History of Porter County, 1912County history published by The Lewis Publishing Company . . . .
Source Citation:
The Lewis Publishing Company. 1912.
History of Porter County, Indiana: A
Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal
Interests.
Volume I. Chicago, Illinois: The Lewis Publishing Company. 357 p.
HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY
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CHAPTER XIV
MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY
ADVENTURES WITH THE INDIANS -
REASON BELL - "UNCLE JOE" MARKS - PERSONAL MENTION OF PIONEER SETTLERS - CHARLES
OSBORNE'S GRAVE - JERRY SIMPSON ONCE A RESIDENT OF PORTER COUNTY - "LUCKY"
BALDWIN - A SNIPING EXPEDITION - A THIEVING PREACHER - STORMS - FIRES - RAILROAD
WRECKS - THE EXECUTION OF STAVES - OTHER NOTED MURDER CASES - ATTEMPTED ROBBERY
OF THE COLLEGE SAFE - PROFITABLE PEACHES - A PAIR OF COUNTERFEITERS - MYSTERIES
- A HAUNTED HOUSE - AN ACT OF HEROISM.
When the actual settlement of Porter county began in 1833 there were still quite
a number of Pottawatomie Indians living within the confines of the county.
Although these Indians were generally friendly in their relations with the
whites, the two races sometimes came dangerously near a conflict. Among the
early settlers of Westchester township was Jacob Beck, who came to Porter county
in 1835. He was fond of hunting, and on one of his visits to Michigan City
purchased a new rifle. On his way home he passed by an Indian village or
encampment and a "big brave" asked to look at the new gun. As soon as he
received it in his hands he hurried into his wigwam. Knowing he would hide the
rifle if given a few minutes time, Beck jumped from his horse and started in
pursuit. He was a powerful man physically and had no trouble in wresting the
rifle from the hands of the savage, but other Indians immediately appeared and
Beck realized that his safety lay in
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getting away from there as soon as possible. Vaulting into his saddle, he
attempted to start his horse, when the Indian from whom the gun had been taken
grabbed hold of the reins and compelled the horse to stand still. Without
stopping to consider what the consequences might be, Beck brought the heavy gun
barrel down upon the Indian's head with sufficient force to "lay him out."
Before the others could rally to the support of their fallen comrade Beck was
under full gallop, and was soon out of immediate danger. Feeling certain that he
would be pursued, upon reaching his home he told his wife what he had done, and
that night they slept in the woods near their home, expecting every minute to
hear the war-whoop or see the flames of their burning cabin, fired by the torch
of the savages. The next morning Colonel John Whistler went to the Indian
village and by some persuasion, and probably a few threats, induced the
inhabitants to drop the matter. Beck was not further molested.
On another occasion Beck was lying down in his cabin, taking a nap, when a big
Indian came and asked for something to eat. Not satisfied with Mrs. Beck's
statement that she had nothing for him, he entered the house and began searching
for food. Beck was aroused by the noise and lost no time in kicking the Indian
out. The savage then counted upon his fingers to indicate that in a little while
he would come back with ten men and wreak vengeance upon the pale face who had
humiliated him. The door of the cabin was barricaded and other defensive
preparations made to receive the Indians in case they should appear. In a short
time they came, and it so happened that Beck knew the leader. A parley ensued,
in which it was decided to settle the dispute by a wrestling match. Beck allowed
nine of the Indians to throw him; the tenth was the one he had ejected from his
cabin but a short time before, and he refused to wrestle with the man whom he
had kicked out, saying that he did not object to wrestling with men, but he
would not wrestle with a dog. This turned the laugh on the defeated Indian and
they went away in good spirits.
Near the old town of Prattville was an Indian village of about 100
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or more inhabitants. These Indians annoyed the white settlers in the
neighborhood by petty thievery, but they never committed any serious
depredations. In this village lived two Indians named Wap-muk (or Wak-muck) and
Cha-nin-a-win, who were not the best of friends. On one occasion, after these
two had imbibed sufficient "fire water," each imagined himself to be the other's
superior. A fight ensued in which Wap-muck was victorious, because his opponent
was too drunk to put up a good fight. Fearing that he would be called upon to
fight a second time when Cha-nin-a-win was sober, and being uncertain as to the
result of such a conflict, Wap-muk took time by the forelock one day by ahooting
off the top of Cha-nin-a-win's head as he lay asleep under a tree. Some of the
white men living in the vicinity were inclined to have Wap-muk arrested and
tried by the white man's law. According to Indian customs, the life of the
murderer was subject to forfeit, but a compromise was finally effected, by which
Wap-muk was made to give to the squaw of the victim a certain number of ponies
and a quantity of valuable furs. As Cha-nin-a-win was well known to be a
drunken, worthless Indian, the price fixed upon his life was placed sufficiently
low that his slayer could pay it without serious inconvenience. The happy ending
of the whole affair was celebrated by a banquet, to which G. W. Bartholomew was
invited, and at which the "piece de resistance" was a fat dog. It is not known
whether or not Mr. Bartholomew accepted the invitation.
About 1836 or 1837, Simeon Bryant, who settled near Boone Grove in 1835, had as
a servant a young woman named Catherine Sadoris. One day, while the family was
absent from home, the house was visited by a party of Indians. While they were
there Miss Sardoris returned, and as she came around the corner of the house was
startled to discover an Indian pointing his gun at her. As a matter of fact, the
Indian knew nothing of the girl's presence and was merely aiming his gun at some
imaginary foe or game animal. The girl did not know this, however, and fled for
the woods near by. The Indians called to her to stop, intending to explain that
they did not wish to harm her, but their cries
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only added to her speed and she kept on until she found the friendly shelter of
the timber. When Mr. Bryant and his family returned, the Indians told them what
had happened. .A searching party was organized, but the girl was not found until
the next day, having passed the night in the woods under the impression that all
the members of the Bryant family had been slain.
There were a number of such incidents occurred during the few years the Indians
remained in the county after the coming of the first settlers, but the greatest
annoyance on account of the Pottawatomies came through their begging
propensities. They would come to a settlers cabin and ask for food. If it was
given them, the housewife might prepare for a second visit, for it was sure to
come. As the Indians became better acquainted they would look around and select
some little trinket, perhaps of little value, and ask that it be given to them.
The next request would be for something more valuable, their begging being
conducted with diplomacy and always in an ascending ratio. The settlers soon
found out that the best way to get along with them was to refuse all requests
and send them about their business. Though the Indians pretended to be offended
at such treatment, they rarely, if ever, showed their resentment by hostile
actions, probably realizing that the arm of "Uncle Sam" was long enough to
protect his children upon the frontier.
Mention has been made in a former chapter of Reason Bell, Jr., who was the first
white child born in Porter county. His birth occurred on January 11, 1834. At
the age of fifteen years he lost one of his feet through an accident, and at the
age of eighteen became deputy county auditor. When the Republican party was
organized, although not yet twenty-one years of age, he took a leading part in
the management of that party's affairs. In 1857, at the age of twenty-three, he
was elected county auditor and served for eight years. In 1870 he was again
elected auditor and held the office for eight years, making sixteen years in
all. He also served as justice of the peace in Center township. He died on July
15, 1899. His father died in 1867 and his mother in 1881.
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One of the most eccentric characters that ever lived in Porter county was Joseph
Marks - better known as "Uncle Joe." He was born in England, September 11, 1820,
and came to America as a young man in 1849. Soon after his arrival in this
country he located in Valparaiso and built the house on the corner of Franklin
and Chicago streets, in which he died. He established the first foundry in
Valparaiso, making iron kettles, plows, stoves, etc. He also dealt in
second-hand furniture, glass and tinwaze, bought scrap iron, rags, etc. Uncle
Joe was twice married. His second wife was a half-breed Indian who was born
about the time of the Pontiac war. He was fond of children and every Christmas
distributed among his juvenile friends a barrel of candy. Although not a
believer in the tenets of the Christian religion, he was a constant attendant at
church, and did not hesitate to criticize the sermons to which he listened,
sometimes speaking right out at the time. Rev. Robert Beer told the writer of
one instance of Uncle Joe's criticism. One Sunday evening Mr. Beer touched upon
the subject of eternal punishment in his sermon. The next morning he met Uncle
Joe at the postoffice. "Robert," said Marks, "I did not like your sermon last
night."
"Well, I am sorry for that," replied the minister, "for I always like to please
my audience."
"Suppose you should take one of your children," continued the eccentric old
Englishman, "and hold him upon a hot stove until he was burned to a crisp. What
would the people do to you?"
"They would probably lynch me," said Mr. Beer.
"Well, then, what must I think of your Heavenly Father, who consigns his
children to a fire that is never quenched and keeps them there through all
eternity?"
Mr. Beers admits that this criticism modified, to some degree at least, his
views upon the subject of eternal punishment.
At one time Uncle Joe had about a hundred pigeons around his premises. They kept
the place so littered up that the neighbors started the circulation of a
petition to the city council to make the owner clean
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up his place. Among those who signed the petition was Elias Axe, who for years
had been one of Uncle Joe's most intimate friends, but when the latter learned
that Mr. Axe had signed the petition the friendship was broken off, never to be
renewed. Joseph Marks died on July 26, 1905. His wife had died some time before,
and in the meantime he had been taken care of by John Kuehl and his mother. He
left a sister in Canada and several nieces. The site of the old Marks residence
is now occupied by the Pioneer Flats.
Elias Axe, mentioned above, was born in Berkely county, Virginia, February 14,
1819. After the death of his father, his mother removed to Wayne county, Ohio,
and in 1836 Elias came to Porter county, Indiana. In 1844 Mr. Axe was elected
county treasurer. He was one of the charter members of the Christian church and
was active in promoting the general welfare of the community. He died at
Valparaiso on April 21, 1894.
Among the early settlers of Porter county was John N. Skinner, who was a leading
merchant of Valparaiso and one of the active supporters of the Valparaiso Male
and Female College. He was also interested in the building of the Pittsburgh,
Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad and later the Grand Trunk. In 1858 he was the
Democratic candidate for state senator; was elected mayor of Valparaiso in 1872,
and was nominated by his party for Congress in 1880, but was defeated. He died
in the spring of 1882.
Samuel S. Skinner, another early settler, was born in Cattaraugus county, New
York, July 16, 1824. When twelve years old he came to Porter county with his
parents and upon reaching manhood became active and prominent in public affairs.
He was one of the organizers of the old First National Bank and was president of
that institution from 1869 to 1875. The first brick building in Valparaiso was
erected by him for his use as a merchant. He represented Porter county in the
state legislature for two years and was for six years a member of the city
council. His death occurred on August 7, 1903.
Other old settlers or deceased citizens, who in their day were promi-
322
nent in the business and public affairs of the county, were Theophilus
Crumpacker, Artillus V. Bartholomew, Thomas A. E. Campbell, G. Z. Salyer,
Jeremiah Hamell, John Hansford, Thomas T. Maulsby, Nelson Barnard, Henry
Hageman, Thomas G. Lytle and John D. Wilson.
Theophilus Crumpacker was born in Montgomery county, Virginia, January 18, 1822.
He came with his parents, Owen and Hannah Crumpacker, to Porter county in 1834.
The family later removed to Laporte county, where the father died in 1848. After
living for a while in Illinois, Theophilus Crumpacker returned to Porter county
and followed farming in Washington township until 1888, when he became a
resident of Valparaiso. His death occurred at his home in that city on November
27, 1908. One of his sons, Edgar D., is the present Congressman from the Tenth
district, and another son, Grant, is one of the prominent members of the Porter
county bar.
Artillus V. Bartholomew, merchant, was born in Licking county, Ohio, November
26, 1818. He came with his parents to Porter county in 1834 and about a year
later they located on a farm in Center township. In 1844 he married Miss
Elizabeth Stephens, and in 1862 removed to the city of Valparaiso, where he
engaged in merchandising. For more than twenty years he occupied the same
building and built up a trade of something like $75,000 a year. He was a member
of the Presbyterian church, one of the organizers of the Republican party in the
county, served one term in the state legislature, was at one time county
commissioner, and was recognized as one of the public spirited citizens. He died
in August, 1896.
Thomas A. E. Campbell, who settled in the county in 1834, was at that time about
twenty-four years of age. After teaching school for a short time he was
appointed postmaster at Valparaiso, and upon retiring from that position engaged
in mercantile pursuits. Mr. Campbell was one of the promoters of the Pittsburgh,
Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad; was a charter member of the Masonic lodge at
Valparaiso; served as deputy county clerk and county treasurer, and at the time
of his death, May 14, 1878, was engaged in farming.
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Ruel Starr, son of Noah and Alfleda (Fuller) Starr, was born in Oneida county,
New York, December 22, 1804. In 1830 he went to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he
married Phebe E. Eldred, and in 1834 came to Porter county, locating in
Washington township. He was a man of great energy and sound business ability,
and through these traits of character he prospered until he was considered one
of the wealthy men of the county at the time of his death, which occurred on
April 19, 1875. He served one term as county commissioner and was active in
everything pertaining to the general welfare of the county and its people.
G. Z. Salyer, one of the first carpenters in Valparaiso, was born in Tompkins
county, New York, April 16, 1809, and died in Valparaiso on September 20, 1865.
He married Miss Xenia Read at White Pigeon, Michigan in May, 1833, and in 1835
settled in Porter county, where he bought eighty acres of land and a small
grocery store. He assisted in building some of the first residences and business
blocks in Valparaiso, and was four years a justice of the peace.
Jeremiah Hamell, a native of Ohio, came to Valparaiso in 1836 and was one of the
pioneer merchants of that city. Some idea of the character of the of the
mercantile establishments of that day may be gained from the following little
story told on Mr. Hamell. A lady from the southern part of the county called at
the store and purchased a few articles, when, with the customary politeness of
the merchant, Mr. Hamell asked: "Is there anything else?" The young woman, who
was fond of a joke, looked around the room for a few minutes and replied: "Mr.
Hamell, I believe I'll just take your stock home with me in my saddlebags,
select what I need and return the balance." Though the stock at that time might
have been small, the aims and ambitions of the proprietor were large and he
pursued his chosen calling, sure of ultimate success. Mr. Hamell was a fine
public speaker and was frequently called upon to take part in political
campaigns. In 1837 he represented Porter and Lake counties in the lower house of
the state legislature.
John Hansford, who came to the county in 1842 and engaged in
324
farming in Washington township, was born at Somerset, England, January 8, 1813.
At the age of fifteen years he came to America and from that time to his
settlement in Porter county was employed in various occupations in New Jersey,
New Orleans, Cuba and Chicago. As a farmer he was successful and in his day was
regarded as one of the influential citizens of the county. In later years he was
in the employ of the Grand Trunk railway, and at one time he owned over 900
acres of fine farming land.
Thomas T. Maulsby, who died in Valparaiso, October 16, 1910, was neither a
captain of industry nor a public character, but he represented a high type of
American citizenship. He was born in Wayne county, Indiana in 1829 and came with
his parents to Porter county when he was but four years old. About 1849 he
engaged in the clothing business, from which he retired after some twenty-five
years, and then for about twenty years he was "mine host" of the Merchants'
Hotel on Indiana avenue. He then went to Chicago, where he remained but a short
time, when he returned to Valparaiso and was in the employ of William Bruns, the
tailor. He died in his room over Dudley's restaurant and was survived by a son
and three daughters.
Nelson Barnard, farmer and legislator, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, October
6, 1829, and came to Porter county in 1835with his parents, who settled in
Jackson township. He was one of the founders of the Republican party in the
county, and served two terms in the lower house of the state legislature. A few
weeks before his death he fell and fractured his hip. Gangrene resulted and he
died on March 6, 1904.
Henry Hageman, for many years a prominent figure in the northern part of the
county, was a native of Union county, Indiana. He came to Porter county when
about twenty years of age and settled in Westchester township. He was one of the
leading Republicans in that end of the county, served as township trustee and
assessor, and was the founder of the town of Hageman - now Porter. Mr. Hageman
died on August 22, 1899, aged eighty-three years.
Thomas G. Lytle was born in Wayne county, Ohio, December 3, 1824.
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In 1840 he came to Porter county, his parents settling near Boone Grove, and in
1853 he located in Valparaiso, where he embarked in the drug business. He was
captain of Company C, One Hundred and Thirty- eighth Indiana infantry, in the
Civil war; served as sheriff of the county for four years, and was three times
elected mayor of Valparaiso. Captain Lytle dropped dead in Frank Faley's store
on January 4, 1898.
John D. Wilson, who in his day was no doubt the leading contractor and builder
of Valparaiso, was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, October 2, 1829, one of
eight children born to William and Rachel (Clark) Wilson, both natives of New
Jersey and of German descent. He was reared on his father's farm, received a
good common school education, and in 1853 came to Indiana, which was then a
comparatively new state. After three years in Lake county he came to Valparaiso,
where he found employment as a carpenter. For fifteen years he was in the employ
of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad Company as a bridge builder, and
two years of that time made his home in Warsaw, Indiana. In 1872 he purchased
the planing mill on East Main street and began business as a contractor. Many of
the best business buildings and residences in the city were erected by him. He
also built the court-house, the Presbyterian church, and a number of public
edifices. In 1855, while living in Lake county, he married Miss Nancy P. Brown,
who bore him six children - Edmund L., Rachel, John H., Emma J., William and
Frank S. Mr. Wilson was a Knight Templar Mason and a public spirited citizen. He
died at his home in Valparaiso November 13, 1895.
A score or more of the other pioneers might be mentioned as being equally
prominent with those above, but the foregoing will the reader some knowledge of
the character of the men who aided in the development of Porter county. They
were sturdy, courageous, industrious and honest men who overcame the obstacles
and endured the hardships of pioneer life that they might provide comfortable
homes for themselves in their declining years and leave to their posterity a
heritage unimpaired by selfishness or wrong doing
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In the Barnard cemetery, in Jackson township, is the grave of Charles Osborne,
who died on December 28, 1850, at the age of seventy-five years. Few people
know, as they read the inscription upon the modest tombstone, that Mr. Osborne
was a Quaker and one of the very earliest advocates of the abolition of chattel
slavery. It is said that he was the author of the first pamphlet demanding in no
uncertain terms the emancipation of the slaves in the United States. He visited
North Carolina and Tennessee at an early date and organized in those states a
number of emancipation societies. He also made several trips to Europe, on one
of which he met William E. Gladstone, then a youth, but who afterward achieved a
world-wide reputation as the "Grand Old Man." Mr. Osborne was well acquainted
with Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and other notables of that period, but he passed
from the stage of action before Garrison, Phillips, and other champions of
emancipation came on. It is an honor to Porter county that this man's mortal
remains sleep beneath her soil.
It may not be generally known that Jerry Simpson, the "sockless statesman" of
Kansas, and "Lucky" Baldwin, the Colorado millionaire, both were at one time in
their lives citizens of Porter county. Joseph Simpson, Jerry's father, settled
about three miles east of Chesterton in 1866. Jerry lived there with his father
for awhile and in 1870 married Miss Jane Cape, of Jackson Center. He was at that
time a sailor on the Great Lakes and the marriage was solemnized at Buffalo, New
York. Some years later he went to Kansas and in 1890 was nominated for Congress
by the Farmer's Alliance. Jerry was something of a politician, and in one of the
joint debates with his opponent said: "My friend here (pointing to his opponent)
wears silk socks, while I am not able to afford even cotton," and pulling up his
trousers a little way exposed his bare ankles. The sally was applauded, Simpson
was elected, and became known all over the United States as the "sockless
statesman." Baldwin ran a saloon on South Washington street, not far from the
Valparaiso National Bank, before going to Colorado. When gold was struck in the
Cripple creek district, he was fortunate enough to locate a claim that made him
wealthy and gave him the sobriquet of "Lucky" Baldwin.
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In July, 1851, Aaron Rogers, a man with numerous peculiarities, came to
Valparaiso and opened a jewelry store, which he called the "Mammoth Cave." It
was not long until he became known as "Cave" Rogers. He was at that time about
twenty-four years of age, and the young men of the town, noticing his eccentric
ways, decided to play a trick on him. Taylor Hogan and one of the Skinner boys
went to him and told him of large numbers of snipe in the vicinity of Round
lake, on the Chesterton road about two miles north of town. They proposed to get
up a sniping party and invited him to join. "Cave" was willing and at the
appointed time in the evening met about twenty young fellows bent on catching
snipe. A large sack had been provided and upon arriving at the place where one
of the boys had seen "an acre and a half of snipe" that morning the final
preparations were made. Rogers was selected to hold the bag in the ditch while
the others would drive the snipe into it, but he pleaded ignorance of the method
and promised to hold it the second time. Another young man then volunteered to
"hold the bag," Rogers joining the drivers on the first attempt. But "Cave" was
of Irish extraction and was not as green as he looked. In the darkness he easily
managed to separate himself from the others and made a bee line for town, where
he took up a position to overhear their comments when they returned. After that
he was immune against the pranks of the young men. In later years he engaged in
building houses for rent and in loaning money, becoming well off before he died.
A few years before the war a preacher named Lovereign came from Canada and
opened a school in Valparaiso. He was a good teacher and his sermons were always
listened to with interest. After he had been in town awhile, people began to
miss things, but no suspicion pointed to the preacher until a young woman who
had been employed by Mrs. Lovereign went to a store to exchange a pair of shoes,
which she said Mrs. Lovereign had given her in payment of her wages, but they
did not fit. The merchant recognized the shoes as having come from a case that
had been stolen from the railroad depot a short time before. T. A. Hogan
undertook to play the part of detective and traced the theft to the preacher.
328
It was then discovered that he had stolen about twenty bushels of wheat from
Skinner's warehouse and carried the sacks to his residence more than half a mile
away. Upon searching his premises heavy articles of hardware, for which he could
have no earthly use, and various other pieces of missing property were found. He
was tried before Judge Talcott, who sentenced him to two years in the state's
prison at Michigan City. After serving his sentence he disappeared.
Porter county is located in a belt where storms are of frequent occurrence. It
would be impossible to chronicle every storm that has occurred within the
county, but the writer has been able to gather records of some of the most
severe ones that have passed over the county during the last thirty years. On
May 10, 1882, an electrical storm played havoc south of Valparaiso. A fourteen
year old boy named Otto Bartlett was struck by the lightning while plowing on
Scott Fleming's farm near Gates' Corners, but was not killed. Several buildings
were struck and considerable damage done to the growing crops. Young Bartlett
was the son of a widow who had resided in the county but a few weeks.
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The central and southern parts of the county suffered considerable loss from an
electrical storm, accompanied by a high wind, on the last day of July, 1888. A.
V. Bartholomew's brick farm house was struck by lightning; Caleb Counter's barn,
five miles southwest of Valparaiso was destroyed; Nelson Swener's house near the
Grand Trunk railway station at Valparaiso was damaged, the fire alarm
instruments were put out of service, wires were blown down, and near Boone Grove
there was a heavy fall of hail that did great damage to the growing crops.
On August 12, 1896, the entire county was visited by a storm of great severity
which lasted for three hours. The rainfall was unusually heavy, several houses
in the city of Valparaiso were struck by lightning, telephone and electric light
wires were damaged to such an extent that several days elapsed before the
service could be restored to its normal condition. A few farm buildings in
different parts of the county were blown down by the wind.
Lightning struck the college auditorium in the great storm of June 5, 1899, and
the wind removed about one-third of the roof from the building, causing a loss
of $1,500. At the electric light works three large smokestacks were blown down,
telegraph and telephone wires were again severely injured, several buildings and
a large number of shade trees in Valparaiso were blown down by the wind, as were
two of the windows in the tower of the court-house. On the 18th of the same
month there was a destructive hail storm in the northwestern part of the county.
It is said that every pane of glass in the windows from Crisman to Babcock was
broken by the hail; pigs, chickens and other small animals and fowls were killed
by the hail-stones and crops were literally beaten into the ground. Wind and
lightning also did considerable damage.
A storm passed eastward across the central portion of the county on July 9,1908.
West of Valparaiso the barn of Andrew Gustafson and one belonging to a man named
Pierce were destroyed. Washington township was the greatest sufferer, the
Bryarly school house having been struck by lightning and burned to the ground,
several barns were wrecked by
330
wind and lightning and crops rendered practically worthless in the path of the
storm.
All northwestern Indiana felt the force of the great storm of March 25, 1905.
The wind disabled miles of telegraph and telephone lines; bridges and culverts
were washed away by the flood; the dam at Deep River was washed out; trees were
uprooted, and several buildings were either struck by lightning or blown from
their foundations. No lives were lost in Porter county, but Lake county was less
fortunate. Six people were hurt at Hammond, and at Indiana Harbor four men were
killed and about twenty injured, some so severely that they afterward died. At
East Chicago the plant of the Republic Steel and Iron Company was damaged and
several houses blown down.
On May 11, 1905, Valparaiso and vicinity suffered much damage by an electrical
storm, which was accompanied by a strong wind and a fall of rain that amounted
almost to a cloud burst. Columbus Pierce's residence, at the corner of Jefferson
and Greenwich streets, was twice struck by lightning. Barns belonging to T.
Clifford, near Wheeler, and Mrs. Gordon, in Washington township, were destroyed
by wind and lightning, as was the residence of Jonas Smith south of Valparaiso.
Cellars were flooded and acres of wheat were destroyed by the heavy rainfall,
the straw being just at that stage of growth where it was easily broken.
A regular "Kansas blizzard" struck Porter county on February 18, 1908. About
twelve inches of snow fell in a few hours, and the high wind blew it into drifts
that were almost insurmountable. The roof of Eglin's feed store on West Main
street in Valparaiso was broken in by the weight of the snow, the damage
amounting to $1,000, and other buildings were damaged to a less extent. When the
rural mail carriers started out on the morning of the 19th they found the roads
so full of snow drifts that they turned back, traffic on the railroads was
impeded, and it was several days before travel resumed its customary
proportions.
At 6 :45 p. m. on the last day of April, 1909, a wind storm struck Porter county
at Wheeler and passed almost due eastward across the county. Several small
buildings on farms near Wheeler were reduced to ruins.
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The highways were obstructed by branches blown from trees. At Flint lake
Freund's dancing pavilion was wrecked. Two miles south of Valparaiso W. B.
Stoner's barn was blown down. The wind was followed by a heavy fall of rain,
with severe lightning and thunder, but the only damage was done by the wind.
An electrical storm passed over a part of the county on July 22, 1909. Daniel
Kraft's barn in Portage township was struck by lightning and burned. Two of his
sons who chanced to be in the barn at the time were rendered unconscious for
awhile by the force of the bolt. Near Coburg the barn of I. H. Forbes was struck
by lightning, set on fire and totally consumed, and there were a few instances
of minor damages reported.
Joseph Smith's house on College Hill, at Valparaiso, was struck by lightning in
the electrical storm of August 12, 1909, and John Morrison's barn north of the
city was also struck, though neither building was burned. Considerable damage
was done by this storm through the flooding of cellars, washing gutters in the
highways, etc.
Probably the most severe storm ever experienced by the people of Porter county
was the cyclone on Saturday night, November 11, 1911. It struck the county near
Lake Eliza, in the northern part of Porter township and traveled in a
northeasterly direction, crossing the eastern boundary of the county near
Coburg. Windmills, out buildings and barns on several farms west of Valparaiso
were wrecked, the principal sufferers being Calvin Skinkle, W. O. McGinley,
Edward Murphy and George Gast, the last named losing two barns. On P. W.
Clifford's farm, occupied by J. I. Weddle, two large barns were totally
destroyed. Farther north J. A. Wohlenberg's barn was blown down and Gus
Mitchner's house, occupied by Henry Prentiss and family, was demolished. Mrs.
Prentiss, with her little child, went to Wohlenberg's for shelter, and her
husband was found wandering about in a dazed condition a mile and a half north
of his ruined home. He could not explain how he happened to be in that locality
and some have insisted that he was blown there by the terrific wind. The school
house at Jackson Center was left a mass
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of ruins and fences were scattered to the four winds. The damage was so great
that it can hardly be estimated.
Several destructive fires have occurred in the county in recent years. About
three o'clock on the morning of May 27, 1885, fire was discovered in the rear of
a row of frame buildings on the north side of Main street east of Franklin. A
smart breeze was blowing, and in two hours every building in that block was a
mass of smoking ruins. The destruction included the skating rink, owned by
Salisbury & Sloan, the Tremont House, Dolson's stables, in which several
valuable horses were burned, Williams & Felton's livery barn and the two
adjoining buildings, Wilkinson & Foster's implement house, and a number of
smaller shops. It was fortunate that a high wind was not blowing, as in that
case the loss would unquestionably have been much greater. As it was it ran into
thousands of dollars.
The house of John Hamlet, a German, near "Sugar loaf," south of Valparaiso, was
discovered on fire about four o'clock on the morning of July 16, 1890. This was
one of the saddest events that ever occurred in the county. Mr. Hamlet was away
from home, working on the new school house at Chesterton, and the fire started
at an hour when his wife and four children were asleep. The fire was first
noticed by some of the neighbors and before assistance could be rendered Mrs.
Hamlet and her children were cremated. The remains of the five were interred in
one coffin.
A few months after the Hamlet fire - Tuesday, November 25, 1890 - a disastrous
fire occurred at Hebron, which destroyed a large part of the business district
The fire broke out about three o'clock in the morning in Bryant & Dowd's store,
where a loss of $5,000 was incurred by the owners. James White's hardware store,
J. C. Smith's grocery, McIntyre & Kithcart's drug store, Fisher & Hoganss
dry-goods house, Morgan Bros. drug store, White's blacksmith shop and Joseph
Burgess' lime house were all reduced to ashes within a few hours, and the
adjoining buildings on either side were more or less damaged. The heat was so
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intense that the windows on the opposite side of the street were broken. The
total loss was not far from $30,000.
Vineyard Hall, one of the largest dormitories at the Valparaiso University, was
discovered to be on fire shortly before midnight, January 22, 1897, and before
the fire department could reach the scene the flames were beyond control. There
were some sixty or more students occupying the building and several of them had
narrow escapes. Misses Minier and Warner were found insensible in their rooms
and were rescued with difficulty. All of the inmates suffered more or less loss.
The building belonged to a Mrs. Anderson, of Laporte, and was valued at $10,000.
It was almost a total loss.
On Sunday evening, April 6, 1902, Chesterton suffered a loss of several thousand
dollars by a fire which destroyed a number of the best business buildings in the
town. It broke out between the Krieger building and the postoffice about ten
o'clock, and swept down Calumet avenue. A high wind was blowing and sparks were
carried a distance of five or six blocks, taxing to the utmost the fire-fighting
facilities of the town. The postoffice, Ameling's saloon, Quick's hardware
store, Wilson's boot and shoe store, Harrigan's hotel, Williams & Son's livery
stable, and several smaller concerns were wiped out before the fire could be
brought under control. There was no alley in the rear of the buildings, which
restricted the efforts to extinguish the flames. The fire was thought to have
been of incendiary origin. The total loss was about $20,000.
C. J. Kern's store in the Salyer block on Main street, Valparaiso, caught fire
at noon on January 16, 1903. A stock of $12,000 was practically ruined and the
building was damage to the extent of some $2,000. Fortunately the fire
department was able to prevent the fire from spreading to the adjacent
buildings.
In January, 1904, the postoffice at Ainsworth was burned in a somewhat peculiar
manner. Frank Coyle, the postmaster, who lived in the building with his family
and kept a small stock of groceries, arose early, built a fire in the stove and
went to the pumping station a short distance away. The other members of the
family were sound asleep and
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before they awoke the stove became overheated and set fire to the house. Mrs.
Coyle and her four daughters had a narrow escape. The loss was about $2,000.
On January 22,1904, the Grand Trunk railway station at Valparaiso was burned-the
second time within five years. The fire started between the ceiling and the roof
from a defective flue. The building had been erected but a few years before at a
cost of $3,500. The Grand Trunk also suffered by fire in the burning of the
elevator at Valparaiso on March 23, 1904. It was operated by Way, Higley &
Company, and at the time of the fire contained about 4,000 bushels of grain,
mostly oats. The total loss was about $6,000.
Shortly after eleven o'clock on the night of October 2, 1907, the buildings
occupied by the Valparaiso Carriage Company on West Main street were discovered
to be on fire. The building, which was owned by Frank A. Turner, was completely
destroyed and the adjoining buildings were damaged. The total loss was about
$11,000.
On April 8, 1908, the old Central Hotel at Chesterton was burned. It was an old
landmark, having been first erected at City West, which in 1840 was regarded as
rival to Chicago. It was later removed to Chesterton and remodeled. Originally a
frame building, after its removal it was veneered with brick, which fact
rendered it difficult to get at the fire. The loss was about $10,000, including
the damages done to the buildings on either side of the hotel.
In the last quarter of a century a few railroad wrecks have happened in Porter
county, which formed tragic though interesting events in her history. On October
11, 1887, a tail end collision occurred on the Chicago & Erie line at a water
tank about half way between Boone Grove and Kouts. The fast freight, eastbound
and loaded with dressed meats, took the side track at Boone Grove to allow a
passenger train going in the same direction to pass. The engine of the passenger
train was disabled at Hurlburt and only one side was in use when the freight was
passed at Boone Grove, where the crew of the freight train were told of the
disabled engine and instructed to follow slowly. Owing to
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the defective locomotive, the engineer of the pagssenger train was unable to
stop at the right place at the water tank, and the engine had to be "pinched
off," that is moved with bars made for the purpose by placing them under the
wheels on the track and prying the engine forward. While this was going on, the
conductor ordered a red light to be displayed in the rear of the train, but on
account of the fog it was not seen by the engineer of the freight train in time
to avert the collision. He had barely time to reverse his engine and jump with
his fireman for safety, when the freight engine crashed with terrific force into
the rear coach of the passenger, killing eleven people and injuring a score or
more, some of them seriously. Conductor Parks of the passenger train was
indicted by the grand jury for not sending a flagman to the rear and placing
torpedoes on the track, but Judge Field quashed the indictment.
The 1905 witnessed at least four disastrous wrecks in the county. On Sunday,
February 12, a Baltimore & Ohio train ran into a Michigan Central wrecking train
at the Willow creek crossing of the two roads and six persons were injured. The
wrecking train was on the way to Ivanhoe, where a locomotive was off the track.
The same day a train on the Pere Marquette line got stuck in the snow drifts
east of Porter and was forced to use the Michigan Central tracks from Porter to
New Buffalo. On Saturday, February 18th, two freight trains collided at McCool
on the Baltimore & Ohio. One of the trains was left standing on the main track
while the engine was engaged in doing some switching, and the other train ran
into it, smashing the caboose and three cars next to it. The engineer and
fireman of the running train were the only ones injured. Five persons were
injured in a head-on collision at Suman, on the Baltimore & Ohio, on Friday,
December 1st, when a passenger and freight met on the curve at that point.
It appears that the Baltimore & Ohio has been particularly unfortunate in the
matter of wrecks in recent years. On Monday, November 12, 1906, one of the worst
wrecks that ever happened in the county was caused by a head-on collision
between two trains on this line near
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the Woodville station. An eastbound freight had orders to wait at Babcock for
the westbound passenger. It so happened that the Baltimore & Ohio had that night
a large number of emigrants from southeastern Europe, bound for Chicago and the
northwest, and the passenger train was run in two sections. The first section
passed the freight at Babcock all right, and the engineer of the latter, not
seeing any signal to indicate a second section, pulled out and started eastward.
About 200 yards west of the station at Woodville the second section was met, the
two engines coming together with sufficient force to reduce both of them to
scrap iron. Forty-one persons were killed and a large number injured. Coroner
Carson investigated the matter and ordered the arrest of the engineer of section
one of the passenger, and the engineer, conductor and head brakeman of the
freight. When the passenger engineer was brought to trial in April, 1907, he
testified that upon stopping at McCool he discovered for the first time that his
signal lights - indicating that another section was following - were out. His
evidence was corroborated by that of his fireman and he was acquitted. The other
cases were then dismissed.
Early in the fall of 1908, smoke from the forest fires in Wisconsin and Michigan
settled over northern Indiana, and this condition was assigned as the cause of a
wreck at Chesterton early on the morning of Monday, September 14th. On Sunday,
the day before, an excursion was run from Indianapolis to Chicago over the Lake
Erie & Western and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern roads. Returning, the
excursion train left Chicago a little before midnight, and at Chesterton was
waiting for a freight train to get from the main line to the side track, when
the rear coach was struck by a suburban train. One woman was killed and
twenty-three persons were injured. Fortunately the suburban train was not
running fast when the collision came. The crew of that train stated that they
were unable to see the lights on the rear coach of the excursion train on
account of the dense smoke which overhung the track.
Although the citizens of Porter county have generally been moral
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and law-abiding people, several murders have been committed upon her soil. The
first notable homicide was the killing of John Pelton by Francis Staves in 1838.
The two men had been working together in a sawmill in Laporte county and
stopping at a place of rather unsavory reputation kept by a man named Palmer.
Pelton was one of those who spent more than his income, and in order to avoid
the payment of the debts he had contracted decided to take Horace Greeley's
advice several years before it was uttered and "go West." Staves volunteered to
act as his guide for a part of the way, probably all the more willingly because
he knew that Pelton had something over $100 about his person. A day or two later
Staves returned to his usual haunts, and no suspicion was aroused until later,
when an Indian boy found a bundle of clothing tied up in a handkerchief, not far
from Jesse Morgan's in Westchester township. Calling the attention of his father
to his discovery, the elder Indian began a search and found the body of a man
concealed under some brush at the root of an up-turned tree. Some of the white
settlers were notified and the body was identified as that of John Pelton.
Suspicion pointed to Staves as the last man that had been seen with the
deceased. He was watched and it soon developed that he was rather flush with
money for those days. Pelton had been shot from behind and after falling from
his horse had been beaten over the head with a club. This stick showed the mark
of a nick in the blade of the knife with which it had been cut, and this mark
corresponded exactly with a knife found in Staves' pocket when he was searched.
He also told conflicting stories as to the place where he had parted from Pelton.
Staves was tried, convicted and sentenced to be hanged. The execution took place
on the lot just across the street from the south end of the high school
building, and was witnessed by a throng of people. In November, 1901, William E.
Brown, formerly auditor of Porter county, in writing to the South Bend
Tribune, said: "Among the old settlers in that part of Porter county, the
guilt or innocence of Staves has always been a mooted question. In fact in the
early sixties a man in Des Moines, Iowa, was
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said to have made a death bed confession in which he claimed to have committed
the murder, completely exonerating Staves."
About the close of the Civil war, Chauncey F. Page, a jeweler who had been in
the employ of Aaron Rogers, went to Crown Point and engaged in business for
himself. He married Emma Goss, stepdaughter of Benjamin Long, but the union was
not a happy one, and before a year Mrs. Page returned to the Long home at
Pearce's mills, about five miles west of Valparaiso. On the night of January 15,
1867, Page learned that Mr. Long was away from home and took advantage of the
opportunity to visit the house. Upon being denied admission he broke in the door
with an axe and fired two shots at Mrs. Long, both of which took effect, killing
her instantly. He then went to his wife's bedroom, and notwithstanding her
piteous entreaties, shot her through the head. Miss Fredericka Ludolph, a
daughter of Martin L. Ludolph, was spending the night with Mrs. Long and her
daughter. Page next turned his attention to her. After shooting her twice he
beat her over the head with a chair and left her for dead. Alarm was given and a
pursuit organized in which Sheriff S. L. Bartholomew, M. L. McClelland, T. A. E.
Campbell, T. A. Hogan, A. H. Goodwin, A. J. Buel and A. A. Starr joined. Page
was captured in Chicago and brought back to Valparaiso for trial. Although Miss
Ludolph was severely wounded she was able to appear at the trial as the
principal witness for the state. It is said that Page almost fainted when he saw
her enter the court room. The murderer was given a life sentence in the
penitentiary at Michigan City, where he committed suicide in his cell.
A sensational case occurred in the fall of 1887, though the murder in this
instance was committed in St. Louis, Missouri, by a preacher of Chesterton -
William T. A. West. It seems that West became enamored of a young girl named
Susie Beck, who had been employed as a domestic in his family and persuaded her
to elope with him. At St. Louis he found employment as an electro plater and
Miss Beck passed as his wife. One morning she was found dead in bed at the hotel
where they had been boarding. A letter supposed to have been
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written by her stated that she had taken arsenic with suicidal intent, and
another letter written by West said his body would be found in the river. The
St. Louis police took the view that this was merely a scheme to defraud the
undertaker, and no effort was made to apprehend the minister. He came back to
Chesterton, where his congregation had built him a comfortable parsonage, but
his popularity had waned and he fled, presumably to Canada, abandoning his
invalid wife and five small children. Ten years later J. G. Williams proprietor
of the Grand Central Hotel at Seguin, Texas, was arrested as West, but parties
from Chesterton failed to identify him as such and he was released. West was
never brought to justice.
On August 16, 1895, Alonzo Powers shot and killed William Tratebas in Trudell's
blacksmith shop at Chesterton. The two young men - Tratebas was but nineteen
years old and Powers was twenty-four - had been on unfriendly terms for some
time and had quarreled several times. Tratebas was in the shop when Powers came
in and started a controversy that ended in blows being passed. Trudell separated
them, when Powers drew a revolver and fired two shots, both of which struck his
victim near the heart killing him almost instantly. Powers went home, but was
soon arrested and the officers had hard work to prevent the crowd from lynching
him. Sheriff Stoddard was notified and taking a deputy hurried to Chesterton.
The murderer was in the office of Justice Sievers, guarded by a posse. He was
slipped out the back way and driven rapidly to Valparaiso, the mob following for
some distance. On October 24th Powers was convicted of murder in the first
degree and sentenced to the penitentiary for life. Some of the jurymen wanted to
inflict the death penalty.
In the summer of 1898 William Sloan, a farmer in Boone township was annoyed by
some persons carrying away boards from a bridge he had built over a small stream
on a road leading to his farm. On Sunday night, July 24, 1898, he armed himself
with a shot gun and stood guard over the bridge. About nine o'clock Albert Seely
came along, and according to Sloan's statement, took one of the boards from
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the floor of the bridge and started to take it away. Sloan fired and the entire
charge struck Seeley in the legs, wounding him so severely that for a time it
was thought the amputation of both limbs would be necessary. Two hours after the
shooting, Sheriff Green was notified. In company with Deputy Billings drove to
Sloan's and placed him under arrest. He was kept in jail until Seely's recovery
was assured, and on October 19, 1898, was fined fifty dollars and costs.
Just a year from the day of Sloan's trial, Carl Baum, of Morgan township, shot
at William Johnson four times, three of the shots taking effect, but not in any
vital part. Baum was arrested and confined in jail to await results. Prosecutor
Sutton and his deputy, Frank P. Jones went out the next day and took Johnson's
statement. Johnson recovered and Baum got off with a light jail sentence.
Subsequently he made another attempt upon Johnson's life and was sent to the
penitentiary.
About five o'clock on the morning of April 24, 1903, Truman Beam, the son of a
farmer in Morgan township, entered his father's room and informed him that
Martha Lawrence, their housekeeper was dead. It seems that the younger members
of the family were absent from home. Truman and his father occupied rooms on the
ground floor, and Miss Laurence slept up stairs. The son said that he called
her, and not receiving any reply, went to her room to awaken her. He found her
dressed, with the exception of her shoes and stockings, lying upon the bed dead,
though her body was yet warm. The elder Beam, who could not hear very well, and
for this reason did not hear his son call the girl, summoned the neighbors and
marks of violence were noticed. Truman was arrested on circumstantial evidence,
and after two trials, in both of which the jury disagreed, he was dismissed. In
the trial it developed that the girl was a victim of epilepsy, and many believe
that death came during one of her fits, the marks of violence having been
inflicted by herself during her struggles.
November 13, 1906, was pay-day on the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad.
Some of the men employed on the west section at
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Valparaiso, celebrated the event by taking a few drinks. Not long afterward,
Frank Caresto, an Italian, quarreled with Guy Hinkle over lifting a hand car
from the track. The foreman separated them, but they soon got together again and
resumed the quarrel. Again they were separated, but about half an hour before
noon Caresto, who had managed to get hold of a pistol, shot and killed Hinkle.
The Italian fled, pursued by a crowd of people who had hastily assembled upon
hearing the shot. He was found cowering in a ditch near the Nickel Plate tracks
by officer Arnold. By this time the crowd was furious over the cold blooded
murder. Cries of "Lynch him!" "Give him the rope!" etc., were heard on all
sides, but the officers succeeded in landing him in jail. In January, 1907,
Caresto was tried for manslaughter and given an indeterminate sentence of from
two to twenty-one years in the penitentiary. Under this form of sentence, the
pardoning board has power to release a convict at any time after the minimum
time named in the sentence has been served.
In August, 1910, Alvin Johnson went to board with Jacob Walter, who kept a hotel
at Kouts. It was not long until the new boarder began to show marked attention
to Mrs. Walter, and was ordered by her husband to leave the premises. The matter
was finally adjusted so that Johnson remained at the hotel, and again he began
paying court to the landlady. A little after five o'clock on the morning of
December 16, 1910, Walter fired both barrels of his shotgun at Johnson, the full
charge taking effect. Johnson lived but a short time after the shooting. Walter
was tried for murder in January 1911, but established the theory of self defense
and was acquitted.
A short time before Christmas, 1910, Edward Davidson came to Valparaiso to visit
his sister, Mrs. Dudley, whose husband ran a restaurant on North Washington
street. Davidson, who was about twenty-one years of age, found employment in the
restaurant and soon formed the acquaintance of several young men about town. On
the morning of December 20, his body was found near the tracks of the
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railway, and indication of foul
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play were observed. In his verdict Coroner Carson decided that "the deceased
came to his death by violence inflicted upon the head which fractured and
crushed the skull, by divers persons, among whom from the evidence submitted
were Michael Curtin and others." Michael Curtin, Robert Fleming and Roy Sowards
were arrested, tried at Crown Point and acquitted. Later Curtin filed a suit for
$15,000 damages against the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad Company,
on the grounds that the watchman of that company at the Napoleon street
crossing, where Davidson's body was found, had testified falsely against him
before the grand jury. This case never came to trial. The three young men left
Valparaiso, but later came back, when they were threatened with lynching and
departed hurriedly never to return to Porter county.
One of the most mysterious murders ever committed within the county was that of
Wayne Hale, who was lured from his home near the Wheeler bridge on the night of
August 29, 1905, and killed. An Italian who had boarded with Hale, and with whom
he had quarreled, was suspected, but he could not be found. Mrs. Hale was
arrested on the charge of being accessory before the fact, but after being taken
into custody was released on bail. Sufficient evidence could not be obtained to
sustain the charge against her, and on April 11, 1906, she was discharged.
Subsequently a suit of clothes was found, which it was thought might throw some
light upon the murder. In one of the pockets was found a memorandum book bearing
the name of a Chicago man. He was arrested and did not deny the ownership of the
book, but claimed that he had lost it, and that he knew the man who had found
it. He claimed to know that three men were implicated in the murder of Hale, two
of them were hired to do the deed, but no arrests were ever made.
Great excitement prevailed in Valparaiso on September 23, 1893, when it was
learned that an attempt had been made to rob the safe in the old college
building - the office of the Northern Indiana Normal school. The would-be
robbers were Frank and Claire Robinson, of Versailles, Indiana. They entered the
office about three o'clock in the
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afternoon, when the only occupants were Miss Kate Corboy and Miss Emma Jones. To
frighten the young women a shot was fired by one of the Robinsons. This shot was
heard by J. H. Arnold, the mail carrier in that district, who ran to the office.
Some 500 students and a number of other persons joined in the pursuit, but the
robbers were well armed and for a time held their pursuers back. Nathan O. Howe,
a peach peddler, left his team standing in the street, borrowed a Winchester
rifle from one of his acquaintances, and took part in the chase. About a mile
east of the city he overtook the fugitives and ordered them to surrender. They
replied by firing their revolvers at Howe, who returned the fire, killing Frank
Robinson at the first shot. Claire was then wounded in the hand and gave himself
up. Howe was the hero of the occasion. His load of peaches was taken down town,
where they were sold at auction, C. J. Kern acting as auctioneer. Some of the
baskets brought as high a figure as ten dollars, and the entire load netted Mr.
Howe about $350. One of the purchasers was W. J. Lightcap, whose wife planted
the seeds from the peaches. Only one tree grew to maturity and it bore its first
crop in 1898. Mr. Lightcap brought some of the fruit down town and distributed
it among his friends, thus reviving interest in the exciting incident of five
years before.
In 1897 a pair of clever counterfeiters were "run to earth" in Porter county.
Henry A. W. Brown, a photographer of more than ordinary ability, made
photographs of one, two and five dollar bills, and from the negatives made
plates for printing the money. His accomplice was Theodore Hanson, son of John
Hanson, a farmer living about a mile and a half north of the city. Major Thomas
B. Carter, chief of the Indianapolis division of the United States secret
service, and Thomas J. Porter, in charge of the Chicago office, learning that
counterfeit bills were in circulation in Lake, Porter and Laporte counties,
placed detectives on the trail. It was a difficult case and some time passed
before a clue was found that led to Brown's studio on College Hill, in
Valparaiso. Here they found plates for a ten dollar silver certificate almost
completed. Following the clue farther, the detectives found in a small out-
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house on the Hanson farm the other plates, a small press, paper, inks, etc., for
turning out the counterfeit bills. Brown and Hanson were convicted and sentenced
to serve five years in the penitentiary at Columbus, Ohio.
Every community that has been settled for half a century or more is likely to
have certain mysterious events connected with its history, and in this respect
Porter county is no exception to the rule. In 1872 the remains of a man were
found hanging to, a tree a short distance southwest of Valparaiso. There was
nothing upon the body by which it could be identified, and whether the man
committed suicide or was the victim of foul play has never been determined.
For two days in the fall of 1877, the waters of Lake Michigan were troubled by a
severe storm. After the storm a man named Crawford was gathering driftwood along
the shore, near the line between the townships of Pine and Westchester, when he
discovered the body of a young woman that had evidently been washed ashore.
There was a bruise upon the head and a gash in the neck that indicated violence,
but the coroner's jury returned a verdict of death by drowning. When found the
body was naked except for the shoes and stockings. The shoes were of stylish
make, indicating that the wearer belonged in good, society, but, although the
incident was widely advertised, the body was never identified.
In the winter of 1896 some persons, while passing through a piece of timber
about two miles north of Valparaiso, came upon a curiously constructed hut. Four
trees formed the corners and between these were small poles, wrapped with hay
and straw, set on end and bound together with barbed wire. The roof was of heavy
sheet iron. There was also a barbed wire fence around the hut, with two
entrances. The one door was provided with two locks - one on the inside and the
other on the outside. An account of the strange hut was published in the
Valparaiso Messenger, stating that officers from Valparaiso went out to
investigate the "find." Inside the building were some long benches,
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an ax, a lantern, some books, magazines and newspapers, but who built it or
occupied it, was never ascertained. It is still a mystery.
In September, 1909, three skeletons - supposed to be those of a man, woman and
child, judging by their size - were found near a fishing camp in the sandhills
north of Porter. Around the wrist of the largest skeleton was a leather thong,
in fairly good condition, which led Professor Stultz and George F. Batteiger to
believe they were the bones of Indians, and that at some time in the remote past
there had been an Indian burying ground in the vicinity.
There is hardly a city of 5,000 population or more in the country but what has
its haunted house. In May, 1893, the Valparaiso Sun published a story of
Valparaiso's "ghost house" that reads like a chapter from the Arabian Nights.
According to this story, the house was occupied many years ago by John Marsh, a
prominent lawyer and widower. Although Mr. Marsh had the reputation of being
liberal and charitable, on one occasion he refused alms to a woman, because of
her impudence. The woman started to leave, but at the door turned and said: I
curse you to the seventh generation. Misfortune will follow you and yours to the
ends of the earth." Upon this Marsh directed his coachman, or man of all work,
to conduct the woman from the premises. The coachman took hold of her arm and
led her to the gate, when she turned on him with the fury of a tigress and said:
"And curses on you, too. Before another month you will be dead."
Now comes the strangest part of the story. Marsh and his man laughed at the
curse, but about two weeks later the latter was kicked in the head by one of the
horses and killed. Marsh soon after lost an important case, involving the title
to property in Cincinnati, Ohio, worth several hundred thousand dollars. His
daughter, nineteen years old, died of diphtheria some two months after the curse
was uttered. The woman to whom he was betrothed jilted him. His seventeen year
old son was expelled from college, and upon being upbraided by his father
committed suicide, after which Marsh lived the life of a recluse for several
years, finally dying in a lunatic asylum in Chicago. After he va-
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cated the house where the curse had been pronounced against him, no tenant would
occupy it for more than a few weeks at a time, and the building was finally
razed to the ground. The writer was unable to find any one who remembers Mr.
Marsh, but several old settlers recall an old house on East Main street, near
the city limits, about which uncanny stories were told when they were children.
This may have been the house once occupied by the unfortunate lawyer.
Instances of heroism and self-sacrifice are comparatively rare in modern times,
but on November 19, 1889, a humble citizen of Porter county did a deed that
should long perpetuate his memory. Murray Beach was engaged in digging a well in
the rear of his house, near the Grand Trunk station, and on the date above
mentioned had reached a depth of some twenty-five or thirty feet. While Mr.
Beach and his helpers were at dinner the well filled with choke damp. After
dinner Beach went down in the well to resume work, but soon began to feel a
dizziness and told the men to draw him out. When about ten feet from the bottom,
he was overcome by the carbonic acid gas, lost his hold on the rope and fell.
Seeing that he was unconscious and unable to cooperate with those above, John C.
Sharp volunteered to go to his rescue. The men lowered him into the well, where
he fastened Mr. Beach to the bucket and then got on himself. With the extra
weight, the men above were not able to raise the bucket very fast, Mr. Sharp was
overcome by the noxious gas and fell a distance of some fifteen feet. The
others, afraid to enter the well, succeeded in bringing him to the surface with
grappling hooks, when it was found that his neck had been broken by the fall.
Murray Beach's life was saved, but at the sacrifice of John Sharp's. "Greater
love than this hath no man - that he will lay down his life for his friend."
NAVIGATION OF
1912 HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY
PREFACE
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I - General Features
CHAPTER II - Aboriginal Inhabitants
CHAPTER III - Settlement and Organization
CHAPTER IV - Internal Improvements
CHAPTER V - Educational Developments
CHAPTER VI - Military History
CHAPTER VII - Township History
CHAPTER VIII - Township History (continued)
CHAPTER IX - The City of Valparaiso
CHAPTER X - Financial and Industrial
CHAPTER XI - The Professions
CHAPTER XII - Societies and Fraternities
CHAPTER XIII - Religious History
CHAPTER XIV - Miscellaneous History
CHAPTER XV - Statistical Review
Transcribed by Steven R. Shook, November 2011