Joseph Durand, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Joseph Durand
JOSEPH DURAND, French Canadian, was born near Montreal, Canada, July 20, 1846. In February, 1861, he moved to Pine Township, Porter Co., Ind., from Kankakee County, whither he had gone in 1851, working on a farm and studying under the instruction of Charles Cinequi, the priest who converted so many Catholics to Protestantism. His father, Gilbert Durand, was also born near Montreal, in 1817. In 1851, he went to California and mined gold for two years; he is still living. Joseph's parents were married July 29, 1847. On February 29, 1868, Joseph Durand was married to Mary Tatro, a native of New York, who came west in 1852. Mr. Durand made his home in Porter County in 1871, making brick in summer and chopping wood in winter; he had so great a capacity for hard work that he was called "the little iron man." In 1871, he made bricks on three-fourths of an acre, and in 1880 bought a yard - thirteen and a half acres - for which he was to pay $2,500. In 1881, the New York Central & St. Louis Railroad cut through his land for which he received $3, 750; he then established another yard, and now has the largest in Valparaiso, employing twenty five hands and five teams, and turning out 30,000 bricks daily. He values his entire property at $5,000. In 1882, he made his brother, Nelson Durand, a partner. He has been wonderfully successful, though he was some time ago ridiculed for his supposed rashness and folly. He is a Republican, and also a member of the Presbyterian Church.
Source: Goodspeed, Weston A., and Charles Blanchard. 1882. Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana: Historical and Biographical, Illustrated. Chicago, Illinois: F. A. Battey & Company. 771 p.
Page(s) in Source: 282
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