county, born here on August 11, 1843. His father, Timothy Kinerk, was born in county Limerick, Ireland, and when a boy of about sixteen years came with his widowed mother to America. Two brothers and a sister also accompanied them, and they first located in New York State, where Timothy and his brothers found work in the construction of the Erie canal. Later, when the Wabash and Erie canal was proposed and plans laid for its building, the brothers came here and were employed throughout the time of its construction. Edward Kinerk, the older brother of Timothy, performed a part of the work as a contractor on the waterway. He married and settled in Allen county, where some of his descendants are now living, and Timothy and Patrick Kinerk married and settled in Wabash county.

Timothy married Ellen Maher at Anderson, and after the canal was finished he bought a quarter section of land in Lagro township. This he cleared and improved, and here he spent practically all the remainder of his life. He died on August 31, 1884, his wife having preceded him on May 3, 1863. They were the parents of two children who grew to maturity, one of them being Edward Kinerk of this review. They were stanch members of the Roman Catholic church and reared their children in the same faith.

Edward Kinerk the only son of his parents, grew up on the home farm in Lagro township, and his boyhood was passed in helping to clear, grub, plant and harvest, after the manner of the boys of that period. His opportunities for educational advancement were exceedingly limited, the school term of the year in those days being limited to three months in the winter season. However, he managed to secure a sufficient training to enable him to pass a teacher's examination successfully, his careful and well directed home study having added much to his primitive schooling. He taught school two terms and then retired to his farm in Lagro, where he carried on farming activities in Lagro and Noble townships until April, 1901. In that year he moved to Wabash, where he has since resided.

Mr. Kinerk is a democrat, and in 1910 he was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace, a post he has since filled most acceptably and creditably.

On June 11, 1868, Mr. Kinerk was married to Catherine Sheahan, of Redford, near Detroit, Michigan. Twelve children have been born to them, nine of whom reached years of maturity, and are here named as follows: Jeremiah F.; Timothy L.; Thomas A., who dropped dead July 13, 1913; Eugene E.; Thaddeus E.; Anna E.; Mary E. and Bernard S., twins, and Lucy, the youngest of the family. All are well known and highly esteemed in Wabash, where the family home has been maintained in recent years.

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

Mr. Lawton's boyhood was passed much the same as that of other New England farmers' sons, his education being secured in the public schools when his services were not needed in the work of the homestead place. On completing his studies, he for a time worked for others, but in 1873 decided to try his fortunes in the West and accordingly came to Wabash county. Here he first secured employment in a local planing mill, but by the end of eight years felt fully equipped to enter the business field on his own account, and in 1881 the firm of Green & Lawton was established. This association continued for three years, when Mr. Lawton bought the interest of his partner, and from that time until his death conducted the foundry business alone. This enterprise steadily grew in size and importance until it became one of the leading business concerns of its kind in Wabash county, but in spite of the large demand it made upon his attention Mr. Lawton found leisure to devote to other concerns, among them being the Wabash Valley Building and Loan Association, of which he was one of the organizers and a member of the first board of directors. His name was a synonym for upright manhood and good citizenship. He gave his influence and of his means to the betterment of society, to schools and church, to the support of government, and order and to industries which he believed were calculated to promote the interests of this section of the state. A stalwart republican in politics, he supported the Grand Old Party from the time of his first vote, was ever interested in public matters, and served for two terms as a member of the city council of Wabash, where he rendered his fellow-citizens conscientious, efficient and helpful service. For a number of years he was identified with the Masonic fraternity, and was one of the popular members of the Commandery at Wabash. When he died, December 12, 1904, the business world of Wabash county lost a man who had been true to every obligation, the city and county a citizen who ever had the community's welfare at heart, and his hosts of acquaintances a friend who had proved his loyalty on numerous occasions.

On March 4, 1874, occurred the marriage of Mr. Lawton with Miss Fannie Robbins, a native of Massachusetts. She survives him and resides in Wabash, where she has a large circle of friends and acquaintances, who esteem her highly for her sterling worth and many excellencies of character.

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

Samuel Hubbard was the founder of the family in Wabash county in April, 1856, coming from Fayette county in this state. Like many other of the early settlers in this section, he was born in North Carolina in Guilford county, in 1798, and he was ten years old when his parents moved to Warren county, Ohio, and eighteen months later to Fayette county, Indiana, whence after about two years they went to other counties, and Samuel Hubbard in 1821 at Brookville, Montgomery County, Ohio, married Nancy Gladwell. Two years later, in 1823, Mr. Hubbard located near Evanston (then West Union) in Fayette county, Indiana. Fayette county was then just being filled up by pioneer settlers, and Samuel Hubbard had ample opportunity to select land about as he chose, and having found a suitable tract he built for his family a double log house, and began improving and farming. He and his wife experienced all the sufferings and privations incident to pioneer days. Nancy Hubbard died on that homestead in September, 1848. To their union were born eleven children. Only three are now living, the two sons being William T. and Charles J. both of Wabash county, while the daughter, Nancy J., the wife of Henry Brolyer, lives at Axtell, Marshall county, Kansas. In May, 1850, Samuel Hubbard married Elizabeth Ann Green, and in April, 1856, moved to Wabash county, locating on land in section thirty, town twenty-eight (Noble township), range six. In that locality he spent the remainder of his days engaged in general farming and stock raising. To his second marriage nine children were born, four of whom are now living, namely: Benjamin F. of Noble township; Melvin and Alvin, twins, the former living in Kokomo, Alvin died in January, 1914; Marcellus C., a farmer of Paw Paw township; and Amanda, who lives in Noble township, the wife of William V. Martindale.

Samuel Hubbard was a man of but limited scholastic training. That deficiency he overcame in a. measure, in later years by reading and observation. For a man brought up to manual labor he was an unusually good penman. As a member of the Bachelor Street Christian Church he was active in its support and maintenance, as long as he lived. Perhaps his chief characteristic was his rugged honesty and his unselfish generosity. No traveler ever came to his door hungry or in need of a bed, but his wants were speedily satisfied. As a neighbor his aid was ever ready for those in need of assistance, and his was a character that unfortunately is of a past generation. He died June 30, 1876, and his wife in September, 1875.

Benjamin F. Hubbard the oldest son of the second marriage of Samuel Hubbard was born in Fayette county, Indiana, May 6, 1851. When five years old he was brought to Wabash county by his parents, was reared on a farm, had his education like other boys of the time in the district schools, and had only passed his twenty-first birthday a few months, when on August 8, 1872, he married Naoma F. Ford, under the necessity of providing a. home for two, and coming children, he started farming on his own responsibility, and that was the occupation which absorbed his energy and time until 1904. In that year occurred his withdrawal from the more active cares of life, though he is still a vigorous man, and when occasion requires can work as hard as in younger years. In 1908 his services were drawn into recognition for the benefit of the public welfare, when he was elected trustee of Noble township, a position which he has occupied to the present time. Benjamin F. Hubbard is a democrat and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. He and his wife are the parents of four children: John G., who died when nearing his thirty-eighth birthday; Guy L., who married Leonora Critchelow, and is a farmer in Wabash county; Zella, wife of Leroy C. Lynn of Wabash; and Samuel F., who died when about twenty-three years of age.

Best known in the city of Wabash of the children of Samuel Hubbard is Mr. Charles J. Hubbard, who has had a long and active career as a manufacturer, merchant, and is now in the real estate and insurance business. Next to the oldest of the living children of Samuel Hubbard's first marriage, Charles J. Hubbard was born in Fayette county, Indiana, July 14, 1839. Most of his schooling was received in his native county, and he was seventeen years old when he came to Wabash county, which has been his home ever since. He was reared on a farm, but a few years after reaching his majority chose a business career. On November 6, 1860, he married Carolina C. Palmer. In 1864 he moved to the City of Wabash, and was for four years engaged in brick manufacture there and after that up to 1890 employed his energies in various occupations though most of the time in the agricultural implement business. Since 1890, Mr. Hubbard has had an office for the handling of real estate, loans, and insurance. In politics he is a democrat, and since eighteen years of age has been a member of the Christian church. On February 21, 1897, his first wife died; and on November 21, 1910, he married Mrs. Menora Smallwood.

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

The Brady family is not only of pioneer settlement in Wabash county, but is one of the older stocks in the United States. The founder of this branch came from Scotland to America in 1708, and was named Hugh Brady. He settled in eastern Pennsylvania. John Brady, one of his sons, held the rank of Colonel in the Revolutionary war, and was killed by the Indians, in 1778. Col. Sam Brady, a son of Col. John, was a celebrated Indian fighter, and made a name for himself in the annals of early Indian warfare. Other members of the family served the colonies in their struggle for independence. Beginning with the emigrant ancestor Hugh Brady, the line of descent down to Dr. Brady is traced through Ebeneazer Brady, William Brady, James Brady, Cleason Brady, and William Brady, the last being the father of the doctor, and was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, in 1817. Grandfather Cleason Brady settled in or about Marietta, Ohio, in the early days, later moved to Muskingum county, and from there in 1844 followed his son William to Wabash county, and died at his home six miles southeast of Wabash in 1859. He was one of the ardent abolitionists before the war, and at one time operated a switch of the underground railway.

William Brady in Muskingum county, September, 1841, married Frances J. Imlay. With his wife's family he immediately came by wagon to Wabash county. In Liberty township he preempted a quarter section of land, and entered upon its improvement. Practically every acre was covered with a heavy growth of walnut, oak, hard maple, and other native wood. The soil for cultivation in those times was much more valuable to the settler than timber, and it is not difficult to understand the motive which caused those settlers to cut down such magnificent specimens of the forest, and such trees as were not worked up into rails or into fuel was usually piled in heaps and burned. The first home of the Brady family in Wabash county was a round-log cabin, fourteen feet square, with a stick and mud chimney at one end, rising from an old-fashioned fireplace. There were no windows, and the floor was in just one degree advance above the beaten ground which might have been found in many pioneer cabins, the Brady home having an old puncheon floor. A few years later that cabin was replaced by a hewed log cabin, which was regarded as very pretentious dwelling and above the average to be found in that community.

Mr. and Mrs. William Brady became the parents of ten children, and of those seven are now living. William Brady never aspired to political office, and as a consequence his name does not appear in the official records of the county. However, he was devoted to the cause of religion, and was for many years an elder in the Presbyterian church. In politics he was first a whig casting his first presidential ballot for William Henry Harrison in 1840, and sixteen years later voted for John C. Fremont and was ever afterwards a loyal republican. His death occurred September 10, 1869, and his widow survived until August 7, 1895.

Dr. Thompson R. Brady was born in Liberty township in the old log cabin home previously mentioned, January 1, 1843, and has already passed the psalmist's allotted time of human life, threescore years and ten. His was the experience of many pioneer boys, and as soon as his strength permitted he found plenty to do in grubbing, clearing, planting and harvesting. Most of his preliminary education was given him by his mother, who was a woman of unusual culture, and who though burdened with the usual responsibilities of a pioneer woman, still found time to instruct her children. For a few winters he attended a district school, and was also a student at the Huntington Academy. In the meantime the Civil war had come on and in the vacation following his first year in the academy, he enlisted on August 16, 1862, in Company F, of the One Hundred and First Indiana Infantry. He was sent to the front in time to participate in the battle of Perryville, Kentucky, in the Tullahoma Campaign, in the critical battle of Chickamauga, and at Missionary Ridge received a gunshot wound in the left shoulder. His wound did not keep him long from active service, and he was a participant in the weeks of constant fighting which led up to the capture of Atlanta, where his regiment took part, and after the fall of Atlanta, he was with the troops under Sherman in their march to the sea, went up to the Carolinas, and as a culmination of his military experience marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in the grand review of the victorious Union army in Washington. His honorable discharge was dated June 24, 1865, though he was not mustered out until the first of July following.

On returning home Mr. Brady resumed his school studies, and for a time was engaged in teaching. In the fall of 1866 he entered upon the study of medicine, with Dr. William G. Armstrong of LaFontaine, and the fall of 1867 saw him entering the medical department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. After one year in the Michigan University he entered Rush Medical College of Chicago, and was graduated M. D., from that splendid old institution in March, 1869. On beginning practice Dr. Brady first located at Lincolnville in Wabash county, and for seventeen years actively served the community as a physician and surgeon. His residence at Lincolnville terminated in 1886 when he was elected clerk of the circuit court of Wabash county, an office to which he gave four years. On leaving that office he resumed his practice in the city of Wabash, and continued it actively until recent years, and is now practically retired, from professional work.

In 1908 Dr. Brady was elected joint senator to the state legislature from Wabash and Fulton counties, and served in the sessions of 1909 and 1911. For nine years, beginning in 1897, he was secretary of the pension board. Dr. Brady is a Presbyterian in religion and a republican in politics. He has attained the Knight Templar degrees in Masonry, and is also affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Royal Arcanum.

His first marriage occurred April 2, 1868, when Elizabeth J. Dougherty became his wife. At her death on February 14, 1869, she left one son, Thomas D., who died at the age of eighteen years. On June 2, 1870, Dr. Brady married Emma L. Brown, and their union was blessed with eight children as follows: William Selden; John C.; George F.; Oliver, deceased; Margaret M., Mrs. Dr. L. E. Jewett; Fanny, who died when twenty-four years old in 1904; Lucretia G., Mrs. Leonard Stauffer; and Jennie A., a teacher in the Wabash public schools.

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

Mr. Alvah Taylor is a native of Indiana, and was born on a farm six miles west of Connorsville, Fayette county, June 30, 1839. His parents were Freeman T. and Anna (Tyner) Taylor. His father, who was born at Balston Spa, New York, in 1816, was reared to the life of a farmer, but subsequently entered the ministery of the old-school Baptist church. In 1824, when a boy of eight years of age, he came with his parents to Harrisburg, Fayette county, Indiana, and it was there among pioneer scenes, that he grew to manhood, and also in that county met and mar¬ried Anna Tyner, in December, 1836. His years were spent in farming until 1850. In that year he was licensed to preach by the Lick Creek Baptist church of Harrisburg, in Fayette county, he having been converted in the church when sixteen years of age, in 1832, when he became a member of the Second Williams Creek Baptist church in Fayette county, Indiana, and subsequently in 1847, changed his membership to the Lick Creek Baptist church. The character of the itinerant preacher of the early days has been made familiar in story and history, and up to 1856, Rev. Taylor visited from cabin to cabin, traveling through the forest roads, either on foot or on horseback, and brought the Christian faith to many a lonely settlement. In 1856 he moved to Wabash county, and was ordained to the ministry by the Ross Run Baptist Church, two and a half miles south of Lagro in Lagro township. For two years he was pastor of that church, but in 1858 organized the Pleasant View Baptist church, situated six miles north of Lagro. That congregation had his services as minister until 1869, when he joined the Antioch Baptist church at LaFontaine. He was the minister there until his death on February 19, 1911, at the age of ninety-five. A man of robust constitution, hardy and well fitted for the pioneer life, he continued an active church worker until his death, having held a special meeting during the week preceding his death. In his early years, he was a man of but limited education, but his industry and his faculty of reading good literature of all kinds and with thorough comprehension, enabled him in a measure to overcome his early deficiencies, and he always passed as a man of superior knowledge and observation, as he was one of unusual intelligence, and possessed a fine grain of character. He was never a preacher for revenue only. He received the call, and deemed it his duty to expound the word as he saw fit. Of strong resolution he carried on his life's work with unfaltering devotion, administering comfort to the soul-sick, and hope to the despondent.

The wife of Rev. Freeman Taylor was born in Brookville, Indiana, March 3, 1813, and it is probable that she was never outside the state. Her people came from South Carolina to Indiana, riding horseback, about the year 1808, and her mother walked a large portion of the distance, from beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Valley of the Ohio. Mrs. Taylor was in thorough accord and sympathy with her husband's work, sharing with him the privations and hardships incident to the times. Her life, in its way, was no less noteworthy than that of her husband. She became the mother of two children, one of whom died in infancy. She herself passed away March 2, 1869, at the age of fifty-six. Her husband subsequently married twice, but there were no children born of those unions.

Alvah Taylor was about seventeen years old when the family established its home in Wabash county, and practically all his youthful training was on a farm. From the district schools he later came to Wabash and prepared for college by three years of study in the Wabash high school. In September, 1861, he entered Wabash College at Crawfordsville, and was graduated Master of Arts from the old Indiana College in June, 1865. In the meantime his collegiate career had been interrupted by the call to military service. On May 4, 1864, he enlisted in Company G of the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Indiana Infantry, and his military service for the most part was in and around Tullahoma, Tennessee, in doing garrison and guard duty. He received his honorable discharge on October 10, 1864, and then came home and resumed his studies.

Mr. Taylor read law under the direction of the late John U. Pettit at Wabash, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1868. While carrying on his studies he was also deputy circuit court clerk by appointment. It is an interesting fact that Mr. Taylor read law in the same office that he now occupies, at 131 South Miami Street. In July, 1868, he accepted a partnership with his former preceptor under the firm name of Pettit, Taylor and Brenton. When Mr. Brenton retired from the firm in 1871 the business was continued under the name of Pettit & Taylor, until 1873. In the latter year, Mr. Pettit was elevated to the office of Judge of the Wabash Circuit court, and since then, for forty years, Mr. Taylor has conducted a large individual practice.

Since casting his first vote in 1860, for Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Taylor has been a consistent republican. It is noteworthy that he has never been drawn aside from his profession as a lawyer into the adjacent field of politics, and has never held an elective office. Fraternally he affiliates with the Grand Army of the Republic, and with the Tribe of Ben Hur. Religiously he was reared in the faith of the old-school Baptist church, and has been a member of that denomination at Pleasant View, a church which his father organized, since 1861. However, his wife belongs to the First Methodist Episcopal church of Wabash, and Mr. Taylor is one of the trustees in that church.

On May 21, 1864, was celebrated the marriage of Alvah Taylor with Anastasia L. Stratton, a daughter of Mark Stratton. Mark Stratton was an early settler, and many years ago held the office of county commissioner in Wabash county. To their marriage have been born two children: Horace B., who died when nineteen years old, and Grace, wife of Will H. Clothier, of Marion, Indiana. They have one child, Anastasia. Mrs. Alvah Taylor died April 28, 1883. Mr. Taylor on May 8, 1884, married Mrs. Mary L. McClure, daughter of Luther Waite, and the widow of Camillus McClure.

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

He has been, moreover, prominent in educational circles, and for some years was one of the most popular teachers in Wabash county, where he became widely and favorably known. Mr. Garber was born on a farm about one-half mile east of Laketon, Wabash county, Indiana, September 23, 1881, and is a son of Joseph and Clara F. (Kitterman) Garber, both of whom are now living near North Manchester, Indiana.

Alvah A. Garber received his early training on his father's farm and his education, primarily, in the district schools. Subsequently he attended the Servia graded and high school, spent one year at North Manchester College, and completed his high school work by being graduated at North Manchester with the class of 1902. During the fall of that year he began teaching school, and in this he continued ten and one-half terms, three terms being in district schools of Chester township, one year in the graded school at Servia, three years in the Chester township high school and the balance of the time served in the capacity of superintendent of the Noble township schools outside of the city of Wabash. During this long period Mr. Garber made himself known all over this section of the county, and such a favorable impression did he create that he was urged by his many friends to make the race for public office. Finally, in 1912, he acquiesced and was made the nominee of his party for the office of county recorder, and in the elections that followed in November of the same year received a handsome majority. He may well feel a just pride in the record that he has made in office, for he has instituted many movements for the improvement of the department and has always been a stalwart champion of the interests of the city and county of Wabash and has done much for their furtherance. He supports democratic policies and principles and is regarded as one of the strong and influential men of his party here. In his fraternal relations, Mr. Garber is associated with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias lodges, where his pleasing and genial personality has endeared him to a wide circle of friends.

On August 1, 1905, Mr. Garber was married to Miss Ruby Willis, who died Christmas evening of that same year. On June 2, 1909, Mr. Garber was married to Miss Nora A. Peden, who was born in Chester township, Wabash county, a daughter of James S. and Charlotte Peden, farming people of this county.

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