A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 73

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 73

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Mrs. Bulla was born in Laporte county, Indiana, September 9, 1854, a daughter of Daniel R. and Elizabeth A. (Travis) Mc- Kenzie, to whom were born three children : Curtis D., a retired farmer of Kingsbury, Indiana; Elizabeth, the wife of Mr. Bulla; and Mary A., the wife of George R. Flood, engaged in the insurance business in South Bend, and they have two children, Daniel R. and Mabel L. Mr. Mckenzie, the father, was born in Caledonia, New York, January 25, 1818, and died on the 8th of August, 1891. He was one of the early pioneers in Laporte county, Indiana, where he took up his abode in 1841. He was of Scotch lineage, his father, Donald Mckenzie, having been born in the land of the hills and heather, near Inverness, in 1784, and came to the United States in 1804, but representatives of the Mckenzie family had located in New York, Genesee county, as early as 1792, seven years before the death of Washington. Daniel Mckenzie was a stanch Republican, and both he and his wife were of the Episcopal faith. She was born in New York, and her death occurred on the 1st of June, 1894, when she

had reached the age of sixty-five years, nine months and twenty-four days. Mrs. Bulla was a little maiden of two years when her parents came to North Liberty, St. Joseph county, and here she was reared to maturity and received her educational training. She began her married life on their present es- tate in Liberty township in a little frame house, but in the cyclone of July, 1877, which passed through the township, their home and out buildings were completely de- stroyed. Mrs. Bulla and her daughter Mary were in the house at the time, but escaped unhurt, although the building and contents were completely destroyed. Their watches were recovered, although the ring lay on the premises for eleven years before it was found. All of the improvements which are now seen on the Bulla homestead stand as monuments to the ability of Mr. and Mrs. Vincent S. Bulla, and their estate, which com- prises two hundred and eighty acres, is one of the finest in Liberty township and is stocked with high grade cattle, Poland China hogs and good standard bred stock. He gives his political support to the Republican party, casting his first presidential vote for Grant, and he has often been selected as dele- gate to the county conventions. The family are well and favorably known throughout the township, and are held in high regard by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.

LEWIS S. AUKERMAN. For many years closely identified with the business interests of this section of St. Joseph county, the com- munity may well feel a just pride in claim- ing Lewis S. Aukerman among its honored residents. He is not only worthy of all honor in himself for the brave and success- ful fight which he has made to achieve suc- cess, but because of his descent from parents who were such useful pioneers of that state which has been called the mother of the north- west, Ohio.

Mr. Aukerman is a native of Darke county. Ohio, born June 24, 1850, a son of George and Mary (Brubacker) Aukerman. The father was born in Eaton, Preble county. that state, on the 28th of October, 1804, and was himself of German ancestry. George Auker- man was a self-made man, having battled ear- nestly and energetically for the success he won, and he remained in his native county of Preble until after his marriage, when the young couple removed to Darke county, Ohio.

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where his death occurred April 11, 1854. The deceased assisted in the construction of many of the beautiful pike roads in that county, and in other ways contributed to the sub- stantial growth and improvement of the com- munity. He was first a Whig and then a Republican, and both he and his wife were faithful members of the German Baptist church. Mrs. Aukerman was born in Podi- ker county, Virginia, January 15, 1809, and when a girl came with her parents to Darke county, Ohio, the journey through the dense wilderness being made in wagons and a loca- tion finally chosen near old Fort Greenville. She was married in Darke county, and in 1861 removed with the family to Wabash county, Indiana, where, near "Old Somer- set," her death occurred August 11, 1893. Only three of their family of six sons and four daughters are now living, viz .: _ John, who served in the Civil war, and is a retired resident of New Paris, Indiana; Lewis S., whose name introduces this review; and Barbara, the wife of William Wagner, a farmer of Goshen, Indiana.

In 1861, when he removed with his mother to Wabash county, Indiana, Lewis S. Auker- man was but a lad, although prior to this time he had obtained a smattering of educa- tion by attendance at a little log schoolhouse in Union City, Ohio. A description of this structure would show a building eighteen by twenty-five feet, with a riveted shingle roof, heated with the old-time box stove, the seats being two inch boards with no back, and the desks merely a poplar board resting upon wooden pins for support. He used the old fashioned goose quill pen and the elementary spelling book. The master was well known in those days for his dexterous use of the rod, and on one occasion that he well remem- bers Mr. Aukerman and five companions who were inclined to pranks, received the full benefit of the red willow switches some five or six feet long. He resumed his studies after his removal to Wabash, and at the same time was inured to the work of the farm, remain- ing with his mother until reaching years of maturity. On the 29th of January, 1871, he was united in marriage to Miss Nancy C. Wagoner, and three children, two sons and a daughter, were born to them, but the little daughter, Ianna. died on the 29th of March, 1880, aged three years and seven days. The eldest son. Oba, received his edu- cation in the Goshen schools, and is now asso-

ciated with his father in the livery business in North Liberty, although he is a carpenter and joiner by trade, and he has also bought and sold horses. He is a Republican in his political affiliations, having cast his first presidential vote for Mckinley: He wedded Miss Ida Alberson, and their two children are Max and Elzy. The second son, Elzy, is also associated with his father in the livery business in Knox, Indiana, where they carry on a business valued at seven thousand dol- lars. He married Miss Sada Stump, and they have two children, Bernice and Lewis. He, too, cast his first presidential vote for McKinley, and is a stanch advocate of Re- publican principles, while his fraternal rela- tions are with the order of Elks.

Mrs. Aukerman, the mother, was born in Preble county, Ohio, December 30, 1852, a daughter of John and Susannah (Foutz) Wagner, and of their family of four children, two sons and two daughters, three are now living : William, a resident farmer of Goshen, Indiana, married Miss Barbara Aukerman; Nancy C. became the wife of Lewis S. Aukerman; and Jacob, who mar- ried Julia Arthur, deceased, is a farmer re- siding in Roann, Indiana. Mrs. Aukerman was but ten years of age when she came with her parents to Wabash county, and they aft- erward removed to Miami county, where the father died. He was a native of Virginia, but was reared in Ohio, the journey to that state being made by wagon, and he became a minister in the German Baptist church. His political support was given to the Re- publican party. Mrs. Wagner, who is a na- tive of Ohio, is still living at Roann, Indiana, aged seventy-seven years, and is a devout member of the Progressive Brethren church.

Mr. and Mrs. Aukerman began their mar- ried life in a little log cabin on the Wabash river at Somerset, Indiana, where he worked as a wage earner in cutting cord wood and splitting rails, and from there they removed to Roann, Indiana, where in a small way he embarked in the livery business. Many obstacles beset his path while thus engaged, and he subsequently sold his business and entered the confectionery trade, but in this venture he lost his entire savings and also had to pay his partner's security debts. He then resumed his old trade of plastering in Goshen, which he had previously followed for fourteen years in Wabash county, and in 1884 he opened a livery stable and was also

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extensively engaged in buying and selling horses. About the year 1898 he traded his stable for sixty acres of land in Union town- ship in St. Joseph county and a drug store in Knox, Indiana, and for two years his home was upon this farm, on the expiration of which period he took up his abode in one of the pretty and up-to-date homes in North Liberty. On the 19th of March, 1906, he became the possessor of a livery stable in Knox, Indiana, valued at seven thousand dol- lars, conducting this in addition to his livery business in North Liberty. In the Knox stable he has twenty-six horses and thirty vehicles of all kinds, while at North Liberty he has fifteen head of horses and sixteen vehicles. Mr. Aukerman has been distinc- tively the architect of his own fortune, has been true in every relation of life, faithful to every trust, and stands as a symmetrical type of that sterling American manhood which our nation delights to honor. His first presidential vote was cast for the soldier president Grant, and he has ever since been loyal to Republican principles. Since her youth Mrs. Aukerman has been a mem- ber of the Progressive Brethren church, and at the time of the erection of the new church in North Liberty in 1904 both she and her husband gave liberally of their means for its support. They are people of sterling worth and are highly honored in the commu- nity in which they have so long resided.

JOSEPH LEGGETT. One of the oldest inhab- itants of St. Joseph county is Joseph Leggett, of Liberty township, where he has dwelt for over seventy years, and is well known and highly esteemed. He has seen this state de- veloped from a wilderness, and has himself aided in its progress and civilization, year by year watching with deep interest the result of man's labor and enterprise, as he gradually transformed the dense forests and uninhab- ited swamps into thrifty, fertile homesteads and flourishing settlements and cities. Mr. Leggett was born in Greenville. Darke county, Ohio, August 9, 1835, a son of Joseph and Hannah (Collins) Leggett, to whom were born twelve children, seven sons and five daughters. but Joseph, who is the eleventh in order of birth, is the only one now living. The father was born on the Emerald Isle, of Scotch-Irish lineage, and followed farming as a life occupation. His death occurred when his son Joseph was but a child. The mother, who was a native of Virginia, died in St.

Joseph county at the age of seventy-five years, passing away in the faith of the Meth- odist church, of which in life she was a de- vout member.

When but a babe of one year Joseph Leg- gett was brought by his parents to St. Jo- seph county, where one hundred and sixty acres of land were purchased in Liberty town- ship, all heavily timbered, and their first home was a little log cabin of the most primi- tive style and which Mr. Leggett of this review can yet recall to mind. He can also remember the Pottawatomie Indians as they roamed at will over this section of the state, and deer, wild turkeys and the gray wolves were also plentiful, he having at one time killed a deer about a half a mile west of North Liberty. In those early days the old fashioned turkey wing cradle was used, also the sickle, while the threshing was accom- plished by the horses tramping out the grain on the barn floor. A few years later the old "Cover," a cylinder which would simply run . out the grain, was introduced, and he well remembers the excitement created over the introduction into the county of the first binder and reaper. At that time South Bend, the now populous city of fifty thousand in- habitants and world-famed factories. was but a straggling village and the great Stude- baker plant had but a primitive little shop. At that time there was not a railroad within the county of St. Joseph, and Mr. Leggett was employed on the Lake Shore near New Carlisle during its construction. This pio- neer couple have also witnessed the intro- duction of the telegraph. the telephone. the rural free delivery and the many other im- provements which now place this section on a par with the older east. Both attended the old log cabin schools of the pioneer period, their little temple of learning. six- teen by twenty-four feet in size, being cov- ered with a clapboard roof, heated by a box stove, and seated with slab benches, with a broad board for a desk, and they have also used the famous old goosequill pens fashioned by the master. Friendships, however. in those days were genuine, and should a neigh- bor have a house to raise or a clearing to make all would join in and help him, while in the evening the young couples would gather for one of the old time frolics, Mrs. Leggett having often attended a quilting party or apple bee.

In August, 1860, Mr. Leggett married Miss

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yours Truly Edmund S. Meyer

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Kindly yours Mrs E. G. Seyen

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Mary Wagner, and their two children are both living, Sarah, the wife of Samuel Hilde- brant, a teacher of North Liberty, and their only child is a daughter Carrie, and Norman E. is living on the old homestead and is one of the successful agriculturists of the town- ship. He married Miss Mary C. Sheneman, and they have two children, Hazel and Bernie. Mrs. Leggett, the mother, was born in Logan county, Ohio, in 1830, but when a little child of five years she was brought by her parents to .St. Joseph county, making the journey by wagon and on horseback, over the hills and through the swamps and quagmires to their destination, where they first lived on rented land. The father had died in Ohio, and the mother afterward wedded John Keeley. Mr. and Mrs. Leggett began their married life as renters, with a cash capital of less than twenty dollars, and their first purchase of land consisted of forty acres, but the hard times following they disposed of the tract, but later became the owners of one hundred acres. Two years later they again sold their land, and after conducting a saw mill for two years Mr. Leggett purchased the present homestead of ninety-five acres, where but a few acres had been cleared and on which a little old school house served as a dwelling. Gradually, however, the land was cleared and placed under an excellent state of cultivation, the domain increased to two hundred and sixty-two acres, and the old school house has long since given place to the beautiful and commodious residence which now adorns the farm. Mr. Leggett gives his political support to the Democracy, being a Jackson Democrat, and has always stood firmly by those princi- ples. Both he and his wife are devout mem- bers of the Methodist church, their lives hav- ing been spent in harmony therewith. Their sun is fast setting beneath the western hori- zon of life, and when called upon to lay down the burdens and responsibilities of this world they will leave to their posterity a priceless heritage, the record of well spent, useful lives.

EDMUND G. GEYER. The name of Geyer is so well known throughout the entire county of St. Joseph that its representatives need no special introduction to the readers of this volume. Edmund G. Geyer is numbered among the leading agriculturists and business men of Liberty township, and his birth oc- curred in Dearborn county, Indiana, Decem- ber 16, 1866, his parents being Peter and

Margaret (Ewald) Geyer, he being their fourth child in order of birth. The father was born about ten miles from the old city of Munich, Germany in the province of Ba- varia, December 12, 1836, and his death oc- curred in St. Joseph county, Indiana, Novem- ber 15, 1901. He was but a little lad of four years when he bade adieu to the fatherland and set sail from Bremen for the United States, their destination being Baltimore, Maryland. Their voyage was a stormy one, the vessel being buffeted about by wind and wave for fourteen weeks and many times

driven from its course, but finally God in his infinite mercy carried them safely into port. Making their way to Cincinnati, Ohio, the family spent several months in that city, and then removed to Dearborn county, Indiana, the father there believing he would find a primitive land where he might begin anew the battle of life among the wilds as a huntsman. But the location not proving satisfactory, in the year 1850, over the old Michigan trail, the family again began their journeyings, finally landing in Liberty township, St. Joseph county, where the father purchased four hundred acres of virgin timber land, receiving this tract and five hundred dollars in return for his eighty acres in Dearborn county, and their first habitation was a little log cabin. The Pottawatomie Indians were then to be seen in the vicinity, while game of all kinds was plentiful. There were then practically no highways in the county, the road leading from the village of North Lib- erty, or what has since been designated by that name, being but a blazed trail. In the early days the Geyers were Democrats, but the question of slavery caused them to change their views, and at the organization of the Republican party they joined its ranks and supported its first presidential nominee, Gen- eral Fremont. Peter Geyer devoted his life to the pursuit of agriculture. Having re- ceived but limited educational advantages in his youth he constantly added to his store of knowledge by constant reading and observa- tion until he became a well informed man, and both he and his wife were adherents of the Lutheran faith, while Mr. Geyer was also a member of the Masonic order. The wife and mother was a native of Dearborn county, Indiana, born in the same house in which all of her children also first saw the light of day, November 18, 1837, and she now resides in the city of South Bend, honored and revered

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for her many noble characteristics. She and her husband were schoolmates in their child- hood days, from whence sprung that beauti- ful attachment which grew stronger with the passing years, finally uniting them as hus- band and wife, and together they traveled the journey of life for many years.

Edmund G. Geyer, whose name introduces this review, was but eight years of age when he became a resident of St. Joseph county, and here he has since lived and labored, being now numbered among the leading agricultur- ists ' and stock raisers of Liberty township. In past years, however, he was one of the successful educators of the county, teaching in both North Liberty and Liberty township. During his youth he received an excellent educational training in the Beaver Creek school of Liberty township, and he seems to have inherited the love of the teacher's pro- fession, for in the family were four prom- inent educators, and the name is a familiar one in the educational circles of this section of the county. Mr. Geyer taught three years in the North Liberty schools and twelve years in the township schools, and he now holds an exemption certificate, which is nominally the same as a life certificate.

On the 25th of May, 1889, Mr. Geyer was united in marriage to Miss Martha. E. King, and their two children are LaVerne B., who received a diploma from the county schools in the class of 1906, and is now a student in the North Liberty high school, and she has also received musical instruction, and Leo P., who is a bright and intelligent student in the fourth grade of school. Mrs. Geyer was born in Bethany, Harrison county, Missouri, July 28, 1865, the younger of the two chil- dren, a son and daughter, born to Daniel and Annie (Mullet) King. The son is William N. King, who is engaged in teaching in Cow- ley county, Kansas. Mr. King was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, and his entire active business career was devoted to agricultural pursuits, while politically he was a Repub- lican. Mrs. King was born in Holmes county, Ohio; in 1840, and she now makes her home with her daughter. Mrs. Geyer was but a babe of two years when the family returned to Holmes county, Ohio, attaining to years of maturity in the Buckeye state and receiving her education in its common schools. She is a lady of pleasing personality, and her cheery manner is a blessing in her home.

Mr. and Mrs. Geyer began their married

life in the old Geyer home, there remaining for one year, and in 1890 located on their present farm which comprises one hundred acres in one tract and seventy in another, and all lies in Liberty township. They have re- modeled their residence, erected a large barn and other buildings, and their home is known as "Lakeview." Mr. Geyer cast his first presidential vote for Benjamin Harrison, hav- ing ever since continued to support the prin- ciples of the Republican party, and he has often times been selected as delegate to the county conventions. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, as are also their children and the family is one of the honored ones of St. Joseph county.

JOHN ADAM SHENEMAN, a member of one of the historic old families of St. Joseph county, has been closely identified with its interests throughout his entire life, and it may well feel proud to claim him among its native sons. His natal day was the 6th of September, 1864, and he is the third in a family of seven children, four sons and three daughters, born to Henry and Elizabeth (Mullet) Sheneman, whose history will be found elsewhere. His entire business career has been devoted to the cultivation of the fields, and his education was received in the common school near his home. Upon reach- ing the age of twenty-one years he began the battle of life for himself, having previously given the benefit of his time to his parents. and beginning at the bottom round of the ladder he has gradually worked his way up- ward until he now occupies a position among the leading agriculturists of the township. During the first nine years he worked by the month at one place, the DeCoudres farm southwest of North Liberty. after which he purchased forty acres of his present home- stead, at that time only partially improved. and the price necessary for its purchase had been saved from his hard-earned earnings in the previous years. He is truly a type of the progressive spirit of the age. a spirit which has given America pre-eminence along its various business lines and the undaunted en- terprise and resolute purpose which have characterized him have been the means of raising him from a lowly position to one of prominence in the business life of the com- munity.

On the 25th of December, 1895, Mr. Shene- man, was united in marriage to Miss Ella

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John A Phoneman

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Newcomer, and they have became the parents of three children, two sons and one daughter, namely: Addie Marie, who is now a little maiden in the third grade of the public schools; Harvey Leo, a member of the first grade; and Charles Russell, the youngest of the family. Mrs. Sheneman was born in Starke county, Indiana, May 16, 1875, and was a little maiden of only two years when she came with her parents to St. Joseph county, receiving her education in its common schools and graduating therein in 1890. She is a daughter of John A. and Catherine S. (Hart- man) Newcomer, in whose family were six children, four sons and two daughters, but only two of the number are now living, the younger being Susanna, the wife of Alonzo Sheneman, who is prominent and well known farmer in Madison township. They have four living children.

Mr. Newcomer, the father, is a native of Columbiana county, Ohio, born June 14, 1844, but when a lad his parents removed to Stark county, Ohio, where they remained until he was nine years of age, coming thence to St. Joseph county. The journey hither was made in true pioneer style, traveling in a covered wagon across the swamps and through the woods until finally reaching their journey's end in Liberty township, St. Joseph county, where they purchased one hundred and sixty acres of timber land. Their first abode was a little log cabin, and their nearest neighbors were the Pottawatomie Indians, who made sugar just a little way from their home. The son John received his education in a little log cabin eighteen by twenty feet, with slab seats resting on wooden legs, while the desk was a broad board supported by wooden pins driven into the wall, and he has written with the old fashioned goose quill pen fashioned by the master. He has also used the old sickle, and cradled wheat all day with the turkey. wing cradle for wages. The wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Newcomer was celebrated on the 23d of December, 1866, and their first purchase of land was eighty acres in Starke county, Indi- ana, but he is now the owner of thirty-six acres in Liberty township, St. Joseph county, where he has resided for over a quarter of a century. He is a Jackson Democrat and cast his first presidential vote for Greeley, always having stood firm for those principles. Both he and his wife are members of the German Lutheran church. Mrs. Newcomer was born in DeKalb county, Indiana, October 18, 1844,

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A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 73

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