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Abel, Lem. F.

    LEM. F. ABELL, M.D., druggist, is a native of Seneca County, N. Y.  Until sixteen years of age he was an assistant upon his father's farm.  He received fine educational advantages, taking a preparatory course at Waterloo, and a graduating course at Hamilton, N. Y., graduating in 1849.  He then went South, and for one year was engaged in the duties of teacher.  Returning to New York he commenced the study of medicine at Port Byron, Cauyga Co., where his studies were protracted for three years, attending two courses of lecturs at Geneva and one course at Jefferson Medical College, where he graduated in 1853.  He practiced for nearly one year around his home, and then went to Michigan, and practiced there about two years.  In 1858, he came to Kenfallville and commenced in the drug trade, which business, with the duties of his medical practice, has engaged his attention up to the present time.  His store is large, attractive, and well stocked with drugs, medicines, glass-ware, wall-paper and druggists' sundries.  In 1873, he was married to Miss Lona E. Bolton, of Allen County.  They have one child -- Charles H.

Goodspeed, Weston A, Richard Collins, Thomas R. Marshall, W. L. Matthews; Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana: historical and biographical; Chicago, F. A. Battey & Co., 1882, p. 297.

Aichele, C. G.

    C. G. AICHELE, City Treasurer, is a native of Germany.  He came to America in 1853, and settled in New York, where he remained for eight months, going from there to South Carolina, where he remained until 1859, when he went to Alabama, and thence to Georgia, locating at ROme.  His occupation was in following his trade of gunsmith, at which he was engaged in Rome until he was forced to leave or join the rebel army.  Removing to Adairsville, Ga., he remained until May, 1864, when he was ble to join the Northern troops, and came North.  He was under strict surveillance during his entire residence in the South, and only escaped being conscripted into the rebel arm by the most strenuous endeavors.  Upon reaching Cincinnati, he worked there for a short time, removing to Hamilton, and was an employe of Gwinn & Campbell, in their gun works, for eight months, and then to Indianapolis, where for about one year he was employed at his trade and as a machinist.  In 1866, he came to Kendallville, where he started a gun-shop, which he operated until 1873.  In 1871, he became the representative of several leading fire insurance ompanies, to which he was devoted a larte share of his attention since.  He now represents the Phoenix, of Harford and of Brooklyn,Continental, German Assurance, Germania and Niagara, of New York, the Liverpool, London and Globe, and the North British and Mercantile Insurance Company.  He is also gent for the Inman, Cunard, North German Lloyd, America and Red Star line of ocean steamships. Mr. Aichele was elected City Treasurer of Kendallville in May, 1873, which office he still holds.  He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and K. of H., the last order of which he is Treasurer.  In 1856, in South Carolina, he was married to Miss Mary Schmeyhal.  They have seven children -- Mary, Augusta, Juli, Emil, Minnie, Annie and Albert.  

Goodspeed, Weston A, Richard Collins, Thomas R. Marshall, W. L. Matthews; Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana: historical and biographical; Chicago, F. A. Battey & Co., 1882, p. 297-298.

Alexander, G. P.

G. P. ALEXANDER, of W. W. Glosser & Co., is one of the young and progressive business men of Kendallville.  He is a native of Pennsylvania; came with his mother to Noble County, in 1855.  He was engaged at the trade of brick-laying and plastering, until 1864, when he became First Lieutenant of Company F, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was in service until February, 1865.  Returning to Kendallville, he recruited up Company C, One Hundred and Fifty-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, of which he was Captain; they remained in service until September, 1865.  Upon returning to Kendallville he resumed his trade, and was engaged in that occupation and contracting until 1877, when he received a commission in the railway mail service, with a route from Cleveland to Chicago, which responsible and arduous position he retained until September, 1881, when he entered mercantile life in Kendallville, as a member of the firm of W. W. Glosser & Co., grocers, to which business his attention is now given.  He was united in marriage with Miss Olivia Demmon, of Kendallville, in June, 1868.

Goodspeed, Weston A, Richard Collins, Thomas R. Marshall, W. L. Matthews; Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana: historical and biographical; Chicago, F. A. Battey & Co., 1882, p. 298.

Alvord, Samuel E.

    "No life, however humble and insignificant, if characterized by some degree of activity and industry, can fail to be instructive and useful in memory.  If any merits are revealed, it is so far good for example; if faults are conspicuous and errors numerous, it is useful as a warning.  Lastly, as individual lives are the bases of history, the primal springs of destiny, their true delineation is a debt, due at least to lineal posterity, if not to the community and to the world."

    Such is the beautiful and appropriate language which introduces the opening paragraph of an unfinished autobiography of one of Noble county's most eminent citizens, the scholarly and erudite gentleman whose name appears at the head of this review -- a man whom his fellow citizens repeatedly honored with important official station and whose fame as a journalist and in the higher realms of literature, long since won for him a conspicuous place among Indiana's distinguished judgment leads captive, we may at least claim that the scant eulogy herewith presented has worthy precedent, for such in all ages has been the homage which common mortals have been wont to lay at the feet of genius.  but in compiling this brief biography, the writer labors under peculiar disadvantages.  The material necessary s the life-sketch of a man, eminent, not only in the world of literature but whose distinguished services in one of the most exacting professions--the law--won for him much more than a local reputation, is scattered through the volumes of many years, and to collect it in compact form, now that the subject is no more, is a task beset with difficulties numerous and formidable.  Had Mr. Alvord lived to complete the beautiful autobiography, which he began some years ago at the earnest solicitation of his children, the literature of the state would have been enriched by a life-story of surprising interest, and from it the biographer of the future would have sound abundant material to speak of its author as one of the noted men of his day and generation.  Unfortunately for his friends and for the community, this labor of love was deferred from time to time for reasons which are best explained in the following words from his pen:  "I have deferred the performance of this duty until nearly three years beyond the allotted 'three score and ten,' to a time when the usual ambitions of earthly life have ceased and motives of personal aspiration in human affairs cannot justly be suspected; but truth compels me to disclaim this as the only reason for the delay.  I must confess that less honorable considerations have caused it; doubt as to the propriety of thrusting myself and my experience upon the notice of others; dread of criticism and gossip; fear of misapprehension; especially, fear that the performance might stamp me as one of the class for whose weakness I have always felt the utmost degree of pity--the representative of vanity and egotism--and, more than all, "the putting off until to-morrow the legitimate work of to-day.'"  Thus modestly are set forth the primal reasons deferring a work which, had it been finished, would have been cherished as a priceless heirloom by his immediate family and friends, besides being, as already stated, a literary gem, which in interest and excellence would have won a place with the best literary productions of the times. 

    Samuel E. Alvord was born in the township of Wells, in Bradford county, Pa., on the 14th day of November, 1824, at the house of his maternal grandparents, Samuel and Sarah (Seely) Edsall.  The grandfather was a native of Orange county, N. Y., his ancestors being of the Hollanders of Manhattan.  The grandmother's ancestors were Connecticut people of English extraction, as some of their descendants claim, while others profess to know that her ancestry is Scotch-Irish.  The subject's grandparents of the paternal line, Nathaniel Alvord, Sr., and Rebecca Deming, were both natives of Connecticut, of Scotch-Irish and English ancestry, respectively.  The migration of the Alvords, who were lineal ancestors, occurred about the year 1687.  They were maong those who fled from the terrible scenes of the great Rapparee insurrection in behalf of King James and the Romish church, and took refuge in England under the protectorates of William and Mary.  Two brothers of the name afterwards came to America and landed in Massachusetts, about the year 1700.  The families founded by these brothers were located at Greenfield, in the western part of the above state, and in Fairfield county, Conn.  Nathan Alvord, the subject's grandfather, at an early period lived for several years in Vermont, at Bradford, where his son, Nathan, Jr., father of Samuel E., was born.  The family subsequently moved to northern Pennsylvania and located in the region known as "The Firelands," a large tract granted by congress to the sate of Connecticut in consideration of the losses suffered at the hands of the British under the notorious General Tryon, who destroyed by fire many of the Connecticut towns and villages near the close of the Revolutionary war, among which, in 1779, was burned the town of Fairfield and much of the land bordering Long Island Sound laid waste.  The portion of "Firelands" on which the Alvord family permanently settled in Pennsylvania was named Bradford county in honor of Governor Bradford of Massachusetts.  The family located in Troy township, twenty-five miles south of Elmira, N. Y.  About five miles north, over a range of hills, dwelt the Edsall family in Wells township.  Here Nathan Alvord, Jr., became acquainted with Hila Edsall, a pupil of his, an acquaintance which soon ripened into love, which terminated, November 16, 1823, in marriage.  On the 14th of the following November, as already stated, Samuel E. Alvord, the oldest child of this worthy couple, first saw the light of day in the Edsall home.  Of his childhood home and surroundings we will let Mr. Alvord describe in his own inimitable style:

    "My first recollections are of this old home.  My parents had settled three miles west, and my father was studying medicine with a Dr. Wood, of Pumpkin Hill, so named from the immense crops of pumpkins that grew on the first lands cleared there--Dr. Wood's being the principal farm on the hill.  It was table land, of good soilon,  the crest of a ridge four hundred feet above te valley in which grandfather Edsall's house stood.  Along the ridge, running eastward, was a way--partly foot path, leading through dense woods of hemlock, beech and maple, for three miles, from Pumpkin Hillto intersection with the Elmira road, half a mile northand,  three hundred feet above the Edsall home.  One day in the Indian summer, when I was four years of age,  my mother sent me with a girl of sixteen, who was living with us, on a visit to grandmother's.  i walked nearly all the way, stopping often to rest; the young woman carried me over the rough places.  Once as we sat on a log by the wayside there was a sudden rustling in the brushes, and a fine large deer emerged and bounded over the path.  It was the first deer I ever saw.  Shortly after that the light of an opening appeared; we walked out upon the Elmira road; and lo! there, away below, was a pretty valley, of pastures and meadows.  A bright little brook shone in the midst, and near it on a steep bluff was grandfather Edsall's house, wagon-house, granary and stable, and a few rods away a large hay-barn.  In that house, I was told, four years before, I was born.  The house was built against a steep hillside facing southward.  The first story was of stone--really, a basement built into the hill, twenty feet, and projecting sixteen feet, with a framed porch in front.  This basement story was divided into kitchen, pantry, bedroom, and cellar, which was entered direct from the kitchen.  A winding stairway from the kitchen led up ten feet to a hall on the first floor of the main part where were sitting room, parlor and bedrooms of commodious size, the whole well supplied with the usual furniture and utensils used by the better class of that day--the building and premises breathing an atmosphere of industry and thrift which betokened a household in which a spirit of happiness and content reigned supreme."

    Nathan Alvord, subject's father, became a successful physician and prosecuted his profession in Bradford county for a number of years, building up a large and lucrative practice and earning the reputation of one of the most eminent medical men in his part of the state.  The mother was a woman of sterling character and left the impress of her strong personality upon the mind of her son, who in after years never tired of lauding her virtues, and always admitted that whatever success he attained was largely due to her gentle influence and wholesome instruction.  To the early years under the tutelage of parents whose ambition was to engraft upon the minds of their children such principles as would insure lives of honor and usefulness, Samuel E. Alvord, like thousands of others, was indebted for that integrity of character and honorable ambition that pre-eminently distinguished him as a citizen in the various capacities to which he was afterwards called.  The world is full of such examples and the student of biography will have no difficulty in recalling instances in which country life in youth left its indelible impress upon the most exalted characters in history.  In these early years, when the mind is taking its bend, when youthful ambitions are shaping themselves for manhood's achievements, no influences have ever been found more potential for good than those which the country and farm have afforded.  The frugalities of the home, the chaste purity of his teachings, the broad fields, the orchards, and meadow, hill, woodland and dell, the song of the birds, the hum of the bees, the laughing brook, the silver river--all the wealth of beauty that nature spreads out with lavish hand--are the teachers of youth whose lessons are never forgotten.  It was amid such scenes and surroundings that the early years of Samuel E. Alvord were spent, and to the end of his days he continued a lover of nature and a student of its mysteries.

    After obtaining a knowledge of the rudimentary branches, young Samuel was sent to an academy in Pennsylvania, where he pursued the higher studies, completing the prescribed course and graduating with an honorable record, before attaining his majority.  Remaining in his native county until twenty-two years of age, he went to Troy, Pa., where, from 1847 till 1849, he studied law under the direction of competent instructors, making commendable progress and early displaying eh strong mental powers and critical analysis by which his subsequent distinguished professional career was characterized.  While a student he gave evidence of rare ability as a writer, and as early as 1847 began contributing to the local press of Coudersport, Pa., where the versatility and power of his editorials soon brought him to the favorable notice of the reading public.  After his admission to the bar, he spent some time looking for a favorable location to practice his profession, and hearing good reports from northern Indiana which he was led to believe afforded better opportunities for a young man than were to be found in his native state, he concluded to seek his fortune in the new and rapidly growing country.  Accordingly, in 1849, he came to Noble county, and the latter part of that year and a month or two of the following taught school in Rome City.  In the spring of 1850 he located at Albion and commenced the publication of a newspaper, called The Albion Observer, which was regularly issued with varying success until 1853, when Mr. Alvord discontinued the publication for the purpose of engaging in the law. From the latter year until 1855 he practiced at the Albion bar, earning the reputation of an able and judicious attorney, and winning for himself a commendable standing among the successful professional men of Noble county.  Meantime, January 26, 1853, he again embarked in journalism as editor and proprietor of the Albion Expositor, a sprightly local sheet, which he published for a limited period, in connection with his legal business, but the enterprise proved of short duration, being discontinued some time during the year in which the first number made its appearance.

    In 1855 Mr. Alvord was elected clerk of the Noble county circuit court, and served in that capacity four years, during which time he was connected for two years with The Noble County Democrat, the recognized official organ of the local Democracy.  He continued as managing editor of the Democrat until January, 1850, making it one of the strongest and best-edited county papers in the northern part of the state, and through its columns many of his best and most noted literary productions were first given to the world.  At the expiration of his official term he resumed the practice of law, continuing the same successfully until 1872, when his predilection for journalism led him to establish The New Era, which he published until January 1, 1876, when the plant was sold to Messrs. Prickett & Starr. 

    For a short time after retiring from the newspaper business, Mr. Alvord was engaged in the practice of his profession, but in the fall of 1876, at the earnest solicitation of his many friends throughout Noble county, again became the Democratic candidate for the clerkship, being triumphantly elected to the office in November of that year and chosen his own success for four years later.  As a public official every duty coming within his sphere was discharged in a manner eminently satisfactory to the people of the county and he left the office about one year before the expiration of his second term, with an honorable record, resigning for the purpose of turning his attention to other affairs.  Shortly after leaving the office, he removed his family to the state of New York, where he lived for a few years, subsequently returning to Albion and purchasing of James J. Lesh, in 1886, the Albion Democrat, which, under his management, continued to make its periodical visits until 1893, in January of which year he disposed of the paper to H. C. Pressler.  This was Mr. Alvord's last experience in journalism, and from the time he sold the plant until 1896 he was actively engaged in the practice of law in Noble and neighboring counties, building up a lucrative business which he looked after with the ability which characterized his early professional career.  In 1896 he was elected prosecuting attorney of the Thirty-third judicial circuit, and after serving with credit to himself and satisfaction to all concerned for one term yelded to a desire of long standing by returning to private life with the object in view of devoting the remainder of his days to literary pursuits.

    Mr. Alvord's marriage with Miss Julia Sweet was solemnized in November, 1851, and four children blessed the union--Lillie, Edward, Nathan and Edith.  Of these, Edward lives in the city of Spokane, Wash., Nathan is a resident of Beaver, Pa., Lillie is the wife of Edwin Engle, and Edith, the youngest, is unmarried.

    Mrs. Julia (Sweet) Alvord was called from earth, and in December, 1881, Mr. Alvord selected for his life companion Miss Amanda T. Bidwell, who bore him three sons, namely:  Lee, who died in September, 1900; Hugh and Guy.  The widow and her children reside in Albion, and upon them the public look with that profound respect which is due to the family of so illustrious a husband and father as was S. E. Alvord.

    Mr. Alvord has written much and well, and, but for his modesty, would long ago have been one of the shining literary lights of Indiana.  He spent much time and pains in gathering facts and data for a history of Noble county, and his valuable research in this time of work will be greatly appreciated by his fellow citizens, as the production is by far the most reliable and best written of any that has heretofore been published.  It will be found entier in this volume, wherein, in imperishable form, it will be perused with increasing interest as the years come and go and remain a monument to his genius.

    Mr. Alvord led an active and industrious life, and from his early youth every hour was diligently employed.  He laid broad and deep a foundation of usefulness, and his fidelity to every trust--and of trusts there were many--brought its certain and substantial rewards:  friends, remunerative employment, responsible official station, literary fame, and success.  In such lives as his there are no startling incidents and no eccentricities of character.  In his walk and conversation, in his ambitions and aspirations, he sought the table land of life, where, if there are no dizzy elevations of thought and imagination, there are, as a compensation, no depressions of infidelity and deceit.  He lived in an atmosphere free from the malaria which breeds intellectual distempers, and, pursuing the even course of his way, was to the community what the fixed stars are to the navigators.  To such men as Samuel E. Alvord society is largely indebted, not only for progress in material things but for those ideas of order and security which form its chief guarantee of prosperity and progress.  Taking an active part in public and political affairs, he was a recognized leader in shaping policies; deeply interested in the success of government, municipal, state and federal, he sought by the most patriotic motives the enactment of laws conducive to the general welfare.  Mr. Alvord was a Democrat, active in behalf of his party's interests, but no more of a partisan than that broad view of Democracy which embodies man's faith in the capacity for self-government. 

    In this connection we can give but a brief glance at Mr. Alvord's ability as a writer and the success to which he attained in his favorite domain of literature.  In the language of another, "His literary productions re characterized by great beauty of expression, broad and thoughtful analysis of human motives and a sternly realistic view of life that penetrates all shams and pours the focal light of hard common sense upon all problems involved in darkness."

    To whatever subject his attention was called, though it might have been one strange to his thoughts, he was enabled, upon the slightest meditation, to impart an interest and a glow truly surprising.  During the period of his connection with the press of northern Indiana, it was universally conceded that he contributed much to the extension of its usefulness, did more perhaps than any of his compeers to elevate its moral tone, and he made his influence a potent factor for substantial good as long as he occupied the editorial chair.  As a political writer, it is no high sounding eulogy to say that he had few equals and no superiors in the state, and it can be truly said that the leaders which he contributed had a depth of thought and a dash and brilliancy of tone not excelled in the great metropolitan journals.  His style, always clear and trenchant, was variable, partaking largely of the nature of the subject under consideration; some of his editorials were characterized by a combative energy, a sarcasm withering in its intensity, while through all ran a vein of originality which stamped them as the work of a deep thinker and a sound, logical reasoner.  He never failed to impress his readers with the sincerity of his convictions, and in discussion was indeed a formidable antagonist, yet ever observant of the amenities of journalism, and never stopping to vituperation or abuse.  Aside from his work as a journalist he was a graceful and polished writer on many subjects, some of his literary productions, bearing the stamp of a high order genius, while all that ever came from his pen is worthy of being put in imperishable form for future generations to read.  He brought to his aid a mind thoroughly disciplined, and with a quick wit, ready fancy and vivid imagination could clothe his ideas in most beautiful and appropriate words, which rarely failed to please the most critical and exacting.

    In every walk of life Mr. Alvord was easily the peer of any of his fellows, in all that constituted true and virile manhood, and during his long period of residence in Noble county his name was synonymous with all that was moral and upright in citizenship.  Had he seen fit to have devoted his attention exclusively to the legal profession he doubtless would have become one of the most eminent jurists of the state, and had it been his good fortune to give his splendid abilities entirely to authorship, the world would have been brighter and richer by the productions of his pen.  As it was, he adorned every station to which he was called, and for years to come his name and fame will be cherished by a people who looked upon him as a lawyer without pretense, an official whom no bribes could corrupt, a writer with few peers, and a man who, seeing and understanding his duty, strove  by all means within his power to do the same as he would answer to his conscience and to his God.  He died at his home in Albion, August 8, 1901, ripe in years and rich in honors, and was followed by a large concourse of his fellow citizens to beautiful sweet Hope cemetery, amid the silent shades of which his body, "life's fitful fever over, rests well."

Alford's History of Noble County, Indiana, by Samuel E. Alvord, (c) 1902, pp. 145-151.

Ayers, I. R.

    I. R. AYERS is the proprieter of one of the leading industries of Kendallville.  Mr. Ayers is a native of Huron County, Ohio, and son of Enoch Ayers, who came to Steuben County, Ind., about 1836, one of the pioneers and early settlers of that locality.  His father was a farmer, and also operated a saw-mill, and upon the farm and engaged in the saw-mill our subject passed his youthful days until the age of fifteen, when he went to Albion to learn the trade of carriage-making with Mr. Hoffman, with whom he remained about three years.  In1860, he came to Kendallville, and until 1864 was employed at his trade.  He then enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was in service about five months.  Returning home, he soon after became a member of the One Hundred and Fifty-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and remained until theclose of the war.  Upon his return, he resumed his trade, atwhih he was engaged until 1837, when he started in business for himself, and has established a successful trade.  He now constructs only first-class work in carriages and buggies; also does general repairing.  Mr. Ayers employs from six to eight workmen at present, and is textending his business each year.  He is a member of the Masonic order.  In 1861, he was married to Miss Ellen Eley, of Jefferson Township.  They have two children -- Glenna and Maud.

Goodspeed, Weston A, Richard Collins, Thomas R. Marshall, W. L. Matthews; Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana: historical and biographical; Chicago, F. A. Battey & Co., 1882, p. 298.