USA > Indiana > Clay County > A History of Clay County Indiana (Volume 2) > Part 70
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76
Mr. Stoneburner married, on the 15th of October, 1890, Sarah J. Holland, who was born in Staunton, Indiana, a daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Gomery) Holland, who died during the infancy of their daughter Sarah, and she was reared in the home of her uncle, John Reece, of Riley. The only child of this union is J. Curt, who was born January 3, 1893. Mr. Stoneburner gives his political allegiance to the Republican party. and in his fraternal relations is a member of the Knights of Pythias order, Saline City Lodge No. 220, and of the Independent Order of ()dd Fellows, Clear Creek Lodge of Cory. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has served his church as a trustee for a number of years.
GEORGE W. WOLFE .- Numbered among the practical and successful agriculturists of Harrison township is George W. Wolfe, who is thor- oughly acquainted with the various branches of his independent calling and pursues it with profit as well as pleasure. A son of Eugene Wolfe,
Digitized by Google
490
HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY
he was born August 31, 1853. in Dover. Dutchess county, New York. but spent a large part of his early life in Connecticut. His grandfather, Thomas Wolfe, was born in Orange county, New York, where, it is supposed, his father, Henry Wolfe, was born, and where he spent the larger part of his life, being engaged in shoemaking, although his closing years were spent with his children in Dutchess county, New York.
Thomas Wolfe was a man of enterprise and energy, and while employed as a farmer and teamster in New York, first in Orange county and afterwards in Dutchess county, he accumulated some money. Moving then from Dover to Salisbury, Litchfield county, Connecticut, he bought land and was there engaged in tilling the soil until his death.
Selecting farming as his life occupation, Eugene Wolfe, succeeded his father in the ownership of the homestead at Salisbury, Connecticut, and resided in that place until 1874. Allured then by the sale of cheaper lands in the west, he sold the New England farm and came with his family to Clay county, Indiana. Locating in Dick Johnson township, he there spent the remainder of his life. being engaged in farming on rented land. He was twice married. He married first Sarah Ward, who was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, a daughter of Spencer and Huldah Ward. She died in 1870, and he married second Phoebe Prindle. His children, all by his first marriage, were as follows: Charles, George W., Mary, Eugene, Edward, Ward and Edwin.
Brought up on the home farm, George W. Wolfe attended the dis- trict schools as a boy and youth, there acquiring ample education to fit him for a worthy position in the ranks of the world's workers, among whom he began to do his part as soon as able. Coming from Connecti- cut to Clay county in 1877. he found employment in farming, an occu- pation which he has since followed.
On August 7, 1882, Mr. Wolfe married Eliza E. Cooprider, who was born in a log house on the old Cooprider homestead November 5. 1857, a daughter of Henry and Melinda (Lankford) Cooprider, and granddaughter of John Cooprider, a prominent pioneer settler of Clay county. Further ancestral and parental history appears on another page of this work in connection with the sketch of Mrs. Wolfe's brother, Eli Cooprider. Since their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe have occupied the homestead on which her birth occurred. it being pleasantly located in close proximity to Clay City. Here Mr. Wolfe. is carrying on general farming and stock-raising with most satisfactory pecuniary results, meet- ing with signal success in his operations. Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe have one son, Henry E. Wolfe. Their only daughter, Edna, died at the age of eleven months. Mrs. Wolfe is a consistent Christian woman, and a valued member of the Good Hope Baptist church.
FREDRICK HOFFMANN .- A man of industry, enterprise and thrift. Fredrick Hoffmann, of Perry township, is closely associated with the agricultural interests of this part of Clay county, being profitably engaged in general farming on the homestead of his father, Mathias Hoffmann, managing the estate with ability and success. He was born on this homestead September 19. 1868, and has here spent a large portion of his life.
Mathias Hoffmann was born February 24. 1832, in Bavaria, and was there brought up on a farm. In 1853, just after his marriage, he
Digitized by Google
49I
HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY
came with his bride to the United States, being sixty-five days in sailing across the Atlantic. Landing in Baltimore, he did not tarry long in that city, but came directly to Clay county, where he had relatives. This part of the state was then mostly a wilderness, belonging to the govern- ment. He was without other resources than his natural endowments of courage, perseverance and energy. and with these no man need fail in life. With money lent him by one of his friends he bought sixty acres of timbered land, erected a log cabin, and with his young bride began housekeeping. Laboring with a hearty good will, he improved the farm on which he resided until 1865. Selling then at quite an advance on the original cost, he bought one hundred and twenty acres of land in Perry township, part of it being prairie land, and the remainder covered with timber. He erected at first a set of log buildings, but these gave way in a few years to a substantial group of frame buildings. He cleared a large part of the land, as a general farmer meeting with well deserved success, and subsequently added to his landed possessions by buying a farm in section two of Perry township.
In 1853. in Bavaria, Mr. Mathias Hoffmann married Margaret Bar- bara Housley, of Bavaria. She cheerfully performed her part in the pioneer labor of building up a home in the wilderness, looking faithfully after the interests of her family until her death in 1892. She bore her husband nine children, namely: Eva Barbara, born February 24. 1854. married George C. Miller, of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this volume, and at her death left two children, Maggie and Michael ; Michael. born March 28, 1856, died July 28, 1878; Katie, born April 2, 1858, died January 13, 1876; John, born November 25, 1859, died November 17, 1885: Conrad, born January 22, 1862, died March 23, 1872; Mary, born September 17, 1863. married Wesley Miller, and died February 25, 1884, leaving one son, Jacob Mathias Miller: Rosa, born March 25, 1865, married Ross Deeter, and at her death, February 24, 1887, left one son, Elmer Leonard Deeter: Fredrick, the subject of this sketch; and Leonard, born June 18, 1871, died July 18, 1894. Since the death of his wife Mr. Mathias Hoffmann has met with a great misfortune, having lost his eyesight, and on account of this affliction he is unable to super- intend the management of his farm, and has therefore turned it over to the care of his only surviving child, Fredrick Hoffmann.
Brought up on the homestead and educated in the district school, Fredrick Hoffmann remained with his parents until twenty-two years of age. Beginning life on his own account. he rented land from his father for two years, and then lived with his father on the homestead until 1904. In the meantime his father had given him the farm lying in section two, and he lived on it from 1904 until 1906, when he sold out and returned to the old home. Here he is carrying on general farming and stock-raising with signal success.
Mr. Hoffmann married, January 15, 1891, Mary Ellen Rodenbacker, who was born in Jackson township, Indiana, a daughter of John and Eva (Sinders) Rodenbacker, who still live in that township. Her grand- parents. Wolfgang and Eva Catherine (Swonner) Rodenbacker, emi- grated from Bavaria with their family and settled first in Ohio, from there coming to Clay county and locating in Jackson township. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hoffmann, namely: Alice ; Mathias ; John : Eva R .. who died at the age of seven years; Helen
Digitized by Google
492
HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY
Irene; Ida Bertha ; and George Fredrick. Inheriting the religious belief to which he was reared, Mr. Hoffmann is a member of the Lutheran church, to which his parents belonged, and Mrs. Hoffmann is a member of the German Reformed church. Politically Mr. Hoffmann is a Democrat.
CHARLES S. ANDREWS, a well known resident of Brazil, Clay county, is an example of the usual success which attends the labors of those who enjoy a legal training when they venture into the financial field. He was born at North Bridgeton, Maine, in 1843, and is a son of George W. and Lucy H. Andrews, his father also being a lawyer of thorough educa- tion and good reputation. The son was well educated in the common schools and under private tutors, although he was never graduated from any higher institution of learning. Early in life he showed quite a mathematical bent and his practical mind naturally drew him to the study of law. In 1845, when he was two years of age, his family moved to Pennsylvania, and in his youth he himself located in Illinois, where he spent ten years as a student.
Mr. Andrews in 1861 returned to Pennsylvania and was admitted to the practice of law in that state. Upon coming to Indiana in 1868 he decided to engage in the business of banking and for the past forty years has been establishing and developing his interests in that line. He is now president of the First National Bank of Brazil, Indiana. On December 3, 1869, Mr. Andrews wedded Miss Hannah K. Greenough, and their three children are Lucy G., John K. and Clara A. Lybyer. In politics Mr. Andrews has always been a Republican and is a member of the Presbyterian church.
JOHN M. KELLER .- During many years John M. Keller has been prominent in the business and public life of Clay county, and he is one of Posey township's native sons, born on the 8th of April, 1849. His father, Philip Keller, was born and reared in Germany, and when a young man he came to America and located first in Butler county, Ohio, where he worked as a laborer for some time, and in 1842 made his way to Clay county, Indiana, where he entered eighty acres of land from the government in Posey township and also bought an adjoining eighty acres, which he cleared and improved with the assistance of his son John. In after years he added forty acres more to the farm, making him the owner of an estate of two hundred acres, on which he lived and labored during the remainder of his life, dying in 1881. He affiliated with the Democratic party until the Civil war, after which he gave his allegiance to the Republicans. While in Ohio Mr. Keller was married to Eva Barbara Streng, who was also born and reared in Germany, and they became the parents of eight children, five sons and three daughters, of whom John M. was the fourth son and sixth child, and all were reared in Posey township. The family were members of the Evangelical church, and they were well known and honored in Clay county.
At his father's death John M. Keller inherited forty acres of the homestead farm, while later he bought eighty-six acres from the other heirs, and his estate now embraces three hundred acres of rich and well improved land, on which he has erected many substantial buildings and has made of it one of the valuable homesteads of Posey township. At
Digitized by Google
493
HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY
the same time he has been active in the public life of the community, voting with the Republican party, and in 1896 he made the race as a joint representative to the state legislature, making a creditable and commendable race, although he was defeated at the polls.
Mr. Keller married on the 8th of November, 1872, Louisa Brown, who was born in Ohio, a daughter of Christian F. Brown, a prominent farmer of Clay county, coming here with his family when his daughter Louisa was twelve years of age and locating in Posey township. The five children of this union are George Edward, Philip, Jesse, Clara, who is the wife of William Seatman, a coal miner, and David Oscar, deceased. Mr. Keller is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JOHN F. PELL .- A native of Clay county and the descendant of an honored pioneer family, the late John F. Pell was born July 3, 1842, on the old Pell homestead in Van Buren township, of English ancestry. His father, John Pell, spent his earlier years in Virginia, where his birth occurred in 1797. He married first Rebecca Ales, who died on the home farm in 1860, and married second Nellie Stallcop. His children, eleven in number, were all by his first wife, namely: Washington; William Frizzle; Nancy; Susan; Richard Dudley; Rebecca; Melcina ; Louisa; Lucinda ; John F., of this sketch; and Benjamin F. A more extended parental and ancestral history may be found on another page of this work in connection with the sketch of William F. Pell.
A son of a farmer, John F. Pell early became familiar with the various branches of agriculture, and as a boy and youth assisted his father in much of the pioneer work required in clearing and improving a farm. On the breaking out of the Civil war, inspired by patriotism, he offered his services to his country, enlisting from Clay county April 13, 1861, as a private in Company F, Tenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered in April 25 under Captain Ezra Olds and Colonel M. D. Manson. Going with his regiment to the front, he was an active participant in the battle of Laurel Mountain on July 8, 1861, and at Cheat Rich Mountain three days later. In the latter engagement Mr. Pell was injured by a cannon ball which passed so close to the left side of his head as to knock him senseless, and he lay on the battlefield nearly all night in a drenching rain storm. Being found he was carried to an old house which had been transformed into a hospital, where he was cared for by his comrades until able to re-enter the army. On August 5, 1861, in Indianapolis, at the expiration of his term of enlistment. he was honorably discharged from service. He subsequently attempted to re-enlist, but was rejected on account of disabilities contracted while in service. Returning home, Mr. Pell spent some time on the farm, but subsequently lived for a number of years in the west, where he was active in public affairs, serving in offices of trust and responsibility, as he had previously done in his home town. He spent his last years in Clay county, moving a short time previous to his death to Harmony, where he passed away March 29, 1906. He joined the United Brethren church on March 4, 1885, and led a very devoted life to his church and family.
Mr. Pell married, April 29, 1859, Mary C. Stallcop, who was born in Van Buren township, Clay county, March 27, 1845, being the only child of Wilson and Marguerite (Easter) Stallcop. Her paternal grand- parents, William and Nellie Stallcop, came from Kentucky to Indiana in a boat in 1820, and were among the original settlers of Van Buren town-
Digitized by Google
494
HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY
ship. They reared the following children: Wilson, the father of Mrs. Pell : Tomps : Robert; Elias; and Ellen. The maternal grandfather, George, Easter, came from Highland county, Ohio, to Indiana about 1830, settling as a pioneer of Clay county. Mary Stallcop was left an orphan when a child, and subsequently lived with her grandmother, Mrs. Nellie Stallcop, until her marriage to Mr. Pell. She preceded him to the better world, dying on June 28, 1894. She bore her husband twelve children, namely : Elmer ; Albert M .; Ellis ; Charley ; C. Herman; Annie R. : Russell W. ; Carry ; Laura O .; John F .; Watsie C., of. whom a brief sketch appears elsewhere in this volume; and Lottie E. Only six of these children are living at the present time : Albert Murray, C. Herman, Russell W., John F., Watsie C. and Lottie E. When the mother of this family passed away one more name was added to the list of honored dead whose earthly records closed with the words, "Well done," but as long as memory remains to those who knew her the influence of her rich and noble life will remain as a source of encouragement and inspira- tion. Her life was beautiful in its devotion to her family, in its purity, goodness and Christian character. She has but gone to
"Join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again, In minds made better by their presence."
Albert Murry Pell, born in 1864, is a farmer in Van Buren town- ship. Clay county. He married Mary A. Bolin March 14, 1886, at Ebenezer church. They became members of the United Brethren church March 4. 1885. Mr. Murry Pell is a temperance man who does not believe in strong drink. He being the oldest living son of John H. Pell, he was compelled to assist his father in a great deal of hard work. Seven children have been born of this union, namely: Judge E .. Gussie A. (deceased), Jesse M., Zella L .. Clifford M., Hila D. and Mary E. Their paternal grandparents were John F. and Mary C. Pell, and their maternal grandparents were Wilson and Mary C. Bolin.
C. Herman Pell, born in Van Buren township November 30, 1868, remained on the parental homestead until attaining his majority, in the meantime securing a substantial education, attending first the district schools, afterward studying for two terms at the normal school at Ladoga, Indiana, and subsequently entering the Central Normal College at Dan- ville, Indiana, where he completed both the business and teacher's courses of study. Being called home by the illness and death of his mother in the summer of 1894. he gave up study for awhile, and the following winter taught school. In 1896 he entered the State Normal School at Terre Haute, where he remained two terms. Since that time Mr. Pell has been successfully employed as a teacher in both graded and ungraded schools, being eminently fitted for the profession in which he is engaged. On December 29. 1807. he married Melissa A. Wells and they have had two children : James P., deceased, and Earl L. The parents of Melissa A. were William and Mary Wells, highly respected pioneer farmers of Clay county. Mr. Pell is affiliated with the United Brethren church, of which he is an active member.
Russell W. Pell, born in Van Buren township February 6, 1875. selected farming as his life work, and is meeting with well merited suc- cess in his free and independent occupation. He married, in 1902, Emma
Digitized by Google
LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Digitized by
Dolorian chyers
Digitized by
495
HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY
Bolin, by whom he has had four children, Goldie Venola, Ivan Russell, Orval Odell and Leo R., but the last named is deceased.
Lottie E., the only living daughter of John F. and Mary C. Pell, was married to Lee Hillis, of Van Buren township, in July, 1908, and they reside in that township.
JAMES B. STEUERWALD .- Jackson township has been the home of James B. Steuerwald throughout his entire life. Born within its bor- ders in section 26 on the 10th of May, 1857, for two terms (elected in 1900) he served the township as its assessor. He is a son of Jacob Steuerwald, for many years a well known farmer of Jackson township, who was born in Germany and was reared and educated in his native land. His wife, nee Katherine Michael, was also a native of the father- land, and they became the parents of eight children, all of whom grew to years of maturity with the exception of one, and James B. was the youngest of this family of seven sons and one daughter. The four eldest of the children were born in Jackson township, three in Ohio and one in Florida. Jacob Steuerwald, the father, was a young man when he came from Germany to the United States, and landing at Canal Dover he made his way to Jackson township in Clay county, Indiana, and bought two hundred and fifteen acres of land, which he cleared and improved and remained on the rest of his life. He at one time owned two hundred and ninety-five acres in Jackson and Sugar Ridge town- ships and was one of the most prominent farmers of Clay county, but his life's labors were ended in death at the age of sixty-seven years, a worthy and acceptable member of the Reformed church and a Democrat in politics.
James B. Steuerwald remained at his boyhood's home until in 1880, when he left the old homestead and moved to his present farm of eighty acres in section 26. Jackson township, of which he has cleared about ten acres and has placed many valuable improvements on his farm. He was married on the 24th of November. 1878, to Anna Frances Katherine Byers, who was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, a daughter of John H. Byers, who was in early life a tailor and later a farmer. A native son of Germany, he and Jacob Steuerwald had been boys together in the fatherland. He owned a farm in Jackson township, and died there. Five children have been born of this union,-John J., Margaret F., Florence, Eunice and Roy James, all of whom were born in Jackson township. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Steuerwald has given his political support to the Democracy, and he has been an active worker in the local councils of his party and has held several minor offices.
SOLOMON MYERS is one of the venerable citizens of Brazil, having passed the eighty-first milestone on life's journey. His earthly pilgrim- age began in Orange county, Indiana, October 26, 1826. Only a few years before had the state been admitted to the Union and much of the district comprised within its borders was still an unclaimed and unculti- vated wilderness, the red men still traversing the forests at times, while wild game and various kinds of wild animals were found here in abun- dance. In places grew the dense forests and in other districts the land was low and wet, but man has reclaimed each locality for the uses of civilization and modern invention has enabled him to drain the low
Vol. II-32
Digitized by Google
496
HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY
ground and to rid the once timbered districts of the stumps and roots which impede the work of the farmer. Mr. Myers, as one of the native sons of the county, has witnessed almost the entire growth and progress made in this great state of Indiana and his memory forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present.
His parents were Solomon and Mary (Stewart ) Myers. The father was born in Pennsylvania in 1786 and died in 1860, at the age of seventy years. His wife, a native of Kentucky, was also born in 1786, and died in 1865 at the age of seventy-five years. They were married in the Blue Grass state and in 1818 arrived in Indiana, which had been admitted to the Union only the previous year. They established their home in Orange county, where Mr. Myers built a log cabin, being numbered among the pioneers of this part of the state. It was in that frontier home that the birth of Solomon Myers occurred. In 1834 the family removed to Clay county, Indiana, making the journey with horse and wagon. They settled on the present site of Brazil but the district on which the city now stands was then an unbroken wilderness. The father entered eighty acres of timber land, built a log house and with character- istic energy began the subjugation of the wilderness that he might estab- lish there a farm that would yield a good profit for his labor. His wife traded for two and a half acres, constituting a strip of land leading to the national road. The father aided in constructing this national road, which for many years was the only traveled highway between the east and the west. In Clay county he spent the remainder of his days and took an active and helpful part in the early development of this portion of the state, aiding in laying broad and deep the foundation for its present progress. Both he and his wife were members of the Christian church and were earnest in their religious zeal and faithful to the cause which they espoused. He was associated with William Yocom in organizing the first church in Clay county and thus became a factor in the moral as well as the material development of this part of Indiana. His influence was ever on the side of right, truth and progress, and his name was honored by all who knew him. His political views were in accord with the principles of Democracy as enunciated by Jackson and Jefferson. In the family of Solomon and Mary Myers were ten children, but only three are now living, Nancy, James and Solomon. The sister, the wife of Jonathan Girking, is now living in Oregon at the age of more than ninety years. They removed to that state in 1861, have since made their home there and have reared a family of thirteen children, all of whom reached adult age. One son of the family, Nathan Myers, served in the Mexican war and again in the Civil war. Solomon Myers also enlisted and drilled with a company of volunteers which was ready to go to the front, but on account of the close of hostilities he was never called into action.
A detailed history of the early life of Solomon Myers would present a correct picture of pioneer life and experiences in the middle west. Born in a log cabin, he shared with the family in all of the hardships and privations incident to the settlement of a new district. He learned, too, the lessons of economy and industry, of caution and of self-reliance. In those days when homes were widely scattered it was necessary that every individual should use his opportunities to the best advantage, to waste nothing and to learn how to do all kinds of repair work, for
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.