Enos A. Edmonds, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Enos A. Edmonds
DR. ENOS A. EDMONDS. In the medical profession at Hebron and vicinity none stands higher in popular esteem than the well known homeopathic physician, Dr. Edmonds, who has been .identified with his profession here for a quarter of a century. For years he has been known for the conscientious performance of duty and a reliable skill in the afflictions and crises of human existence, and both as a doctor and a citizen has done his share of good works.
His career has been a record of overcoming obstacles which more than ordinarily beset the path of his progress. He was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, August 14, 1850, the son of Rev. Peter and Elizabeth (Middaugh) Edmonds, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. The Middaugh family were of German descent and noted for the honesty and industry which characterized the people of that race in the history of Pennsylvania. Rev. Peter Edmonds, the father, was in many ways a remarkable man. As a minister of the Methodist church he did his Christian work with a rarely conscientious zeal, but owing to his aversion to accepting a salary was never able to take a regular charge, serving the church and its people wherever opportunity offered. His family consisted of Robert, Lycurgus, Mycromegas, Eugenie, Emory and Enos, the first four dying in infancy. Emory is now a railroad man in Montana. With the outbreak of the Civil war Rev. Peter Edmonds enlisted on the 14th of August, 1862, the twelfth birthday of his son, Enos. He went out with Company G of the Eighty-first Ohio Infantry, was in many campaigns and saw much arduous service. He was in Sherman's army in the siege of Atlanta and then in the march to the sea, and in February, 1865, a few weeks before the closing scenes of the great war, his death occurred at Newburg, North Carolina.
His widow with her two young sons were thus left alone to contend with the world. The boys received their education in an old log schoolhouse that existed near the home, and during the war, after the father had gone to the front, the mother took her children to her parents in Lake county, Indiana, where she remained four years, then returning to Ohio, where the boys obtained such work as they could find to help along in the support of the home.
In 1871 Enos A. Edmonds married Miss Margaret Anderson, who was born and reared in Ohio, and together they began wedded life in that state. The one child born of their union was Herschel, who was educated partly in Ohio and partly in Indiana. Dr. Edmonds brought his family to Porter county in 1879, and soon afterward proceeded with his active preparation for the medical profession. In 1886 he was graduated from the Chicago Homeopathy Medical College, and now for many years has been engaged in practice at Hebron.
Though these latter years have been filled with quietly successful accomplishment, the first half of his career was a long series of progressive steps along a difficult path. As a lad he had been taught by his father two precepts which he has applied many hundreds of times and which more than any other rules have helped him in his career. These precepts were: Never to say "I can't," and, never to condemn a thing without thoroughly investigating.
In January, 1895, Dr. Edmonds' first wife was stricken with tuberculosis, closing their happy married life of nearly twenty-five years. He was later married to Josephine Nethery, and they have one little daughter, Isel. Mrs. Edmonds is a member of the Presbyterian church of Hebron, and is also connected with the Order of the Eastern Star. Dr. Edmonds has long exerted a wholesome influence in community affairs. Politically his principles have always been those of an anti-saloon Republican. He is one of the prominent Masons in this part of the county, having his lodge membership with Hebron Lodge, No. 502, and the chapter of the Eastern Star at the same place. He is also a Knight Templar, his affiliation being with the Valparaiso Commandery, No. 28, and his Royal Arch association is with the Valparaiso Chapter, No. 29.
When a boy in his 'teens Dr. Edmonds was deprived of the companionship of his father, and had to begin earning his own way. His capital was brains and energy rather than money, and with a log-cabin school training he worked for every advantage he gained in life. His achievements have been of the quiet, substantial order, and his influence and esteem in the community have been well deserved.
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: 694-696
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