Martin Eugene Bogarte, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Martin Eugene Bogarte
MARTIN EUGENE BOGARTE. In every community there are a few men who, by their activity and manifestation of public spirit, stand out as landmarks. It frequently happens that men of this character accumulate a goodly share of this world's goods, without making any apparent effort at personal aggrandizement, their good fortune coming to them as an incidental reward of their labors for the general betterment of the moral and material environments of their fellow-men. When such a man is suddenly cut down by the scythe of time, the people among whom he has lived and labored instinctively feel a shock, knowing that his place in their midst cannot easily be filled by another. Such a shock came to the people of Valparaiso on Saturday morning, November 22, 1911, when they learned of the sudden death from heart failure of Professor Martin E. Bogarte the evening before.
Martin E. Bogarte was born on a farm near the town of Republic, Seneca county, Ohio, May 3, 1855. On the paternal side he was of French ancestry. His father, Martin V. Bogarte, a son of Martin Bogarte, was born at Lithopolis, Franklin county, Ohio. Upon arriving at man's estate he was engaged to some extent in agricultural pursuits, and also conducted a good business as a general merchant. Professor Bogarte's mother was Nancy, daughter of Archibald Stewart, and was a native of Pennsylvania. Three sons born to the marriage of Martin V. Bogarte and Nancy Stewart grew to maturity, and of these Professor Martin E. Bogarte, the immediate subject of this review, was the second in order of birth. As a boy he showed a fondness for learning, and after attending the common schools spent some time as a student in a normal school at Republic. At the age of nineteen years he became associated with Professor H. B. Brown and came to Valparaiso to assist in the organization and management of the institution which is now known far and wide as the Valparaiso University. Although still in his minority, he was well qualified to teach penmanship, elocution and some classes in mathematics, which subjects he taught for several years. As the school at Valparaiso grew in importance he felt the need of better qualifications and obtained a leave of absence for one year to attend the Boston School of Technology and the Boston School of Elocution and Oratory, both located at Boston, Massachusetts. After a year in these two celebrated institutions he returned to his work at Valparaiso, and there became one of the most eminent members of the faculty, holding at the time of his death the chair of higher mathematics. In 1900 in company with a party of friends, Professor Bogarte went abroad, traveling through several of the European countries, Egypt and the Holy Land, enriching his mind by observation, and upon his return gave a number of interesting talks and lectures concerning what he saw.
On Friday, November 21st, the day of his death, he conducted chapel exercises at the University in the morning, attended his classes as usual, and in the evening was present at a reception given him by the young people of his Sunday school class at the Christian church. His health had not been of the best for some time and he sometimes had complained of the weak action of his heart, but his most intimate relatives and friends did not suspect that the end was so near. Upon his return from the reception at the church he sat up rather late, visiting with an uncle and aunt, Dr. and Mrs. R. M. Stewart, who had just that day arrived from the east. Shortly before eleven o'clock he was taken suddenly faint and expired in a few minutes. The funeral was conducted at the Christian church on Monday, the 24th, the pastor, Rev. Claude E. Hill, taking for his text the thirty-eighth verse of the third chapter of II Samuel: "And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and great man fallen this day in Israel?" From half-past eight in the morning to two o'clock in the afternoon all work was suspended at the University and chapel exercises were there conducted in his memory. His favorite songs, "On the Lake" and "Auld Lang Syne," were played by Mrs. Schuldt, prayer was offered by Professor Kinsey, and a touching talk was made by President Brown.
While Professor Bogarte was best known as an educator, he was interested in various business enterprises. Several years prior to his death he purchased what was known as the College Book Store, which he enlarged and improved and conducted under the name of the M. E. Bogarte Book Company. He was president of the Gary Trust and Savings Bank, of Gary, and was a stockholder in the Valparaiso National Bank. For several years he was a member of the Valparaiso city council, where his voice and vote were always on the side of good government, municipal improvement and civic progress. Fraternally he was a Mason, affiliating with the Knights Templars and the Mystic Shrine, and his church affiliations were with the Christian denomination. He was an earnest church worker and for years conducted a class for young people.
Professor Bogarte was twice married. In 1879, while a student at Boston, Massachusetts, he was united in marriage with Miss Lillian A. Chamberlain, an accomplished young lady of Republic, Ohio, who at the time of her marriage was a teacher of music in the school at Valparaiso. To this union were born three children -- Bruce, Robert and Lillian. Bruce has followed in his father's footsteps, and at the time of the latter's death held the position of assistant professor of higher mathematics in Valparaiso University. Mrs. Lillian A. Bogarte passed to the life beyond in 1904, and in 1909 Professor Bogarte married Mrs. Lida Axe Homfeld, who survives him.
The following tribute to his character appeared in the Valparaiso Messenger the day after his death: "His charities and kindness were unobtrusive to many, even to those who knew him well. He gave freely and liberally to all that seemed to him deserving. He lived a quiet, unostentatious life in his comfortable home. His greatest happiness was in that home and surrounded by his family. He was an indulgent father and a devoted husband. His friends felt that they could safely trust in him, and his neighbors found him ready to co-operate with them in whatever was needed to make better their vicinity. The town had no more loyal citizen."
Source: Lewis Publishing Company. 1912. History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. 881 p.
Page(s) in Source: 761-763
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook