A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 72

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 887

USA > Indiana > St Joseph County > A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 72

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On the 14th of March, 1867. Mr. Iachholtz was united in marriage to Miss Sarah J. Hosler, and they have become the parents of four children: Ida Rosella died at three years. ten months and eleven days. Elsie E. is the wife of William Gammon, who is associated with the Studebakers of South Bend as a carpenter and joiner, while their residence is at 212 Dayton street of that city.

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For three years prior to her marriage Mrs. Gammon taught music, and she is also a pro- fessional dressmaker. Irene B. is the wife of Dennis Huttenstine, who resides in South Bend, but is connected with the great rubber factory at Mishawaka. Mrs. Huttenstine was also previously married, and by that union had one little son, Carm Hathaway, named for his father, and he is the pride of his grandparents. Myrtle L. is the wife of Bert Norton, who is connected with the Singer Sewing Machine Company in South Bend, having been thus associated for ten years, and they have a little daughter, Treva Morene. Mrs. Iachholtz was born in Seneca county, Ohio, October 11, 1848, a daughter of Daniel and Elsie (Evert) Hosler, and of their family of ten children, five sons and five daughters, eight are now living, but Mrs. Iachholtz is the only one residing in St. Joseph county. The father was of German lineage, and was successful in his work as an agriculturist. Daniel Hosler died at Grain Valley, Missouri, March 10, 1907, aged eighty- two years, seven months and fifteen days. He and his wife were members of the Ger- man Baptist church. When twelve years of age Mrs. Iachholtz accompanied her parents on their removal to Marshall county, Indiana, where she completed her education in the common schools. For many years Mr. and Mrs. Iachholtz have lived and labored to goodly ends among the people of St. Joseph county, and they are numbered among the honored pioneers who aided in laying the foundation for its present prosperity and ad- vancement. He gives his political support to the Democracy where national issues are con- cerned, but is not bound by party ties. They are sincerely admired and loved by those who have known them almost a lifetime, and in peace and content they are passing their days, surrounded with the comforts and lux- uries which are the fruits of their former years of industry.

WAKEFIELD N. PEARSE. The Pearse fam- ily was one of the first to locate in St. Joseph county, and to establish a home amid such pioneer surroundings as then existed here and to cope with the many privations and hardships which were the inevitable concomi- tants demanded an invincible courage and fortitude, strong hearts and willing hands. All these were characteristics of the pioneers, whose names and deeds should be held in per-

petual reverence by those who enjoy the fruits of their toil.

The name Pearse is of Welsh origin, and the family trace their lineage to the great- grandfather of Wakefield N., Richard Pearse, who was born in Bristol, Rhode Island, Octo- ber 27, 1762, and died at Sudbury, Vermont, September 6, 1834. Frankland Pearse, the father, was a native of New York, born on the 25th of March, 1809, and was reared as a farmer lad, receiving his education in the old district schools of his neighborhood. When a youth he was taken by his parents to Cuyahoga county, Ohio, the journey thither being made in true pioneer style, and they took up their abode on a heavily tim- bered farm of one hundred and sixty acres which now forms a part of the city of Cleve- land or Newberg, and this old estate is still owned by members of the Pearse family. Mr. Pearse cleared a sufficient space to erect their little cabin home, and there the family con- tinued to reside until the land sale in St. Joseph county in 1835, when Frankland Pearse came west and purchased two hundred and forty acres of land in Liberty township, the one hundred and twenty acres lying south of North Liberty forming the home- stead. He subsequently returned to Ohio for his bride, Teresa A. Wakefield, who was a native of Williston, Chittenden county, Ver- mont, born on the 6th of June, 1812, and died October 22, 1877. She was reared to years of maturity in her native state, and was a lady of more than ordinary educational training, while prior to her marriage she was engaged in teaching school.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Pearse came to St. Joseph county and began their wedded life in a little log cabin of one room, and the only chair which it then contained is now a valuable relic in the home of Mr. Wakefield Pearse. They were numbered among the early and honored pioneers of St. Joseph county, the red men of the forest being then plentiful within its borders, and many a time they came to the cabin door and frightened Mrs. Pearse, although they were always friendly. During his early life Mr. Pearse gave his political support to the Whig party, and after the organization of the Republican party he joined its ranks, remaining true to its principles until his death. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and assisted in the erec-

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tion of their first church in the township, previous to that time the people having wor- shiped in private homes. Mrs. Pearse was reared in the Presbyterian faith, and both she and her husband now sleep in the North Liberty cemetery, where a beautiful stone marks their last resting place.

Wakfield N. Pearse is a native born citizen of St. Joseph county, his natal day being the 23d of November, 1842, and thus for sixty- five years he has been numbered among its honored residents. He was early inured to the work of the fields, but after reaching his majority he engaged with his brother in the buying and selling of stock, they having been among the first stock buyers in the county. On the 14th of October, 1869, he married Miss Phoebe Ann Travis, and they have become the parents of four sons. The eldest, Charles L., is one of the leading young merchants of North Liberty, being associated in business with his brother, Frank C., and they carry a full line of dry goods, gentle- men's furnishing goods, carpets, wall paper, etc., their store being one of the leading ones of the village. Both boys attended the com- mon schools, and Charles also received a com- mercial course in South Bend, while Frank C. pursued a business course and also a four years' course at the state university at Bloomington, Indiana. He is a Mason in his fraternal relations. The third son, Ste- phen W., is associated with his father in a general mercantile store in North Liberty. After attending the common schools he en- tered the Danville Normal and pursued a business course. He wedded Miss Grace B. Houser, and they have one little daughter, Florence Genevieve, their home being a beau- tiful modern residence in North Liberty. The youngest son, Delbert A., 'is at home. He, too, attended the common schools and then pursued a full commercial course at Dan- ville, Indiana. He is a practical farmer, and both he and his brother Stephen are members of the Masonic fraternity. Mr. and Mrs. Pearse have given their children ex- cellent educational advantages, and all have become an honor to the honored family name.

Mrs. Pearse, the mother, was born in La- porte county, Indiana, October 5, 1844, and is the ninth in a family of twelve children, six sons and six daughters, born to Curtis and Mary A. (Miller) Travis. Five of the number are now living: Louisa, the wife of James Tiberghien, a retired farmer living in

Sac City, Iowa; Noah, a retired farmer of Kingsbury, Indiana; Curtis, who is also re- tired from business cares and resides in La- porte, Indiana; Phoebe Ann, the wife of Mr. Pearse; and Jay W., an agriculturist of Stilwell Prairie, Indiana. The father of these children was born near Albany, New York, in 1809, and died in Laporte county, Indiana, in August, 1870. He was married in his native state, and in 1835 they took up their abode in Laporte county, and much of the land which he there purchased from the government is still in the Travis name. He was one of the leading agriculturists of his county, and in his political affiliations was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, when he espoused its cause. He was a firm friend of education and the public school system, and during a long period served as examiner of teachers. Mrs. Travis was a native of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. born about 1821, and her death occurred in 1895. She was of German descent. Both Mr. and Mrs. Travis were Methodists in their religious belief, and both are interred in the Norton cemetery of Laporte, where a beautiful stone stands sacred to their mem- ory. Mrs. Pearse was reared in her native county of Laporte, and attended the West- ville seminary when Professor Laird had charge of the institution, Miss Kate Baily being her teacher in instrumental music, while previous to her marriage she taught school in St. Joseph county.

Mr. and Mrs. Pearse began their married life on the old homestead with his father and mother, and there they continued to reside until the death of the mother. In July, 1886, Mr. Pearse and his brother Leonard began their mercantile operations in North Liberty, and by honorable methods and fair dealing they have gained the full confidence of the people and are enjoying a well merited suc- cess. Mr. Pearse has continued in the buying and selling of - stock more years than any other person now living in southern St. Jo- seph county, and in all his varied relations he has ever been true to the trusts reposed in him, triumphing over the obstacles which have beset his path and steadily working his way upward to a position of affluence. The Pearse estate comprises six hundred and eighty acres of land in Liberty township. and the beautiful brick residence was erected by Frankland Pearse in 1866. Mr. Pearse of this review cast his first presidential vote

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for Lincoln, and has ever since supported the principles of the Republican party, while he has many times been selected as delegate to county conventions. He has assisted in the erection of nearly every church in the vicin- ity of North Liberty, and Mrs. Pearse is a member of the Episcopal denomination. They have in their home a Bible over one hundred years old, which has passed down through the Wakefield family and which is still in a splendid state of preservation, and they also have some of the old coverlets woven in both the Travis and Wakefield fam- ilies, while another valuable heirloom is two old parchment deeds, one executed on the 20th of March, 1837, and signed by President Mar- tin Van Buren. This deed was made to Frankland Pearse, who also left to his de- scendants a name that has long been honored in the old county of St. Joseph.

ROBERT E. GEYER. Since an early pio- neer epoch in the history of St. Joseph county the Geyer family have occupied a distinctive place in its annals, and one of its most promi- nent representatives, Robert E. Geyer, has passed many years of his life as an educator within its borders. He was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, February 8, 1865, the third child of Peter and Margaret (Ewald) Geyer, in whose family were five children, four sons and one daughter, and all are yet living : William, one of the leading agriculturists of Union township, received his education in the common schools, and for many years was a successful teacher; Caroline, the wife of Fred Schrader, a prosperous agriculturist in Liberty township, and they have five chil- dren living; Robert E., whose name intro- duces this review; Edmund, also engaged in agricultural pursuits in Liberty township, is represented elsewhere in this work; and Alfred B., who is associated with the Stude- baker Company in South Bend. He received his education in the common schools and also in the Beaver Creek school, which has the reputation of turning out many competent teachers, and he also followed the teacher's profession for a time. All of the children are married.

Mr. Geyer, the father, was a native of Ger- many. tracing his lineage to the old Teutonic race, and possessed that sturdy German in- dustry and indomitable will which signifies success at the laying of the foundation of life. His birth occurred near the city of Munich, province of Bavaria, December 12, Vol. II-26.

1836, and his death occurred in St. Joseph county, Indiana, on the 15th of October, 1901. He was only a little lad of four years when he came with his parents across the Atlantic to the United States, the family coming di- rect to Dearborn county, Indiana, arriving there at a very early day in its history. The father purchased land in that county, and there the little son grew to the age of seven- teen, when he accompanied his parents on their removal to St. Joseph county, the jour- ney hither being made in true pioneer style. After their arrival four hundred and eighty acres of the virgin timber land was pur- chased, and they blazed a trail to their little cabin which they erected in the midst of the wilderness, and in which the father made a small window from whence he could sit and shoot deer. Thus the family are numbered among the early and honored pioneers of St. Joseph county, and Mr. Robert Geyer now has in his possession one of the old parchment deeds which was executed June 30, 1837, in old Dearborn county, and given under the hand and seal of President Martin Van Buren. This is the third deed known to exist in Liberty township, and is one of the valuable souvenirs in the Geyer home. Mr. Geyer, the father, was very successful in his business life, and always observed closely the laws which governed the nature and taught his children the principles of righteousness and honor. He was a positive but quiet man, one whom to know was to re- spect, and during the latter part of his life he was solicited as a Republican to accept public office in his county, but he preferred to give his attention to his business interests. Both he and his wife were identified with the German Lutheran church. Mrs. Geyer is a native of Dearborn county, Indiana, born about 1838, and is now a resident of South Bend, having reached the Psalmist's span of three score years and ten.

Robert E. Geyer, a son of these worthy old St. Joseph county pioneers, spent the early years of his life in his native county of Dear- born. In 1873 he went to Indianapolis, In- diana, but two years later came with his parents to St. Joseph county, which has been his home from that time to the present. The education which he received in the common schools was greatly supplemented by special study by himself, and in time he became a ripe scholar and one of the successful edu- cators in Liberty, Union and Greene town-

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ships, following that profession for eighteen years. He has a keenly analytical mind, and under his superintendency the schools of which he had charge made marked progress and showed the effect of his careful guid- ance, while many of the young men and women of St. Joseph county will long remem- ber him as their teacher and preceptor. On the 5th of April, 1887, Mr. Geyer was united in marriage to Miss Emeline Barrett, and their three children are: Edna F., who has received an excellent educational training, supplementing her training received in the common schools by attendance in the South Bend high school, and later became a student in the Valparaiso University, while in addi- tion she has also received instruction in in- strumental music and is a pronounced elocu- tionist. She will soon begin her educational work as a teacher in the schools of Liberty township. Russell W. received his diploma from the common schools in the class of 1906, and is now a student in the high school of North Liberty. Claude L. is pursuing eighth grade work in the home school, and will graduate with the class of 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Geyer may well feel proud of their children, for they have nobly carried for- ward the advantages which have been given them.

Mrs. Geyer, the mother, is a native daugh- ter of St. Joseph county, born on the 1st of March, 1867, her parents being John and Catherine (Lentz) Barrett, in whose family were seven children, one son and six daugh- ters, but only three of the number are now living: Mrs. Geyer; Laura, the wife of George N. Folk, a farmer of Greene township; and Mary C., the wife of William O. Cullar, a prosperous agriculturist of Liberty town- ship. Mr. Barrett, the father, claims Stark county, Ohio, as the place of his nativity, and he is now a resident of Greene township, St. Joseph county, Indiana. Mrs. Barrett is also a native of Stark county, and a his- tory of their lives will be found elsewhere in this work.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Geyer resided with the latter's parents in Union township for three years, and then located on their present farm, which is known as "The Homestead," and which comprises one hun- dred and seventy acres of land in Liberty township. Their home is one of the desirable residences in the county, and the family extend a gracious hospitality to their many

friends and acquaintances. Mr. Geyer gives his political support to the Republican party, his first presidential vote having been cast for Benjamin Harrison, and he has often been solicited as delegate to the county and district conventions. During a period of eight years he served as the county drainage commissioner, and was the leading factor in the reclaiming of thousands of acres of land along the Kankakee river. For four years he was a member of the county central com- mittee, and in 1892 was a candidate for the legislature. For so young a man this was truly a great honor, and should he again presume to enter the lists for any of the lead- ing offices of St. Joseph county he would prove a formidable opponent. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of North Liberty, in which Mr. Geyer is one of the stewards and also a teacher in the Sunday-school. He has resided within the borders of old St. Joseph county since he was a lad of ten years, and during eighteen years of his life here he was one of its most able educators, and during the past years he has been numbered among the leading agriculturists and stock raisers of Liberty township. His labors have done much to quicken literary interest and to promote intel- lectual activity, and his influence upon the best development of his community is incal- culable.

VINCENT S. BULLA, an honored citizen of Liberty township is one of the sturdy pioneers of the county and state. He has ever been found loyal to the cause of right and truth, and his influence has been used for the good and well being of those asso- ciated with him in any way. He traces his lineage to the French, the German, the Mo- hawk Dutch and. the Scotch, his grandfather, William Bulla, having been of German birth and lineage, his grandmother, Susie Smith, of Scotch lineage, and his grandfather, Vin- cent Stephenson, of French lineage. Mr. Bulla was born in St. Joseph county. In- diana, February 24, 1846, a son of William F. and Mary (Stephenson) Bulla. to whom were born eight children, four sons and four daughters, but only four of the number are now living: Martha J., the wife of Melvin G. Huey, a horticulturist of German township. St. Joseph county, and she was educated in the country schools, the city schools of South Bend, and was one of the successful teachers of the county before her marriage; Vincent

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S., who was the fifth in order of birth of the eight children; Quincy A., who is married, and is living retired in Pomona, California; and James S., who is married and engaged in farming near St. Edwards, Nebraska.

William F. Bulla, the father, was born in Wayne county, Indiana, March 4, 1810, and died on the 10th of January, 1875, after a life devoted to agricultural pursuits and stock raising. In 1832, the year of the Blackhawk war, he came to St. Joseph county, Indiana, his father having previously pur- chased a section of land here from the govern- ment and presented each of his sons with a quarter section, but it was not until 1836 that William F. Bulla permanently took up his abode within the borders of the county, which was at that time a wilderness, South Bend having been established about a mile north of its present site and only four fam- ilies resided on the east side of the St. Jo- seph river. Their first habitation was a typical cabin home, heated by a large old fashioned fireplace, to which the logs were · drawn by horses, and his son Vincent can well remember this primitive frontier home. With the passing years the father became successful in his business ventures, accumu- lating an estate of eight hundred and ten acres in St. Joseph county and one hundred and sixty acres in Laporte county and two hundred and sixty acres in Marshall county, Indiana, while he also owned four hundred and eighty acres in Grundy county and two hundred and eighty acres in Blackhawk county, Iowa. In his early years he upheld the principles of the Whig party, and at the formation of the Republican party he joined its ranks, supporting its. first presidential nominee. Fremont, and later voting for Lin- coln and Grant. During two terms he was its representative as a county commissioner. He was a stanch advocate of the anti-slavery cause, and was an adherent of the Univer- salist church. In 1866 he removed to South Bend to enjoy the rest which should ever follow a long and active business career, and there he spent the remainder of his life. His grandfather Bulla was a subordinate of- ficer in the Revolutionary war, which gives prestige to the Bulla fame and entitles them to membership in the great order of Sons and Daughters of the Revolution. Mrs. Huey, of South Bend, has three large and four small buttons from off the uniform of this famous old patriot. Mrs. Bulla was born

in Wayne county, Indiana, December 16, 1811, and died on the 23d of August, 1893, an octogenarian. She was reared in the Pres- byterian faith, but later in life joined the Christian church. In August, 1906, oc- curred the anniversary of the arrival of the Bulla family in the then territory of Indiana one hundred years before, and the reunion was held on the land on which they first took up their abode. There have been strong men and true as one generation has followed an- other, men leal and loyal to our national institutions and the duties of patriotism.

Vincent S. Bulla has spent his entire life in St. Joseph county with the exception of the seven years when he resided in Black- hawk county, Iowa. The first school which he attended here was held in a little log cabin, sixteen by fourteen feet, covered with clapboards and poles, while the floor was of puncheons and heated by a queerly built fireplace. It stood in the center of the room, and contained a six foot square hole almost full of stone, and in this hole wood was placed and a fire kindled, the smoke escaping from a hole in the center of the roof. The desks were a broad puncheon resting on wooden pins driven into the wall for sup- port, the seats slab benches, and there were pegs driven into the wall to hold the chil- dren's clothing. Some of the text books used were the elementary speller, Davis' arithme- tic and McGuffey's reader, while the school was maintained by subscriptions. The Pot- tawatomie Indians still inhabited this sec- tion, and they would often shoot at marks and pitch horse shoes in his father's yard, for the elder Mr. Bulla was very kind to the dusky fellows. Mr. Bulla of this review has killed deer on their own premises, and has used the cradle and sickle in cutting grain. When sixteen years of age he became a wage earner, and when he had reached his twenty- first year he had accumulated three thousand - dollars.

On the 8th of January, 1873, Mr. Bulla was unted in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Mc- Kenzie, and they are the parents of six chil- dren : Mary, who received her diploma with the class of 1895, and also obtained a teach- er's certificate, but did not enter the profes- sion and is at home; Loree Vincent, who also resides with his parents, is an agricul- turist and for three years was an employe of the Wabash Railroad Company; William Franklin married Miss Lucy Swanson, and

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they reside in North Liberty; Earl D., a farmer at home; Rollin, also at home; and Edna Verne, the youngest, is pursuing her studies with the class of 1907. Their daugh- ter Mary has one of the finest cabinets of curios to be found in Liberty township, con- sisting of leaves and famous ferns from dif- ferent parts of the United States and the Sandwich Islands, old antique dishes three quarters of a century old, specimens of the stockade at Andersonville prison, the old can- dlestick, snuffers and grease lamp of the pio- neer epoch and many other rare curios. Mr. Bulla also has in his possession three parch- ment deeds, dated March 30, 1837, August 10, 1837, and bearing the signature of President . and the wedding ring were in the wreck, but Martin Van Buren, also one executed under the hand and seal of President Buchanan and bearing the date of December 1, 1857, these making three of the six deeds found in the southern part of St. Joseph county and are valuable souvenirs in the Bulla home. They also have an old relic in a coverlet which was woven by his grandmother Bulla, and also one for which Mrs. Bulla's mother spun and prepared the yarn, and they have samples of her work as a weaver of cloth from flax. In their home are many other interesting relics, such as silk gloves worn at weddings by grand and great-grandparents.

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A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 72

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 887

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 887