The Vidette-Messenger Centennial EditionThe 1936 special edition celebrating Porter County's centennial year . . . .
The following article has been transcribed from the August 18, 1936, issue of The Vidette-Messenger, published in Valparaiso, Indiana. This particular special edition focuses on Porter County's centennial celebration and contains a 94-page compendium of Porter County history up to that time.
Return to the index of articles from The Vidette-Messenger's Porter County Centennial special edition.
Source: The Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso,
Porter County, Indiana; August 18, 1936; Volume 10, Section 4, Pages 11-12.
There are Only Four of Porter County's G. A. R. Surviving Ravages of Time
Four men, all
living in Valparaiso, comprise the total survivors in Porter county of the war
of the rebellion. All are members of Chaplain Brown Post, G. A. R. of this city.
They are: Jacob Mooker, Charles Doty, Valentine Kretle and Harvey Knickerbocker.
Johnny Anderson, who died this year at his home in Chesterton, was the last
member of the A. B. Wade Post, No. 208, at Chesterton, and Parmer Temple, who
died on May 29 at his home in Hebron was the last survivor of Walters Post, of
Hebron.
Chaplain Brown Post 106, of Valparaiso, was instituted on October 24, 1882, by
James R. Carnahan, department commander. Twenty-six veterans were on the charter
list, none of whom survived. They were E. M. Burns, T. B. Louderback, E. T.
Chester, Valentine Swartz, Stephen Selman, I. C. B. Suman, Joseph W. Zea, Thomas
S. Robinson, Ezra Ferguson, John G. Halladay, Fred Gesser, William Emery Brown,
James J. Ferris, Harmon Baylor, Russel D. Pelton, John H. Mills, J. F. McCarthy,
Frank P. Thompson, David Dickson, Aaron Parks, J. F. Carter, John W. Elam, John
Billodo, William C. Wells, Lorenzo D. Frantz, and Harrison M. Keyes.
The post was named in honor of Rev. James C. Brown, former pastor of the
Presbyterian church of this city. Rev. Mr. Brown was chaplain of the 48th
Indiana regiment, and died in the service of the union.
Quarters are maintained in Memorial opera house, built in 1892 and 1893 by
popular subscription and county donation as a memorial to the soldiers and
sailors of the Civil war. The building is controlled by the Porter county
commissioners, but is under the management of the Sons of Union Veterans,
auxiliary of the G. A. R.
Chaplain Brown Post was not the first soldier organization to spring from the
Civil war. On December 13, 1866, Post No. 1, of Porter county, was organized by
Henry Binnamon. It consisted of 33 charter members, of whom George S. Haste, who
died last fall was the last surviving member. The post disbanded after three
years, and no attempt was made to form another until Chaplain Brown Post was
organized in 1882.
Members of that post were Henry Binnamon, commander; L. B. Fifield, George S.
Haste, E. Peacock, William Jewell, A. T. Cross, William S. Odell, J. L. snyder,
F. M. Hamilton, W. S. Hornie, L. J. Needham, S. L. Bartholomew, Thomas Ward, W.
H. Moist, J. V. Bevinger, William Reece, G. Jones, S. Kitchell, Clinton Frazier,
Thomas McConnell, James Bell, Thomas Pratt, F. M. Salisbury, J. T. Heaton,
Gilbert A. Pierce, R. A. Cameron, J. F. McCarthy, H. M. Buel, R. B. Broackway,
C. C. S. Keetch, H. J. Upthegrove, J. B. Marshall and H. A. Brown. From the time
of its organization down to the present time the master roll shows names.
A. B. Wade Post No. 208 was organized at Chesterton on July 14, 1883. John T.
Taylor was the first commander; John C. Coulter, senior vice commander; Harrison
H. Williams, junior vice-commander; Charles Jackson, adjutant, and Martin Young,
quartermaster. The charter members, in addition to the above named officers
were: Frank Bergstrom, Robert Lansing, John Williams, John B. Fuller, H. Green,
Harvey Allen, Jacob Beck, Solomon Repfogle and Hiram Knapp. More than a hundred
members are buried in cemeteries about Chesterton. Of late years memorial
services have been conducted by World War veterans.
Walters Post, No. 229, located at Hebron, was organized on Sept. 1, 1883. The
charter members were: William H. Adams, Jacob Alyea, George C. Gregg, Jacob
Seigley, John C. McAlpin, William B. Doddridge, L. C. Pomeroy, James P. Downs,
M. J. Sweet, James E. Bryant, H. W. Shafer, John Morrow and Benjamin Shoup. In
1893 the post lost all its records and papers by fire, so that much pertaining
to its early history was destroyed. Two years after the fire the membership
reached eighty-six, but in 1912 it had dropped to nineteen. The last member,
Parmer Temple, died on May 29 last.
The Women's Relief Corps, an auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic, had
its inception at Portland, Maine, in 1869, when the wives of some of the members
of Bosworth Post of that city, organized a local society for relief work. Other
localities followed the example, and in 1879 representatives of these societies
in several states met at Fitchburg, Mass., and formed the national Women's
Relief Corps. In 1883, when the Grand Army held its national encampment at
Denver, Colorado, the officers of the organization recognized the women's
society as an auxiliary, and since that time nearly every Grand Army post has
had its Women's Relief Corps to work in conjunction with the old soldiers in
caring for the distressed and conducting memorial exercises.
The charter to Valparaiso Auxiliary No. 24, Women's Relief Corps, was granted on
Jan. 2, 1886, by Alice E. Griffin, department president. Charter members of the
auxiliary were: Mary R. Cross, Alma F. Dunlap, Victoria J. Wells, Lottie M.
Drapier, Mary J. McCarthy, Flora Crisman, Mary E. Buel, Delia E. Lytle,
Elizabeth Arnold, Hula E. Hunt, Freelove W. Elam, Philena Albery, Jane Parks,
Louise O. Binnamon, Emily A. Smith, Mary D. Foster, Elizabeth Keyes, Mary G.
Franklin, Sarah M. Porter, Marthia McNay, Amanda A. Brown and Emma Haste.
Present officers of the corps are: Mrs. Rose Hagen, president; Mrs. Jessie
Bradley, secior vice; Mrs. Amy Stappenbeck, junior vice; Mayme Louderback,
secretary; Mrs. Mattie Robinson, treasurer; Hilla Ballinger, Minnie Gunder,
Molly Lutz and Rebecca Mockler, guard; Mrs. Griffin, assistant guard; Mrs. Mary
Shenck, conductress; Mrs. Emma Lytle, assistant conductress; Miss Cora Duclos,
musician; Mrs. Anna Small, press correspondent.
The Woman's Relief Corps, No. 148, of the A. B. Wade Post, No. 208, of
Chesterton, was instituted on June 11, 1936, by Mrs. Ocie Tuney, of Bedford,
Ind., state department president, assisted by members of the Michigan City W. R.
C. Mrs. Mathilda Jensen is present of the organization. Other officers are: Mrs.
W. A. Riley, first vice-president; Miss Viola Riley, second vice-president; Mrs.
Ruth Fuller, secretary; Mrs. Margaret Smith, treasurer, and Mrs. Alice Wiseman,
chaplain.
Another auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic was the Sons of Veterans, an
organization of the sons of those who fought on the side of the North in the
Civil war. Its objects are to perpetuate the recollection of the gallant deeds
of their fathers, instill lessons of patriotism in the rising generation,
collect and preserve war relics and historical documents, and care for the needy
and distressed.
Porter Camp No. 116, of Valparaiso, was organized in the hall of Chaplain Brown
Post, Feb. 9, 1905, and was formally mustered in on March 14, with forty-five
charter members. Rodney J. Kitchen was the first commander; Robert B. Swing,
senior vice-commander; William W. Bozarth, junior vice-commander; Clinton Jones,
treasurer. Mark L. DeMotte was present and delivered an address. On August 1,
1905, R. J. Kitchen, of Valparaiso camp, was appointed judge advocate of the
Indiana division by Commander T. W. Blair, of Fort Wayne. The twentieth annual
state encampment was held in Valparaiso June 6 and 7, 1906, when the ceremonies
included a parade from the Lafayette hotel to Memorial hall, where an address
was made by Mayor W. P. Spooner, which was responded to by W. W. Hoffman. At
this encampment John H. Arnold was elected senior vice-commander for the state
organization, and John W. McNay was chosen as delegate to the national
encampment. Company B, First Indiana Sons of Veterans Reserves, was formed at
Valparaiso on May 13, 1908, with thirty-five members and the following officers:
Richard Smith, captain; Franklin T. Fletcher, first lieutenant; Julius E.
Bornholt, second lieutenant; Roy Chester, first sergeant; Everett Drapier,
second sergeant; John Jones, third sergeant. The company was mustered in by
Major R. F. D--omb, of South Bend, after which a banquet was served at Dudley's
café. For a time drills were held regularly. Then the novelty wore off, interest
decreased, and the company dropped out of existence without the formality of
disbanding.
Porter camp at the present time has 62 members, Leslie Hall is commander; Fred
Hall, senior vice-commander; Cassius E. Barrett, junior vice-commander; Julius
Bornholt, secretary, and A. W. McDaniel, treasurer. Mr. McDaniel is treasurer of
the state organization, and is now serving his fifth year. He also served as
department commander, being elected at the Marion, Ind., encampment in 1915. The
name of the organization was changed to Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil war
at the Des Moines, Iowa, encampment in September, 1926.
A charter list of Porter camp, Sons of Union Veterans at the time of the
institution in 1905, is as follows: Harry Albery, Theodore Thimings, Adelbert
Jones, William Bozarth, William Forney, William A. Moore, John H. Mooker, James
A. Jones, Charles F. Bornholt, M. E. O'Keefe, Carl Wood, Richard Smith, Charles
Crisman, Rodney J. Kitchen, Myron Brown, Matthew Brown, D. L. Matthews, L. T.
Campbell, A. W. McDaniel, J. E. Bornholt, Clayton Wood, Charles A. Pratt, Roy
Chester, John Jones, Charles Phares, Frank Carter, Harry E. Smith, C. J. Hand,
Warren G. Elam, J. F. Snyder, John Forney, John Fitzwilliams, Jr., John R. Hall,
Arthur A. Finney, William N. Muster, Clinton Jones, O. C. Ferrell, Everett
Drapier, Frank W. Jones, J. Herschell Arnold, George J. Cole, James A. Frayer,
Walter Anderson, Ira B. Tillotson, Earl J. Finney, John Keyes, Robert B. Ewing,
John H. Massey, Gifford Herring, Gust E. Bornholt, W. P. Shinabarger, Fred W.
Flint, Charles S. Hicks, Albert Anderson, A. J. Louderback, John M. Mavity, R.
W. Lytle, H. R. Bidwell, H. M. Miller, Glen Crisman, J. A. Wise, Paul Hayes, H.
L. Bornholt, Arthur A. Croke, Edward Miller, Alonzo Jones, Samuel Parks, George
Spaeth, James H. Pratt, L. E. Smith, Joseph Sego, C. M. Jones, William Flint and
John W. McNay.
Previous to the institution of the camp in 1905, a flourishing camp existed in
the late eighties. Harry Albery, Matthew Brown and Elden Small served as
captains of the camp. There was considerable enthusiasm among the members and
the attendance at meetings was large. A strong district organization comprising
camps of Porter, LaPorte, Marshall, Lake, Starke and St. Joseph counties, known
as the Northwest Indiana Association of the Sons of Veterans functioned at the
same time. In 1892, a meeting was held in Valparaiso. Presidents at various
times of the district organization were Horace R. Bidwell, Valparaiso; George
Newman, Hammond; James F. Gleason, Michigan City, and Elden Small, Valparaiso.
Interest in the Valparaiso camp dwindled and the camp was inactive for a number
of years until its reorganization in 1906.
Valparaiso Camp No. 53, Auxiliary to Porter Camp, No. 116, Sons of Union
Veterans, was instituted on November 24, 1905, with the following as charter
members: Frances Fitzwilliam, Emma Brown, Lottie Chester, Amy Forney, Edith
Baldwin, Della Stokes, Edna Forney, Minnie Sheets, Maggie Horner, Lydia Bornholt,
Isabelle Fitzwilliams, Nettie Pratt, Kacid Lawrence, Nettie Baldwin, Edith
Brown, Florence Myers, Georgie Fleming, Elizabeth LaForce, Sadie Bornholt, Mae
Corcoran, Annie Pratt, Clara Jones, Anna Bowman, Ida Cego, Frances Whitehead,
Rith Hippensteel, Ellen Meagher, Lida Fitzwilliam, Ida Jones, Lacelia Laduer,
Mrs. H. R. Bidwell, Lizzie Mae Richards, Dora Osborne, Mrs. A. M. Kitchen,
Bertha Drawans, Belle Chester, Ida Jones, Anna Brown, Jessie Ladauer, Iretta
Jones, Stella Sweet, Clara Sego, Mrs. Wheeler, Edith Sheets.
The present enrollment of the auxiliary is 69 members. Mrs. Rebecca Mockler is
president; Mrs. Harry Albery, vice-president; Mrs. Georgia Fox, past president;
Mrs. C. E. Barrett, secretary; Mrs. Alice James, treasurer; Mrs. S. C. Williams,
guide; Mrs. Edith Martin, assistant guide; Mrs. Dorothy Bruck, first color
bearer; Miss Jessie Ladauer, second color guard.
On Nov. 19, 1910, Shiloh Camp No. 54, Sons of Veterans, was organized at Hebron
with the following charter members: Charles F. Leeka, A. R. McAlpin, J. J.
Nichols, C. M. Fuller, James M. Wilson, John T. Sparking, J. M. Morrow, S. E.
McGinnis, G. E. Wood, C. J. Hobbs, James C. Williams, B. E. Thompson, John W.
Patterson, Ross Stewart, J. P. Wood, C. O. Shoupe, F. E. Nichols, R. M.
Hamilton, A. H. Gibbs, Vere Aylesworth, Bert Aylesworth, E. A. Edmonds, Lee
Morrow, James McKnight and George Davis. Because of dwindling in the membership
the post was disbanded and the remaining members are now affiliated with Porter
Camp No. 116, of Valparaiso.
Chesterton has no Sons of Union Veterans camp at the present time. At one time a
number of members of the organization lived there, but they belong now to other
camps.
Article transcribed by Steven R. Shook