400 - Pioneer Notes - William S. Edsall year, having attained his majority, the Ewings, desirous of continuing business relations with Mr. Edsall, proposed to him either a partnership or an outfit of a stock of goods, they to share the profits of the business, in case he chose the latter. Accordingly he elected to have charge of a stock of goods, and selected Huntington as the location. His customers were principally Indians and canal con. tractors. Near the close of the year 1832, he received the appointment of postmaster at Huntington, and in the spring of 1833, was elected clerk and recorder of the county, to which was then attached for judicial purposes, the counties of Wabash and Whitley, and in 1836 resigned all these offices, closed his business, and returned to Fort Wayne, and entered into co-partnership in the mercantile business with his brother, the late Major Samuel Edsall. This firm continued until 1839, when the Ewings offered Wm. S. Edsall a third interest in their widely extended business, which offer he accepted. The newly-formed partnership of Ewing, Edsall & Co., and its connections, extended over a large area of country—the policy being to not only hold the fur trade with their old Indian customers, who had removed west of the Mississippi, but to establish relations with other fur dealers, throughout the country. This, and other firms, with which they were in close alliance, were in competition with the American Fur Company, and the strife between them for the trade became so great that furs advanced to a .price that inflicted considerable losses upon the rival companies. During this co-partnership, in the spring of 1839, Mr. Edsall made a horseback visit connected with the business of the firm from Fort Wayne to Chicago, Joliet, Ottawa, Rock Island and Dubuque, thence to Galena and -Madison,. the present capital of Wisconsin. At this period, after leaving Ottawa, he would frequently ride thirty miles. without finding a human habitation ; waste places then, that are now covered with populous towns and cultivated fields. The firm of Ewing, Edsall & Co. dissolved its business in 1841. The partnership, by reason of the competition already referred to, had been unsuccessful. After the dissolution of the firm, and Mr. Edsall having retired with blighted prospects and exhausted resources, applied for and received the appointment, in 1843, of Register of the United States Land Office in Fort Wayne, and held this place until 1848. In 1846, however, he had again formed a partnership with his brother, Major Edsall, in the mercantile and milling business, which they conducted until 1849. At this period the Edsalls, realizing the necessity and great advantages to the trade of Fort Wayne of a road which would open communication with the settlements north and south, originated a project for the construction of a plank road from Fort Wayne to Bluffton. In this work they had the hearty co-operation of all the business men of the city, who were generous in their aid by stock subscriptions. Although the road, from its inception to its completion, occupied about two years, it proved an enterprise of Pioneer Notes—William S. Edsall - 401 greater value to the business interests of Fort Wayne than any pub- lic improvement, except the Wabash and Erie canal, that hadahither- to been undertaken. On the 3d of July, 1853, the brothers Edsall entered into a contract With the Lake Erie, Wabash. & St. Louis R. R. Company, for masonry and furnishing the ties for forty, seven miles of the road, from Ohio State line to the Wabash river, two miles west of Huntington ; and immediately commenced the erection of shanties, the collection of a laboring force, and other preparations for the execution of their contract. Having completed their preliminary arrangements, they were informed, by the Company that, owing to the monetary crisis then existing, they would not be en- abled to make payments before the following spring. Undismayed by this intelligence, which resulted in the suspension of the work by some of the other contractors, the Edsalls availed themselves of their credit, and made successful pe to th public spirit of the merchants of Fort Wayne to afford supplies to sustain the laborers upon the work, and they proceeded with undiminished vigor and regularly met the claims of their creditors . But in the following season the cholera scourge appeared in fearful form, extending along the off whole line, and sweeping o in off in multitudes overseers and workmen. Added to this, labor and provisions suddenly appreciated ; and flour, which the Edsalls the previous year had shipped to Atlantic markets, realizing, when sold, from $4.75 to $5.00 per barrel, was now worth, delivered along the line, $9.00 per barrel, and labor, which, when they commenced their work, could be readily had at 75 cents per day, now commanded $1.25. Notwithstanding all these discouragements, they struggled on, and completed their contract in the spring of 1856, having a large unliquidated claim against the company, but owing no laborer a dollar. Stating here what might have been previously mentioned, that Wm. S. Edsall was a contractor on the Wabash and Erie canal, and, also recapitulating what has been mentioned, that himself and brother originated the scheme for bridging what was then an impassable swamp between Fort Wayne and Bluffton ; their joint efforts and sacrifices to secure a second railroad to Fort Wayne; it will be discovered that the city and county are considerably indebted to the enterprise and public spirit of these gentlemen for the commercial importance the city has now attained. Concluding this sketch, it may here be stated that Major Edsall closed his useful life in February, 1865, and that the subject of this sketch, although never having enjoyed but a single day of school privileges, has been enabled, in the tattle of life, to successfully compete with the merchant princes of the land, and yet is a citizen of Fort Wayne. In 1868, returning to his old home from Chicago, where he had passed the preceding three years in active business life, the Democratic Convention of Mien county, in June, 1870, conferred upon him the nomination for county' Clerk. The only oppo- - 26 - 402 - Pioneer Notes–Dr. John Evans, sition ticket, organized by a "Reform Party," also placed him nomination; and thus, without any compromise of manhood or principle, he received the unanimous vote of the people of Allen county for the office hen~w fills to the satisfaction of the people and advantage to the pubic interests. DR. JOHN EVANS. The family of this gentleman was widely known to the old citizens of the upper Maumee Valley. He had studied his profession under the instruction of the doctors Spencer, of Kentucky, and Rush, of Philadelphia; and commenced practice at Washington Fayette County, Ohio, about the year 1814; and also conducted, in separate rooms of the same building, the mercantile business and an apothecary store. On the 27th of May, 1818, he married Miss Elizabeth Taylor, of Bainbridge, Ross County, Ohio. The Evans family were among the early settlers of Kentucky. Samuel Evans (father of Dr. John,) removed to Ohio from Bourbon County, Kentucky, when the latter was about 17 years old. William Taylor (father of Elizabeth, who married r. first settler between the Ohio river and Chillicothe. He moved from Pennsylvania to Kentucky when his daughter Elizabeth was about three months old, and from Kentucky to near Bainbridge, Ross Co,, Ohio, when she was six or seven years of age. Dr. Evans and family (now consisting of his wife and two daughters,) removed from Washington, Fayette County, to Defiance, in February, 1823. They started in a large double sleigh, but the snow failing, they were compelled, on the second day, to abandon their sleigh, and resort to wagons. The family reached Judge Nathan Shirley's, on the Auglaize river, one mile above Defiance, on the last day of February. Their first location was at Camp No. 3, five miles below Defiance, on the north side of the Maumee, in a double log cabin; and here, Samuel Carey Evans, their first son, was born, April 10th, 1823. During the summer, the doctor built a frame house at Defiance, into which he removed his family in the month of November of that year. He made the first brick and the first lime that was manufactured in Defiance, a part of which was used in the construction of his own house; and the proceeds of the sale of the surplus lime and brick netted an amount that paid the entire cost of his house. In this same year, Foreman Evans, his brother, also removed to Defiance. The late Judge Pierce Evans (cousin of Dr. John,) removed to the head of the rapids of the Maumee, and resided there during the year 1822 and in 1823, and then removed to the farm below Defiance, now occupied by his son, Rinaldo Evans. When .Dr. Evans reached Defiance, there were no physicians on the river nearer than 'Fort Wayne above, and Maumee City below, and his professional visits often extended to the first named place, Pioneer Notes--Dr. John Evans - 403 to St. Mary's, on the St. Mary's, and to the head of the Maumee rapids. There being no well-made roads, no bridges over the streams, and facilities for ferriage at points remote from each other, it is difficult to convey to the mind of the medical practitioner of this day an adequate view of the formidable, and often dangerous, obstacles that Dr.  Evans, was compelled to encounter in the discharge of his professional duties. The firsts relief from1this exhausting toil was afforded by the arrival, at Defiance, of Dr. Jonas Colby, in 1832. In 1824 he purchased a stock of goods of Hunt & Forsyth, of Maumee City, which were brought up on pirogues. This was the first store of considerable importance that contained goods adapted to the wants of the white settlers, although staple Indian goods (except whiskey) were included in his general stock. When the family removed to Defiance, there were no regular Church services ; and, until the Court House was erected, no suitable house for worship. The Methodists, however, held services at short intervals, sometimes in private houses, and, when the weather was favorable, in the adjacent groves. The first Presbyterian clergyman was Rev. Mr. Stone, (father of Mrs. Wm. A. Brown, now living at Defiance). During his residence in Defiance, Dr. Evans possessed more fully the confidence of the Indians than the majority of those who had had dealings with them. He acquired this confidence by professional ministrations by fairness in trade, and refusing their applications for intoxicating drinks. When the Indian men and women would visit town, and. the former obtain liquor of mercenary traders, and become drunken and crazed, and their brutal nature aroused the latter would gather up the tomahawks and knives of their lords, and deposit them about the premises of their friend, Dr. Evans. On one occasion, the chief, Oquanoxa, of Oquanoxa's town, on the Auglaize (now Charloe, Paulding County), brought one of his daughters to the doctor to be treated for some malady which had baffled the skill of the Indian medicine man." She was received into the doctor's household, and in due time restored to health. As an equivalent for this service, the chief made the doctor a present of an Indian pony. In 1838 with a view of affording his children opportunities for obtaining better educational facilities, he temporarily removed to Troy, Ohio, and continued there until the fall of 1840, when he removed to Fort Wayne, and engaged actively in commercial pursuits, in partnership with his son-in-law, John E. Hill. During his residence in Troy, e had continued business at Defiance—and now, from the two stores, they supplied the contractors who were constructing the Paulding County Reservoir with goods to prosecute their work. In 1840 he removed the Defiance stock to Fort Wayne, and concentrated his business at that point. In the summer of 1842, bush~ess called Dr. Evans to Defiance, and While there he was seized with an illness that would have induced 404 - Pioneer Notes---Dr. John Evans. an ordinary person to remain and receive medical treatment; but his indomitable will had determined him to make an effort to reach his family, at Fort Wayne. Leaving Defiance on horseback, he had traveled only about a mile, and reached the house of Thomas War. ren, when the intensity of his sufferings arrested his progress, and remained at the house of Warren two or three days. Meantime, believing himself, doubtless, that his case was critical, he despatched a messenger to Fort Wayne, to notify his family of his condition. On the message being communicated to the family, his son, Samuel Carey Evans, immediately started to meet his father; and, reaching his bedside, discovered the alarming sympms of die case, and at once dispatched a second messenger to Fort Wayne to summon Dr. S. G. Thompson, and also to notify his mother and other members of the family, of his father's condition. The intelligence being communicated, Dr. Thompson and Miss Merica Evans, second daughter of the doctor, at once sat out on horseback, and, notwithstanding the bad condition of the roads, reached Mrs.. Hilton's (to whose house, in order to secure more comfortable quarters, Dr. Evans had been removed,) within eight hours after leaving Fort Wayne. Dr. Evans, by this time becoming fully conscious that he could only survive a few hours, dictated the following as his last will and testa- men t (Dr. Thompson acting as amanuensis), and which embodied a distribution of his estate, adjusted upon such nice principles of justice and affection, that no word of complaint, or of discord, was ever uttered by the parties affected by it : "I, John Evans, being weak in body, but sound in mind and memory, knowing the uncertainty of life, and the certainty of death, do make and publish this, my last will and testament, hereby revoking all former wills. First- I commit. my soul to God, who gave it, and my body to the earth, to be buried at Fort Wayne, in such manner as my family may direct. And I hereby appoint my daughter, Merica, and my sons, Carey and Rush, together with Allen Hamilton, Hugh McCulloch and Pierce Evans, as my Executors ; and it is my desire that the three last named Executors shall permit my sons, Carey and Rush, to continue the mercantile business until all my just debts are paid ; after which, it is my desire that my beloved wife shall have one-third of all my personal and real estate during her life; and desire that my daughter, Eliza Hill, shall receive nothing more until my other children have received one thousand dollars each. After which, I wish the balance of my property equally distributed among my children. And I further desire that my children shall provide for Alcy Cumberland [a faithful colored servant of the family,] so long as she may live; and it is my special request that my friends, the three last named Executors, will not make any public sale of property, but permit my sons to sell at private sale to the best advantage. Signed, sealed and delivered, this 10th day of August, A. D., 1842.  "JOHN EVANS  "S. G. THOMPSON " A. G. EVANS, Witnesses." Pioneer Notes—Dr. John Evans - 405 Having performed this last earthly duty, his remaining moments were consecrated to the service of Maker, and in endearing expressions of affection for the two Members of his family who were present, and in messages to those who were unavoidably absent. On the following day (11th of August,) his death occurred. And thus, at the age of forty-eight years, the honorable career of Dr. John Evans was brought to a close in the very prime of his manhood. No death that occurred in the valley during that year, produced a more general or profound regret. The physician whose skill had prolonged the lives of multitudes, was unable to heal himself. An obituary of the Fort Wayne Times, dated September 17, 1842, appears below : " On the evening of the 11th ult., near Defiance, Ohio, Dr. John Evans, of this city, breathed his last, in the 49th year of his age. The removal of this highly respectable and enterprising citizen from the sphere of his earthly labors has excited the deepest sympathy, and the sincerest regrets among a numerous circle of friends and acquaintances; and has cast a deep shade over the hopes and happiness of a disconsolate wife and bereaved family. He is now no more—all that was mortal rests within the portals of the tomb ; but his memory will ever live in the hearts of all who knew him. His weight of character, his great moral worth, and exemplary deportment in each and every relation of life. will be remembered, his virtues admired, and his memory cherished, as long as the qualities that adorn human nature shall be held in proper estimation. " At a very early period in the settlement of north-western Ohio, Dr. Evans located at Defiance. The extended. practice and the extraordinary degree of favor which he there obtained, are sufficient evidence of his eminent merit. It may be said with truth, in the beautiful language of the poet : "'None knew him but to love him, " ' None named him but to praise' " After having passed the meridian of life in the practice of a laborious profession, he removed his family for a short period to Troy, Ohio, and thence to this city, with a view of establishing his sons in the mercantile business, and reposing, during the remainder of his days, in the midst of his beloved family, and in the enjoyment of an honorably-acquired competence. He went to Defiance about the commencement of the month (August) for the purpose of transacting some business. While there he felt unwell, and fearing an attack of disease, he started for home ; but before proceeding far his progress was arrested by a most severe attack of bilious pneumonia, which terminated his earthly existence on the seventh day following. During his short but painful illness he was composed and resigned—he expressed a desire to live only on account of his family. He aroused from the stupor of approaching dissolution to assure them of his entire willingness to meet his Maker. As his life 406 - Pioneer Notes—S. Carey Evans. had been honorable and useful, his death. was peaceful and happy." Mrs. Evans, widow of Dr. John Evans, is yet living, in a remarkably sound condition of health and mind, alternately making her home with her surviving son and daughters (Samuel Carey Evans, and Mrs. John A. Hill, and Mrs. Henry J. Rudisill). She has survived her affectionate husband, and one-half her children. Samuel Carey, son. of Dr. John Evans, may be justly classed among the pioneers of the Maumee Valley. His father left hi stocks of goods at Fort Wayne—one owned by John Evans & Co.; (Edmond Lindenberger being the junior partner,) located on the corner of Calhoun and Columbia streets ; and the other store in the name of Evans & Hill, Columbia street, on the premises now occupied by Morgan & Beach, hardware dealers. Samuel C. and William Rush Evans settled the estate of their father, commencing their work -at the date of his death, in August, 1842, and making a final 'settlement in the summer of 1845. In the fall of the last-named year, the two brothers, with Pliny Hoagland,: engaged in business' at Fort Wayne, on the corner of Calhoun and Main streets, under the firm name of S. C. Evans & Co., and continued one year, when Mr. Hoagland retired from the partnership; but the firm name remained until the fall of 1847, when a sale was made to T. K. Brackenridge & Co., the partners closing with about sufficient assets to meet liabilities ; and S. Carey Evans going New York to engage in trade, and the two brothers, at about the same date, organized a firm at Defiance, under the name of N. R. Evans & Co., which prosecuted business about two years without realizing any profit.. In April, 1853, the firm of R. Evans & Co. was instituted—consisting of Rinaldo Evans, and. S. Carey Evans—and engaged in mercantile business on the corner above mentioned, and continued until the first of August, 1855. This firm was successful—transacting a cash business, and promptly meeting every engagement ; and at the settlement of the partners, $4,159, in goods and other assets, were divided between them. The firm of S, C. Evans & Co. (the junior partner being John M. Foellinger,) commenced business in August, 1855, at the stand named above, and continued until September 1, 1860; when the firm of S. Carey Evans & Co. was re-organized and removed to Kendalville (the firm now being S. Carey Evans and W. Rush Evans). The junior member died here in April, 1862, and the business thereafter was conducted by S. Carey Evans until September 1, 1865, when he closed. his mercantile business at Kendalville, and, in January, 1866, returned to Fort Wayne, and, on that date, assumed the Presidency of the Merchants' National Bank, to which position he had been elected, and which place he yet holds. Few important enterprises, of value to Fort Wayne, during his residence in the city, are not connected with his name, by the material aid and other encouragement he has afforded. This is particularly true of the Pioneer Notes—Henry Rudisill - 407 Fort Wayne, Jackson & Saginaw Railroad ; which important enterprise, it is generally conceded, was secured to the city through his energy and judicious management as a contractor for the whole portion of the work within the State of Indiana. Mr. Evans is a good type of the business men of Fort Wayne, and inherits the business sagacity of his father. HENRY RUDISILL. Early identified with the business interests of North-Eastern Indiana, and of Fort Wayne, was the subject of this sketch, who was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the year 1801. His father (says Mr. Brice, in his history of Fort Wayne,) subsequently removed to Franklin County, Pennsylvania ; and, at the age of 14, Henry was placed in a mercantile establishment in Shippinsburg, in that State, to be thoroughly educated in all the different branches of that business. Three years afterwards he removed to Chillicothe, Ohio (then on the borders of western civilization), as an employee of Messrs. Barr & Campbell, who were then largely engaged in the mercantile business, at that and other points, east and west. He remained with this firm until 1824, when he removed to Lancaster, Ohio, where he engaged in business on his own account, and was subsequently married to Miss Elizabeth Johns, who still survives him. In 1829 he moved to Fort Wayne, and, as the agent of Messrs. Barr & McCorkle, the original proprietors of the town, had charge of their real estate interests until 1837 ; and while acting in that capacity, cleared and cultivated a large portion of what is now known as the " old flat," and " Hanna's Addition'' to Fort Wayne. Mr. Rudisill was of an active and energetic temperament, and a true representative of the men who, under Providence, have made the western country what it now is, and, with unselfish aim, always took an active and important part in every movement that tended to advance the interests of the county and city- in which he lived. As early as 1836, he, in connection with his father-in-law, Mr. Johns, commenced the improvement of the water power of the St. Joseph river, at the point where the St. Joseph's mills are now located, one mile north of Fort Wayne, and built there a saw-mill, and the first flouring mill capable of manufacturing merchantable flour in Northern Indiana. A few years later he put in operation the first machine for carding wool that was ever used in Allen county; and, some years subsequent, in company with Mr. L. Wolke, he started the first mill for making oil from flax-seed; and also established the first woolen factory in north-eastern Indiana. So, too, in church and educational matters, and in such public improvements as tended to develop the resources of the county, he was always ready and willing to aid, and contributed freely to their support, according to his ability. 408 - Pioneer Notes - Mrs. Laura Suttenfield. Being of German descent, and for a number of years the only one in the city Who could speak both languages, he soon became the counsellor, friend and helper of many who came from the old world to make this portion of the new their home ; and there are many in the county to-day who can date their first steps in their course of prosperity to his assistance and advice. Mr. Rudisill served as postmaster during the two terms of the administration of President Jackson ; and a term of three years a Commissioner of Allen. County. Injured by a fall while superintending some work at one of his mills, his spine became affected, causing partial paralysis, and subsequent death, in February, 1858, leaving a widow, who now occupies the homestead embracing the margin of the acres which were cleared for military purposes by General Wayne, in 1794, and afterwards by General Harrison, in the war of 1812. His uprightness, kindness, and affability in his intercourse with his fellow citizens, early won for him a host of friends, who will ever cherish for him a kindly memory and regard. In his private social intercourse, he was no less happy in winning the affection and esteem of every one with whom he came in contact.; and it is a consolation to his family and friends to know that his true piety and earnest Christian faith have prepared for him a rich reward. in that better world to which he has gone. MRS. LAURA SUTTENFIELD. "But few of the pioneer mothers of Fort Wayne," says Brice, " survive among us to tell the adventures of the past ; one of whom is Mrs. Laura Suttenfield, now [in 1872] in her 78th year. Mrs. L. was born in Boston, Mass,, in 1795, and came to Fort Wayne in 1814, by way of the St. Mary's river, then much navigated by fiat boats. It was soon after :the arrival of herself and husband, that the old fort was removed, and a new one erected on its site, in the building of which her husband, Colonel William .Suttenfield took an active part. From the time of her first arrival, her family made the fort their home, and resided it for several years. Ever attentive and amiable in her disposition, she early won the esteem, not only of those within the garrison, but of strangers visiting the post, then so famous in the northwest. Her memory of early events, even at her advanced age, is remarkably clear. Her husband, Colonel Suttenfield, now dead many years, was a patriotic, kind man. For some time after his removal to this poiotnt. he was a noncommissioned officer of the fort. At an early period of the struggles in the west, he was engaged in the recruiting service, and for many months after his arrival here, was mainly employed in bringing provisions from Piqua, and other points, on pack-horses, and usually had three or four men to accompany and aid him in his per- Pioneer Notes--Colonel George W. Ewing - 409 ilous and burdensome. duties back and forth to the settlements. The first house (a substantial log edifice,) that was built in what is now the old flat, was erected by him at the northwest corner of Barr and Columbia streets, just opposite of T. B. Hedekin in which his family resided for many years. Her recollections of General John E. Hunt, Colonel John Tipton, Major B. F. Stickney, and Colonel John Johnson, are very clear. COLONEL GEORGE W. EWING. No family connected prominent cities, west of the Alleghenies, was more conspicuous than that of the Ewings, or occupied a lar- ger space in the public mind. In their day and generation, they achieved distinction in the halls of legislation, in courts of justice, and in leading, marts of trade in America and Europe. In the Fort Wayne Gazette, of June 6, 1866, appears an obituary notice of the survivor of these eminent brothers, George W. Ewing ; which was prepared by Byrum D. Miner, Esq., who was then prin- cipal and managing executor of the estate, and which is re-published below: " We are again called upon to record the demise of an old and valued citizen, one of the most enterprising and energetic pioneers of the northwest. Colonel George W. Ewing, the subject of this obituary, departed this life at the residence of Dr. Charles E. Sturgis, in Fort Wayne, on the 29th of May, 1866, in the 63d year of his age. "As the Ewing family, of whom he was the surviving male member, have been identified with the early settlement of this country, it is proper at this time that a historical record should be perpetuated of them; and a few extracts from a history of the family, written by the deceased, will not be out of place. " His father, Colonel Alexander Ewing, was of Irish parentage, and born in Pennsylvania in 1.763. At the age of 1.6 years, actuated by the spirit of patriotism which filled the heart of every true American, he repaired to Philadelphia, where he enlisted in the Continental army, and served during the Revolutionary -struggle. " In 1787, he was engaged in a trading expedition in what was then called the far Northwest, and erected a trading post on Buffalo creek, where now stands the city of Buffalo. A .few years later, having been very prosperous in that business, he purchased lands on the Genesee flats, near a small village called Big Tree, and in the neighborhood of Geneseo, Livingston county. In 1802, he removed to the River Raisin, in the State of Michigan, and settled where now stands the City of Monroe. " In 1807, lie moved to the State of Ohio, and settled in the town of Washington, now called Piqua, remaining there and at Troy un- 410 Pioneer Notes—Colonel George W. Ewing. til 1822, when he made his final removal to this vicinity, where, the 27th day of January, 1827, he departed this life, and was buried at a spot selected by himself, near the northwest corner of Pearl and Cass streets, in this city. " The mother, Charlotte Griffith, was of Welch parentage, a lady of great excellence and moral worth. She survived her husband until the 13th day of March, 1843, when she departed this life at Peru, Indiana. It has been written of her that she had died as she had lived, in peace and with good will to all, and a firm believer in the Christian religion. Her life had been a virtuous and well-spent one, and she died without reproach, respected and esteemed by all who knew her. The issue of this marriage was : Sophie C., relict of Smallwood Noel, Esq.; Charles W., formerly President Judge of the 8th Judicial Circuit of the State of Indiana, born at the village' of Big Tree, above referred to ; William G., formerly Judge of the Probate Court of Allen County, Indiana ; Alexander H., a successful merchant of Cincinnati, Ohio, and George W., the subject of this memoir, who was born at Monroe, Michigan. Lavinia, deceased, married to the Hon. George B. Walker, of Logansport, was born at Piqua, Ohio. Louisa, widow of the late Dr. Charles E. Sturgis, of this city, was born at Troy, Ohio. " In the year 1827, the two brothers formed the well and widely-known firm of W. G. & G. W. Ewing. By their articles of co-partnership, all their estate, of every name and nature, became and continued to be the• common property of the firm, until the 11th day of July, 1854, when the co-partnership ceased by the death of William. ''During all that time the brothers reposed in each other the utmost confidence, and no settlement of account ever took place between them. They had many side partnerships and branches—Fort Wayne being the headquarters of all. William S. Edsall was a member of the firm of Ewing, Edsall & Co., and he was succeeded by Richard Chute, and the firm name was then changed to Ewing, Chute & Co. " At Logansport, Hon. George B. Walker was a partner. There, the celebrated firms of Ewing, Walker & Co., and Ewings & Walker, had their business house, and at LaGro, Indiana, the firm was Ewings & Barlow. At Westport, Missouri, a very extensive business was transacted under the firm name of W. G. & G. W. Ewing ; and many branches were located in Michigan, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and Wisconsin. In fact, their business extended over a considerable portion of both Continents—their names being, in this country, familiar in every considerable town and hamlet between the Alleghenies and the Rocky Mountains. Their employees were numerous, and, with few exceptions, proved faithful and trust worthy. "At the death of William G. Ewing, George W. Ewing devoted his whole energies in the work of winding up the immense business of the old partnerships ; and, with the assistance of his former confidential agents, Messrs. Miner & Lytle, succeeded, on the 10th of _Pioneer Notes—Colonel George W . Ewing - 411 October, 1865, in making a full, final, and complete settlement to the satisfaction of the administrators (Hon. Hugh McCulloch and Dr. Charles E. Sturgis), and the legatees of his brother’s estate; with settlement was confirmed at the March term, 1866, of the Common Pleas Court of Allen County, Indiana, and the business relating to the estate of William G. Ewing closed finally. " Colonel George W. Ewing, the subject of this obituary, commenced his business career by establishing a trading post a the Shawanee Indians, at the place where now stands the village of Wapaukonnetta, in Auglaize county, Ohio. We next find him at the Miami treaty of 1826, where he laid the foundation of his future prosperity, and at nearly all the subsequent treaties with the Indians in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois, he attended and took a prominent position. In 1828, he married Miss Harriett Bourie, and in 1830, with other citizens of Fort Wayne, removed to the junction of the Wabash and Eel rivers, and there founded the prosperous and growing city of Logansport. " In the year 1839, he removed with his family to Peru, Indiana, where he continued to reside until October, 1846, when he this moved to St. Louis, where, on January 24, 1847, his wife departed this life. He continued to reside at St. Louis until the death of his brother and business partner, William G., when it became necessary to return to Fort Wayne, and take charge of the headquarters of the late firm. " On the 27th of December, 1865, he was stricken clown by an attack of bilious pneumonia, from which be partially recovered, wl,en heart disease intervened, and he lingered along until the date before mentioned, having suffered intense agony of body and mind for five months, when death put an end to his existence. " So far as he could do so, he arranged his worldly affairs to his satisfaction, and after many long and earnest consultations with the Rt. Rev. Bishop Luers, he was baptised, and partook of the Holy Sacrament, and put his trust in the Dispenser of all good. From that time he appeared to lose his usual sternness of manner, to become entirely resigned and composed, and finally seemed to fall asleep, and quietly passed away, "At his particular request, made on his death-bed, he was buried in conformity with the rites of the Catholic Church—his body being deposited in his own lot at the Lindenwood Cemetery, near Fort Wayne. " Thus has passed away another of the early settlers of this county. There are but few remaining, and it is saddening to contemplate that, in a few years more, those noble men and women will all have gone to their final resting place." B. D. Miner, Esq., who furnished the foregoing sketch, commenced his residence at Fort Wayne in 1835, and his business relations With the Messrs. Ewing began in 1838, and terminated with the death of Colonel George W. Ewing, in 1866. The intimate busi- 412 - Other Pioneers. ness and social relations that had existed between the two, may inferred from the subjoined provision contained in the will of Mr Ewing : " In view of the long and intimate relations existing between my self and my worthy friend, Byrum D. Miner, I will and bequeath to him the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500,) in unimproved real estate in Allen County, Indiana, to be selected by himself and his co-executor hereinafter named, or such other persons as may execute this my last will and testament. And in view of his long and intimate connection with my general business, it is my will and desire that he shall be my active executor, and give his personal attention to settling up and protecting my estate, and carrying out the provisions, meaning, and intention of this my my last will and testament ; and in consideration thereof I will and direct that he shall receive from my estate, in addition to what the Court shall allow him for his services as my executor, the sum of five hundred dollars ($500) per annum for the term of ten years, should he continue so long my active executor." Another provision appointed Mr. Miner and William A. Ewing, Esq., executors of the will. The first named having resigned in 1869, his co-executor has now sole charge of the trust and execution of the will of Col. Ewing. The monument in Lindenwood Cemetery, although the finest that adorns that beautiful city of the dead, was scarcely necessary to perpetuate Colonel Ewing's memory with the present generation of Fort Wayne, who will never forget one whose genius, enterprise and liberality contributed so much to place the business of the city upon the solid foundations it now occupies. It may be proper here to add that Mr. Miner, above referred to, has, during many years, been a public-spirited citizen of Fort Wayne, representing the County of Allen, in 1868 and 1869, in the Indiana House of Representatives, and also holding other responsible official and judiciary positions. John P. Hedges is now one of three of the oldest inhabitants residing in the vicinity of Fort Wayne. In 1812 he was a clerk of John H. Platt, Commissary General for furnishing supplies for the Northwestern Army, and in that capacity visited the place in pursuance of an order of General Hill, to examine and report the rations in the Fort. His residence, however, in 'Fort Wayne, commenced directly after the conclusion of the treaty of Greenville, in 1814. At this treaty his father, Samuel P. Hedges, and himself, issued rations to the Indians, under the orders of the Commissioners and Indian Agents. At this date there were no white families residing near the Fort. Several single persons, however, namely : George and John E. Hunt, Peter Oliver, and Perry B. Kircheval, were at the place—the two first named with a store of goods, and Pioneer Notes—Pliny Hoagland - 413 the last named a clerk in the employ of Major Stickney, Indian Agent. The old French traders had removed during the early part of the war to Detroit. In 1815, Louis Bourie and family, Charles and James Peltier and their families, returned to the fort. Colonel William Suttenfield belonged to the first Regiment United States Infantry, under Colonel Hunt, and was a corporal in the company of Major Whistler, commandant of the fort. The only survivors among those who were residents here in 1815, are Mrs. Suttenfield, Mrs. Griswold (formerly Mrs. Peltier), and Mr. Hedges. Among the pioneers not hitherto mentioned, are the following : John G. Mayer, born in Betzenstein, Bavaria, April 5, 1810—arrived in New York in 1839, and in Fort Wayne in 1845, and who will be remembered as the popular postmaster during the administrations of Pierce and Buchanan ; Madison Sweetser, who removed to Fort Wayne in 1832, and has been among the most prominent of its business men ; General Hyacinth Lasselle, who, it is claimed, was the first white person born at the place in 1778; Allen Hamilton, who established himself in business in Fort Wayne in 1823, and whose name and successful business career are yet clear in the recollections of all the old citizens ; Henry Tilbury, who settled three miles east of Fort Wayne, on the Ridge road, in Adams township, in 1828; Mrs. Emeline Griswold, who was born at Detroit in 1792, and removed to Fort Wayne in 1807, with her grand-parents, Baptiste Moloch and wife ; J. and B. Trentman, Jacob and J. M. Foelinger, A. Meyer, George Meyer, H. Nierman, John Orf, H. Schwegman, Dr. C. Schmitz Henry Baker, Jacob Fry, B. Phillips, C. Morrell, C. Nill, Louis Schmitz, S. Lau, A. Pintz, Rev. Dr. Sihler, George Miller, E. Vodemark, C. Piepenbrink, D. Wehmer, Charles and L. Baker, Charles Muhler, Peter Keiser and many others. PLINY HOAGLAND. There are few now in active life who have been more prominently associated with canal, railroad, city improvement, and the school and other important interests of North-Western Ohio, and North-Eastern Indiana, than Mr. Hoagland. Commencing professional life as an engineer on the Sandy and Beaver canal, in the spring of 1835, he engaged, three years later, (1838), in the same employment on the Ohio portion of the Wabash and Erie Canal. He continued in this service until the completion of the work in 1843, when he was placed in charge not only of the canal, but of the Western Reserve and Maumee road, which position he retained until he removed to Fort Wayne. During this service of seven 414 - Pioneer Notes—Pliny Hoagland. years, and embracing a period when the malarious diseases of the country were often very malignant, he was unremitting in the discharge of his official trust, regularly visiting and inspecting every portion of the works confided to his charge. In the fall of 1845, he removed to Fort Wayne, where he yet resides, and where, as before stated, he has taken a leading, though undemonstrative and unostentatious part, in all the schemes that have proved beneficial to the interests of the city and country.—When the Ohio and Pennsylvania road had been. partly constructed between Pittsburg and Mansfield, that company were hesitating re. garding the route they would adopt when they formed their connection with the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati road at Crestline :—whether they would form a Chicago or Cincinnati alliance; and during the time they were thus deliberating, Mr. Hoagland happened to be at Wooster, where he met J. R. Strahan, William Jacobs, and others interested, to whom he urged the Chicago route as the one that would result most beneficially to the interests of the corporation. He immediately wrote to Judge McCulloch, stating the condition of matters, and suggesting the adoption of prompt measures by the citizens interested in the prosperity of Fort Wayne to rally in behalf of the Chicago route. His foresight and efforts were finally appreciated, and the road moved westward from Crest-line, until it finally, after hard struggles and sacrifices, reached Chicago. The concurrent legislation of Indiana, in 1851, rendered necessary to perfect the arrangements authorized by the Ohio enactments of the previous year, was obtained chiefly through the efforts of Mr. Hoagland; and the corporation, then known as the Ohio and Indiana Railroad, connecting Crestline and Fort Wayne, was organized; Mr. Hoagland, Judge Hanna and William Mitchell becoming contractors for constructing the whole road from Crestline to Fort Wayne, a distance of 131 miles, except furnishing the iron. The letting occurred on the 28th of January, 1852, and the contract was completed on the 1st of November, 1854. In a history of the enterprise and its early trials, published under authority of the Company, it is stated that " these contractors commenced and prosecuted their work with such commendable energy as to have it ready for passing trains over the whole road on the first of November, 1854." From the inception of the Ohio and Indiana, now a part of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway, until the present time, Mr. Hoagland has been, with the exception of a single year, a director ; and also, since 1866, has held the position of director on the Board of the Grand Rapids Railroad Company. In 1856, Mr. Hoagland was elected a member of the House of Representatives of the Indiana Legislature, and, in 1862, a member of the State Senate. Judge McCulloch, after his appointment to the office of Comptroller of the Currency, resigned his position as President of the Fort Wayne branch of the Bank of the State of Indiana ; and Mr. Hoagland was elected his successor, and accepted Pioneer Notes—Jesse L. Williams - 416 the appointment, resigned his seat in the State Senate, and held the position until the organization of the Fort Wayne National Bank, under the National Banking Law, when he declined the offer of the Presidency of the Institution, but accepted the place of Vice-President—an office which he continues to hold. During his service in the City Council, commencing in 1865, the system of sewerage, one of the best and most ample enjoyed by any city in the country, was commenced at his instance, and prosecuted to completion. Permanent street grades, and the Nicholson pavement, also, commenced during his term. These public improvements being secure, he declined a re-election. To his influence, as much as to that of any other person connected officially with the system, the public schools of Fort Wayne, including not only their management, but their buildings, everywhere regarded as models, have been placed in a condition by which they are recognized as holding a front rank among the educational establishments in the State. In the several official trusts committed to him—and they have been various, and began when he attained his majority, and continue until the present date—the official places he has held have, in every instance, sought him. He may have asked the vote of an elector for a friend, but never for himself. He has much faith in old fashions, in the political and moral integrity of the olden time, and in old friends. Unfortunately for the country, the proportion of public men, now in service, of' his stamp of character, is not as large as in other and better days. JESSE L. WILLIAMS. [The subjoined sketch of the public services of this gentleman, is gathered chiefly from the work of Charles B. Stuart, published in 1871, and entitled " Lives and Works of Civil and Military Engineers of America." The scope of the operations of Mr. Williams passed the bounds of local limits, and became national. In other pages, the public are indebted to much that invest this work with historical value, to an unpretending pamphlet of Mr. Williams, entitled, " A Historical Sketch of the First Presbyterian Church of Fort Wayne," having originally been delivered before the congregation of that church fin the form of a lecture. In connection with his brother, the late Micajah T. Williams, of Cincinnati, and one of the original proprietors of Toledo, no two persons, as will be discovered elsewhere in this work, were more closely identified with the early public improvement's undertaken by Ohio and Indiana.] Jesse L. Williams, who, for a period of over forty years, has been connected with the rise and progress of public works in the States 416 - Pioneer Notes—Jesse I. Williams. of Ohio and Indiana, was born in Stokes County, in the State of North Carolina, on the 6th of May, 1807. His parents, Jesse Williams and Sarah T. Williams, of whom he is the youngest son, were members of the Society of Friends. About the year 1814, his parents removed to Cincinnati, Ohio. For some time after the close of the war of 1812, uncertainty at tended every business enterprise. This involved the father in pecuniary losses, which prevented him from securing for his young sou the most favorable opportunities for securing a liberal education. In his early youth, the subject of this sketch was one of the pupils of the Lancasterian Seminary at Cincinnati, and afterwards at other places of residence in villages, or on the farm, he had only the small educational advantages offered in such locations, for the portions of time his other avocations would allow. After he had chosen a profession, at the age of eighteen years, his mind, one of the most marked traits of which appears in its power of concentration on a single object, was zealously devoted to an investigation of those branches of knowledge which seemed to have the most direct relation to the profession of his choice. In the course of his studies, his varied duties in engineering, location and construction, enabled him to combine practice with theory. It seems, indeed, that, trained up amidst pioneer society, he is, in a great degree, like many others in the west, in every profession, self-made and self-educated. The few years which, under more favorable circumstances, he might have passed in college, were employed necessarily in tilling the soil. A vigorous constitution thus acquired, with habits of industry, temperance and untiring energy, were the compensatory advantages ; and with these sustaining and giving ambition, he was doubtless encouraged in his early manhood to believe that success and honorable distinction in his profession, were not beyond his reach. Although he has often been heard to regret the want of opportunities and leisure in early life for the acquisition of higher attainments in general learning, yet, as tested by the demands of a long, varied, and successful professional career, it would seem that the lack of early advantages has been mainly overcome. His acquirements, theoretical and practical, under the guidance of a sound and discriminating judgment, have been adequate to the faithful discharge of the difficult and complex duties of the various official stations in which he has been placed. The year 1825 was marked by an achievement in practical science and statesmanship which, for the times, was bold and far-reaching in results. The completion of water communication between Lake Erie and tide-water, placed the State of New York in a greatly advanced position, attracting the attention of the Union. Other States caught the spirit of internal improvement. Ohio accepted it as her mission to extend the line of artificial water communication from the Lakes to the Ohio river. Pioneer Notes—Jesse L. Williams - 417 the inspiration of these works of internal improvement, their day, that the subject of this memoir, then on the farm in Indiana, was permitted, at the age of seventeen, to take a subordinate place among the corps of engineers which, early in the year 1824, had been detailed in charge of Samuel Forrer, Civil Engineer, to make the first survey of the Miami and Erie Canal from Cincinnati to the Maumee Bay. In this corps his position was that of rodman, and pay nine dollars per month. The line of the survey, for the distance of half its length, lay through an unbroken wilderness. On one continuous section of forty miles, no white man was found. Mr. Williams continued to serve in the corps of engineers, under Mr. Forrer, in the final location and construction of the Miami and Erie Canal, and had charge, as assistant, of the heavy and difficult division next to Cincinnati. He was present at the formal breaking of ground in Ohio by DeWitt Clinton, and with other youthful engineers in the service of the State, it was his fortune to take the hand of that great man, and to receive from kind and encouraging counsel, prompting to perseverance, and expressive of ardent hopes that the young engineers in his presence might attain that honorable distinction in their chosen profession, which was at that time so intimately related to the growing enterprise of the country. Owing to sickness of the principal engineer during the latter half of 1827, his active duties were temporarily extended over the whole work between Cincinnati and Dayton. In the spring of 1828, the Chief Engineer of Ohio, David L. Bates, appointed Mr. Williams to take charge of the final location of the Canal from Licking Summit, near Newark, to Chillicothe, including the Columbus side-cut, and after the line was located and placed under contract the construction between Circleville and a point south of Chillicothe, was committed to his supervision. Among the works on this division which required in their construction great care and skill, were the dam and aqueduct across the river Scioto. In the Autumn of 1830, the Canal Commissioners of Ohio appointed a Board of Engineers to examine and decide the very responsible question of supplying with water the summit level of the Miami and Erie Canal, whether by a system of artificial reservoirs, or by long feeders from distant streams. Mr. Williams, then twenty-three years old, was appointed one of this Board. Reservoirs were recommended for the main supply, one of which (the Mercer County Reservoir) is still in advantageous use, covering fifteen thousand acres, and is probably the largest artificial lake anywhere known, Early in 1832, Mr. Williams was invited by the Board of Commissioners of the Wabash and Erie Canal, to take charge, as Chief Engineer, of the location and construction of that important work, then about to be commenced y the State of Indiana. The appointment was accepted. - 27 - 418 - Pioneer Notes—Jesse L. Williams. The following letter from Governor. Duncan McArthur, of Ohio, addressed to Governor W. Noble, of Indiana, was probably one of the causes that led to the choice of Mr. Willliams : CHILLICOTHE, February 25, 1832. SIR : Having been informed, through Mr. Ridgway, of Columbus, that the Board of Canal Commissioners of Indiana wish to employ a skillful engineer to conduct the construction of your canal, I am induced to recommend to you Jesse L. Williams, Esq., who is now resident engineer on this part of our canal, as a gentleman well qualified for that important trust. He has had much experience in the business, having been constantly engaged in engineering since the commencement of the canals in Ohio. For integrity, judgment, and strict attention to business, he has not been surpassed by any engineer who has been employed on our canals. As his business is now drawing to a close in this State, I am informed that your Canal Board may procure the services of Mr. Williams for a reasonable compensation. I have the honor to be, Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, DUNCAN McARTHUR His Excellency, Governor W. NOBLE. In 1834, Mr. Williams was appointed, with William Gooding as associate engineer, to survey the White Water Valley, for the purpose of determining the practicability of constructing a canal through that valley to Lawrenceburg on the Ohio. Their joint report was made to the Legislature, and published among the documents of the session of 1834-35. At this session, the Legislature passed an act authorizing the making of surveys and estimates for canals and railroads in almost every part of the State. The several surveys of new canals in Indiana, ordered by the Legislature in 1835, were placed under his general supervision, in addition to his charge of construction on the Wabash and Erie Canal, and throughout that year his professional duties were exceedingly diversified and laborious. Still, they were regarded by him as intensely interesting. A single exploring party, engaged under his directions, in ascertaining in advance of the surveyors, and for their guidance, the relative heights of various summits, and of the watercourses for the supply of the canals, ran accurately a continuous line of levels six hundred miles in extent between early spring and the succeeding autumn. More than five hundred miles of definite location of canal lines were made by the different location parties, and estimates thereof were reported to the Legislature in December, 1838, by the respective Engineers under whose especial charge these surveys were made, with the general advice of Mr. Williams. On the passage of a law authorizing a general system of internal Pioneer Notes—Jesse L. Williams - 419 improvement, approved January 27, 1836, Mr. Williams was appointed Chief Engineer of all the canals of the State, including the Wabash and Erie Canal.   At this period, he hd under his charge the several canal routes, amounting to about eight hundred miles, portions of which, on each work, were in progress of' location and construction. In September, 1837, the Chief Engineer of railroads and turnpikes having resigned, these works (also under like progress,) were, by action of the State Board of Internal Improvement, placed under the charge of Mr. Williams as State Engineer ; his supervision then embraced more than 1,300 miles of authorized public works. Afterwards, when the appointing power was changed, he was elected by the Legislature to the same position, and continued therein until 1841, when the prosecution of the public works, except the Wabash and Erie Canal, was entirely suspended. Perplexing duties, and great labors and responsibilities were necessarily attached to the position which he so long occupied, as State Engineer of Indiana. The general principles of every survey and location ; the plans of every important structure, and the letting of all contracts, came, in their order, under his supervision. In the course of the summer and autumn of 1838, no less than 13 public lettings of contracts took place by order of the Board of Internal Improvements. These lettings, which were held in different parts of Indiana, at intervals of about two weeks, embraced portions of each work included in the general system of internal improvements which had been adopted by the State. With such facilities for travelling as belonged to that period, a punctual attendance at the numerous lettings, and the making of necessary preparations for those meetings of contractors, must have taxed the mental and physical energies of one man in no small measure. It was computed at the time by those who felt some interest in such matters, that the journeyings of the State Engineer, performed mainly on horseback, during the three months, amounted to at least three thousand miles.. -These facts illustrate, in seine measure, the difficulties that were encountered and overcome by the pioneers in the earlier improvements of the western country. After March, 1840, Mr. Williams, in addition to his duties and responsibilities as State Engineer, became, by appointment of the Legislature, ex-officio member of the Board of Internal Improvement, and acting Commissioner of the Indiana division of the Wabash and Erie Canal. In the discharge of the various duties of these stations, he acted for a period of about two years, having charge, also, of the selections, management and sales of the canal lands. It may be of historic interest to state that the grant of alternate sections of land by Act of Congress of March 2, 1827, to aid in the building of the Wabash and Erie Canal, was the initiation of the Land Grant policy, which has since given a financial basis to so 420 - Pioneer Notes—Jesse L. Trillions. many of the leading public works of the country. As State Engineer, the public works in every part of the State were under general charge, from 1836 to 1842, and his special supervision of the Wabash and Erie Canal was continued during this period. 'The prostration of State credit that followed the financial revulsion of 1840, checked the progress of works in the United States. From 1842 to 1847, the subject of this memoir was occupied in mercantile and manufacturing pursuits at Fort Wayne. Before leaving the capitol of the State of Indiana, he was offered the Presidency of the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, then about to be completed ; the offices of President and Chief Engineer being united in one. After five years' suspension, an arrangement was matured for the completion, to the Ohio river, of the Wabash and Erie Canal, and through this, as a basis providing for the adjustment of the Internal Improvement debt of the State. In 1847, the entire canal, with its canals, passed into the hands of a Board of Trustees, representing both the State and the holders of her bonds. The law creating this trust, and providing for the adjustment of the State debt, and the completion of the canal, required the appointment of "a Chief Engineer of known and established character for experience and integrity." To this responsible position Mr. Williams was appointed, in June, 1847, at that date resuming the charge of this work, after five years retirement. He yet occupies this position, with the sanction of the Trustees and that of the Governor, thus making his professional charge of the Wabash and Erie Canal extend over a period of thirty-four years, having, at the same time, official connection with important railroads during the last 17 years. In February, 1854, he was appointed Chief Engineer of the Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad, which position was held up to the time of the consolidation with the Ohio and Pennsylvania, and Ohio and Indiana Railroads, in 1856. From that date to 1871, fifteen years, he has been a director of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad. In July, 1864, Mr. Williams was appointed by President Lincoln a director of the Union Pacific Railroad, on the part of the Government. The term being but one year under the law, he was reappointed each succeeding year until the work was completed, in 1869, receiving commissions from three successive Presidents. As a member of the Standing Committee on Location and Construction, the important engineering questions connected with the location and plan of this work across the mountain ranges of the Continent, came within his sphere of duty, and called into exercise the professional experience which forty years of public service enabled him to wield. The engineers of the Company, themselves no doubt competent, appear to have entertained a high respect for the judgment of Mr. Williams. This was also the case with the Secretary of the Interior, to whom he frequently reported, and who Pioneer Notes--Jesse L. Williams - 421 adopted his suggestions, and presented them to Congress in his official report. The official communications and letters of Mr. Williams, written during this service, are of deep interest as illustrating the character of the country traversed by the route, and the formidable natural obstacles which presented themselves, and occupy several pages of Mr. Stuart's volume. The documents referred to, also bear evidence that the recommendations of Mr. Williams were highly valued by the Government. On the 19th of January, 1869, Mr. Williams was appointed Receiver of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, by the United States Court for the Western District of Michigan. This work, three hundred and twenty-five miles long, is designed to connect the city of Fort Wayne, and the region farther south, with Little Traverse Bay and the Straits of Mackinaw. In the distribution of the lands granted by Congress to the State of Michigan, this work was endowed with a valuable land grant. The work was commenced many years ago. A failure to negotiate its bonds, the natural result, perhaps, of a premature beginning in a district of country so little settled at that time, had caused very serious financial embarrassments, and a suspension of the construction, with only twenty miles in running order. Other and rival interests were watching the haltings of this work in expectation of obtaining a transfer of the land grant for their benefit. Under the law of Michigan, a failure to complete twenty additional miles by July 1, 1869, extending northward into the pineries, forfeited actually the land grant, valued at seven millions of dollars. The stake was large, the work to be done remote from settlements, and the time only some fifty days after the yielding of the frost. The court, for the protection and benefit of all the interests involved, had ordered the Receiver to borrow money by pledge of the land, and build the road as required by law. Seldom has so large a responsibility been laid on any one ; for no provision was made for a second effort to recover the land grant, if lost by a single day in the time of completion. Much interest was felt along the line, and with capitalists, who had already invested largely on the security of the land grant and the road. The following telegram, sent eight days before the time fixed by the statute, announced the result of the effort: " GRAND RAPIDS, June 22, 1869, To His Excellency, the Governor of Michigan : " The last rail of the twenty miles was laid last evening. " J. L. WILLIAMS." By further orders of the Court, Mr. Williams, as Receiver, was authorized and directed to build, and put in good running order, the entire remainder of the line between Fort Wayne and the Muske- 422 - Pioneer Notes—Jesse L. Williams. gon river a distance of 200 miles. In addition to the duties and responsibilities ordinarily belonging to a financial trust like this, he had also the professional charge, as Directing Engineer, of the work. These several duties were found so exacting as to leave no time for the proper performance of the Pacific Railroad duties; and in October, 1869, he resigned his position as Government Director of that road. After being relieved from duty under the Government, he devoted his whole time and energies to the completion of the 200 miles of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad north of Fort Wayne, and opened it for traffic early in October, 1870. One hundred and sixty miles of track was laid, besides closing up a large part of the grading, delivery of cross ties, etc., from the middle of April to the 13th of September, 1870, a rate of progress which has not perhaps been equalled on any other work, except on the Pacific roads. The professional life of Mr. Williams has been, in a remarkable degree, full of useful activity. It is honorably and inseparably identified with many of the great public enterprises which have affected important changes in the condition of the country. Commencing at a time when the superior advantages for carrying on of inland trade and commerce by means of canals were attracting universal attention to their construction, he will probably close it long after this kind of improvement has become secondary in importance (except in peculiar localities,) to another of still higher perfection—the railroad. Indeed, it may be said that, in the region west of the Allegheny mountains, he has witnessed the origin, the growth, the maturity, and the decline of the canal system. Turning his attention early to railroad construction, he has devoted the last twenty years of his professional labors, mainly in aiding forward to successful completion some of the most prominent railroads in the country. ALFRED P. EDGERTON. Mr. Edgerton was born at Plattsburg, Clinton county, New York, January 11, 1813. He first appeared before the public as the editor of a newspaper in 1833, and in the fall of that year removed to New York, where he engaged in commercial pursuits. In the spring of 1837, he removed to Ohio, to take charge, as agent, of the lands of Hicks & Co., and of the American Land Company and established a Land Office at Hicksville, in what was then Williams county, now a part of Defiance county. At this office, about 107,000 acres of the lands of Hicks & Co , and of the American Land Company were sold by him. He became purchaser of the lands unsold, amounting to about 37,000 acres, in 1852. A larger number of people, now occupying cultivated and valuable farms in North-Western Ohio, derived their titles through Mr Edgerton than from any other source Pioneer Notes—Alfred P. Edgerton - 423 except directly through the Federal or State Governments, and no Land Agent has ever been more forbearing or liberal in arrangements with actual settlers, struggling to secure for themselves the ownership of the acres they cultivated. In 1845, he was elected to the Senate of Ohio, from the territory which then embraced the present Counties of Williams, Defiance, Paulding, Van Wert, Mercer, Auglaize, Allen, Putnam, Henry, and part of Fulton. Up to this time, although accustomed to express; on proper occasions, decided politidal convictions, he had not been active in caucusses and conventions, and was only known to the people of the district as a sagacious and upright business man. The public questions of that period involved complicated matters relating to finance, the State banking system, metalic or paper money, the public debt, public credit, and kindred issues; and regarding these matters, the public mind was greatly stirred. Malfeasance on the part of the financial officers of the State, and an unlawful and useless sacrifice of the public stocks, by hypothecation to, and collusion with, banks and bankers, were among the charges upon which the dominant or Whig party had been arraigned by the Democrats. The recognized leader of the Whig party, was the late Alfred Kelley, who had been identified with the public improvement and financial policy of the State, various official relations, since the origin of the public debt, and the commencement of the canal system. On the minority, or Democratic side, several Senators appeared as champions of the cause of the minority. Mr. Kelley had developed his financial policy—had introduced bills to sanction it by legislation—had unmistakably beaten his antagonists, and was master of the field. Mr. Edgerton had been an attentive and patient observer of passing events, but, except voting when questions came up, had taken no part in the debate. When the conflict, however, was approaching a close, he unexpectedly appeared in the arena, and, in clear and logical speeches, electrified the body by the accurate knowledge he evinced of details regarding the finances of the State, pointing out damaging discrepancies, which had been overlooked in previous discussions, in the accounts and reports of various departments of the State Government ; and producing, altogether, an entirely new bill of indictment against the Whig party, in their man. agement of the fiscal business of the State. The battle which, on the part of the Whigs, was supposed to have been fought and won, was, it now became manifest, just commenced ; and Mr. Kelley soon found in Mr. Edgerton a foeman more worthy of his steel than he expected, or ever hdped to encounter, while the Democrats, from that time forward, recognized Mr. Edgerton as their leader. In 1850, after the close of his brilliant career in the State Senate, Mr. Edgerton was elected to the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States, and again elected in 1852, Why he failed as a candidate in 1856, is partly explained in the reminiscences of Mr. Mott, of Toledo, which appear in succeeding pages. 424 - Pioneer Notes—Alfred P. Edgerton. During the Thirty-Second Congress, he was virtually Chairman of the Committee on Claims, performing the chief burden of the labor of that committee, and during the Thirty-Third Congress was its Chairman. His duties at the head of this important Committee were Performed with diligence and fidelity. He gave searching examination to every claim entrusted to his Committee, and from bhis carefully. prepared reports and logical conclusions, protecting alike the Federal Treasury and extending even-handed justice to worthy claim ants, no successful appeal was ever taken. This.labor afforded him less time to engage in the current debates, yet, when occasion offered, he would enter this field, and his opinions never failed to command the respect of the House. From 1853 to 1856, he was transfer or financial agent of the State of Ohio, in the city of New York, and kept his office at 64. Beaver street. In 1857, he removed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, twenty-four miles from his residence at Hicksville, but retained his citizenship in Ohio until 1862. In 1858, he was one of the Committee to investigate the defalcation in the Ohio State Treasury. In 1859, in connection with Hugh McCulloch and Pliny Hoagland, he became lessee of the Indiana canals, from the Ohio State line to Terre Haute, and assumed the position of general manager, and continued this position until 1868. In January, 1868, he was nominated as the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, with Thomas A. Hendricks for Governor. The Democratic ticket was defeated by nine hundred and sixty-one votes. Outside of his positions in the Ohio Senate and in Congress, Mr. E. was Senatorial Delegate to the Baltimore Convention in 1848, from Ohio, and to the Chicago Convention, in 1864, from the State of Indiana. He has always been a Democrat; but since 1868 has not been in politics, preferring, as he has always done, a business, and not a political field of operations. Mr. E. could never become a successful actor in the school of politicians, by which the unworthy, through mere craft and bargain, often win their way to power. Hence, he has often rejected the suggestions of friends to enter the arena as a candidate for official place, and has inflexibly maintained what has been of more value to him than all else, an element of character which he never placed upon the market—his own self-respect.