A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 75

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

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In his early manhood Mr. McEnderfer was united in marriage to Mary Bowers, a native of Northumberland county, Pennsylvania. where she also grew to years of maturity, and they became the parents of six children. five sons and one daughter, but only two are now living, the elder being Eli, a re- tired agriculturist living in South Bend. In their younger days Mr. and Mrs. McEnderfer united with the Lutheran church and they exemplified its faith in their every day life until their labors were finally ended in death, both now sleeping in the Lutheran cemetery. Mr. McEnderfer was numbered among the honored, early pioneers of Liberty township, and his name is inseparably connected with its early records. He was the first man in the township to erect a bank barn, and aided in the erection of the first Lutheran church. located just southeast of his residence, and this building is still standing.

Allen McEnderfer, the son of this honored St. Joseph pioneer, was born in Stark county, Ohio, December 15, 1844, and was but three years of age when the removal was made to St. Joseph county. His early educational training was received in the primitve school near his home, a little building twenty-five by thirty feet, where the desks were broad boards resting on wooden pins driven into the wall for support, and the seats were slabs resting on wooden legs. This was known as the Dice school. On the 11th of Septem- ber, 1869, Mr. McEnderfer was married to Miss Elizabeth Stonehill, and they became the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters, of whom four are living, namely : Mary E., the wife of Levi A. Smith, whose history will be found elsewhere in this work; Meta. who became the wife of Austin Kaser, a leading agriculturist of the township, and they reside on her father's farm. One child, Charles Edward, has been

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born to them, and Mrs. Kaser is a member of the Lutheran church. Irvin S. also resides on the old homestead, where he is a prosper- ous farmer and stockman. He married Miss Bessie Shubert, and they have one little daughter, Edith. He also belongs to the Lutheran church. Sarah E., the youngest of the family, is the wife of John Johnson, an agriculturist.

Mrs. McEnderfer, the mother, was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1847, and her death occurred on the 22d of November, 1906. She was but a babe of two years when brought to Liberty township, St. Joseph county, and the remainder of her life was here spent. She was a kind and affectionate wife and mother, a devoted member of the Lutheran church, and was always ready to aid the poor and the needy. For over thirty-eight years she trav- eled the journey of life with her husband, when tired and weary she lay down to sleep, leaving the companion to continue on alone, but to those who knew her her memory will long remain as the fragrance of a flower after the petals have fallen.

Mr. McEnderfer has spent almost his en- tire life in this county, has witnessed the transformation of wild land into beautiful homes and farms and the establishment of towns and villages, and in the work of growth and upbuilding he has ever borne his full part. His business career has been crowned with a well merited success, and he now owns two hundred and thirty acres of fertile and well tilled land in Liberty township, while in 1890 he erected one of the most beautiful brick residences in the entire township. His political support is given to the Democracy, having ever been a stanch advocate of its principles, and he is also a worthy member and an active worker in the Lutheran church. He has ever been honorable in business, loyal in friendship, faithful in citizenship, and now in his declining days he can look back over the past with little occasion for regret.

WILLIAM NEWCOMER. For nearly a quar- ter of a century William Newcomer has been a resident of St. Joseph county, Indiana, and his honesty and integrity are well estab- lished in Liberty township, where he and his family are well and widely known. He was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, February 27, 1844, and is the twelfth in order of birth of thirteen children (eight of whom were sons and five daughters) born to Abraham and Catherine (Wolf) Newcomer. Of these

children seven are now alive, three of them making their residence in Indiana.

The elder Mr. Newcomer was born in Penn- sylvania, and devoted his life to agricultural pursuits. He was married in Columbiana county, Ohio, and availed himself of the op- portunity of obtaining an education in the public schools. In his political thought he was a Democrat, and was a loyal member of the Mennonite church. The mother was a native of Ohio, spending her entire life in that state. She was of the Lutheran faith and was known throughout her life as a loyal and consistent member of the church. They came to Hancock county, Ohio, about the year 1847 and settled on an eighty acre farm, and it was here that the subject of this sketch was reared, and in this county that he re- ceived his first schooling, attending one of the little log schools which were so common fifty years ago, built of hewed logs with a clapboard roof and the seats and benches of the roughest description, quite in contrast with the district schools of to-day. He re- mained with his parents until they both passed away. He has devoted his life to till- ing the soil and has witnessed a wonderful change in the rural life of Indiana since his residence there, the country advancing from a number of scattered and primitive settle- ments to profitable and well kept farms with advantages in reach of all which were not even dreamed of fifty years ago.

Mr. Newcomer was married January 20, 1870 to Miss Sarah Bauders. They are the parents of eight children, six sons and two daughters, five of whom are living to-day. The following is their order of birth: Viola, wife of Samuel Bates, a carpenter and joiner of North Liberty, whose family comprises eight children ; W. F., a sketch of whose life is given elsewhere in this work; Charles, who still resides at the old homestead and who wedded Miss Anna Hildebrand (they have one daughter, Bertha by name) ; James, who is employed in a publishing house in Elgin, Illinois; and Reuben, who still resides with his parents.

Mrs. Newcomer was born in Hancock county, Ohio, April 25, 1850, and is a daugh- ter of Jacob and Mary (Fulmar) Bauders. Mr. Bauders was born and reared in the state of Pennsylvania and was a farmer by occu- pation. Hearing much in favor of the farm lands which were opening up in Ohio, Mr. Bauders decided to try this new field and

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came to the state in one of those large cov- ered wagons in which settlers were wont in those days to move their earthly possessions from place to place. Mrs. Bauders was also a native of Pennsylvania. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bauders died in Ohio. There were ten children in the Bauders family-four sons and six daughters-four only being alive, and Mrs. Newcomer is the only one of them resident in Indiana.

Mr. and Mrs. Newcomer resided in Han- cock county for seventeen years, where they owned a fertile farm of fifty-three acres. Upon deciding to change their place of resi- dence they sold this farm and came to Lib- erty township, where they purchased the eighty acre tract on which their son Charles now lives. They also own another eighty acre farm which lies about a mile and one- quarter east of Liberty. On this piece they erected, in the summer of 1907, a beautiful cottage home in which they intend to pass the remainder of their days in the peace and quiet which they so richly deserve.

In his political affiliations Mr. Newcomer is a Democrat, and is a consistent and worthy member of the German Baptist Brethren church, his wife being of the Evangelical faith. It is a source of satisfaction to this worthy couple to feel that in a long resi- dence in this county they have been accorded the invariable respect and good will of their neighbors and that they are passing the clos- ing days of their lives among friends.

W. F. NEWCOMER. From a long line of tillers of the soil comes a worthy represen- tative of a sturdy ancestry in W. F. New- comer. He, too, is an agriculturist, owning a splendid farm in Liberty township, which he has taken pride to cultivate to the high- est extent, although he is numbered among the younger business men of the community. His birth occurred in Hancock county, Ohio, April 8. 1877, a son of William and Sarah (Borders) Newcomer, in which family were eight children, six sons and two daughters.

W. F. Newcomer was about ten years of age when he came with his parents from Ohio to Indiana. landing in St. Joseph county on the 27th of September, 1887, and in Lib- erty township the father purchased eighty acres of land. From his early youth the son was inured to the duties of the fields and stock raising. and these occupations he has carried on in his subsequent years with ever increasing success, being now classed with

the younger progressive agriculturists of Lib- erty township. Mr. Newcomer has been twice married, but there were no children by the first union, while by his second marriage to Miss Frances Gearhart on the 27th of October, 1898, he has three children, one son and two daughters, of whom two are living, Raymond R. and Edith A. Mrs. Newcomer is a native of St. Joseph county, born May 15, 1878, a daughter of John and Lydia (Wolf) Gearhart, in whose family were the following children : Mrs. Newcomer, the eld- est; William, a farmer of Greene township, St. Joseph county; Jesse, a merchant in South Bend, Indiana; Alice, who resides with her parents in South Bend; Charles in the seventh grade in school; and Lizzie and Earl, also in school. Mr. Gearhart was born in Pennsylvania on the 28th of November, 1851, but has long been num- bered among the honored residents of South Bend. He gives his political support to the Democracy, and both he and his wife, who was born in St. Joseph county May 2. 1861. are identified with the German Baptist church. When eleven years of age Mrs. New- comer removed from the farm to North Lib- erty, where she continued her education in the public schools until graduation in 1894. and received a teacher's certificate, having served as a substitute teacher. She has proved an able assistant to her husband in the estab- lishment of their home, and they occupy a high position in the social circles of the com- munity.

Mr. and Mrs. Newcomer began their mar- ried life as renters, but in 1904 he purchased eighty acres of land one and one-half miles from North Liberty, one of the finest farms of the township, and in its pastures may be found the finest standard bred cattle. Mr. Newcomer is a Democrat in his political af- filiations, but takes a strong stand on the subject of temperance, and has often been solicited to accept the offices of the township. Both he and his wife are members of the Wesleyan Methodist church in Liberty town- ship. and they liberally contribute of their means to all objects of benevolence. They are young people who are held in the highest regard by their friends and acquaintances. and we are pleased to present the record of their lives among the representative men and women of St. Joseph county.

MOSES G. HOUSER, a well known farmer and honored citizen of St. Joseph county,

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has throughout his active business life been prominently identified with agricultural in- terests, and has for many years resided upon his present farm. He is a representative of one of the county's honored pioneer fami- lies, and was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, June 10, 1840, a son of George and Lucy (Long) Houser, to whom were born eleven children, six sons and five daughters, but only four of the sons and three daughters are now living, and all are residents of In- diana with the exception of Elizabeth, who is the wife of John Girard and resides in California. Mr. Houser, the father, was of German lineage, for his grandfather was born in the fatherland, but he was a native of Pennsylvania, born March 11, 1813, and his death occurred on the 14th of October, 1884. When he was a little lad of two years he was taken by his parents to Ohio, where he was reared to years of maturity and edu- cated in the early schools of the Buckeye state. But desiring to establish for his fam- ily a home in the west, he removed to Plym- outh, Indiana, in 1858, and thence to Liberty township, St. Joseph county, where he pur- chased eighty acres of the virgin land. Only a little clearing of one acre had been made, and the first home of the family was one of those primitive log cabins so typical of the pioneer days, while all about them were the wild game of the forest. At that time the now populous city of South Bend, with its fifty thousand population and world famed manufacturing industries, was but a strag- gling little village, the great Studebaker works being but a little shop on Michigan street. The only railroad that then traversed the county was the Lake Shore, and great indeed have been the changes wrought within the borders of old St. Joseph since the Hou- sers took up their . abode here, and in all this work of transformation they have nobly performed their part, laboring for the ad- vancement of the movements to benefit the community and promote the welfare of its inhabitants. Mr. Houser gave his political support to the Republican party, and both he and his wife were members of the German Evangelical church, they having assisted in the erection of the present house of worship. The wife and mother was born in Ohio, De- cember 11, 1817, and her death occurred in 1898.

Moses G. Houser, the third in order of birth of their eleven children, spent the first Vol. II-27.

seventeen years of his life in his native county of Coshocton, attending its public schools and completing his education in In- diana, where for two years he attended a hewed log cabin school twenty-four feet square, where the seats were of slabs without backs, and the desks a long board, on which he has written with a goose quill pen. . Agri- culture has claimed his time and attention since entering upon his business career, and for fifteen years during the time their land was being cleared he also conducted a saw mill. On the 24th of June, 1866, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Gonser, and of their eight children, four sons and four daughters, seven are now living, namely : Della May, who in addition to her common- school education received musical instruction, is the wife of Albert D. Mangus, a resident farmer of Liberty township, and their three children are Russell E., Eva LaVerne and Harley E .; Lettie Alice makes her home with Mrs. Finch in North Liberty; Charles A., who supplemented his common-school training by attendance at the Valparaiso University and for seven years was one of the successful teachers of Liberty township, married Miss Mary E. Hullinger, and resides in Liberty township; Laura, the wife of Joseph Steele, a leading farmer of Liberty township; Reuben, who resides on the old homestead, married Miss Alma Thomas, and they have two children, Grace and Stanley ; Olive, who has completed her seventh grade studies and is at home; and Orville, the youngest of the family.

Mrs. Houser was born in DeKalb county, Indiana, December 9, 1847, where she was reared to young womanhood, and the educa- tional training which she there received was continued after her removal to St. Joseph county. Mr. and Mrs. Houser began their mar- ried life on eighty acres of their present home- stead, which was mostly covered with timber and for which they were obliged to go in debt, but diligently they labored on together. sharing with each other the many trials and hardships which they encountered on their road to success, until finally their united efforts enabled them to clear the indebted- ness and add to their holdings until now they are the owners of one hundred and forty acres of rich and well improved land. their homestead being known as "The Poplars." Mr. Houser cast his first presidential vote for Lincoln, and has ever since remained true

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and loyal to the principles of the Republican party, while both he and his wife attend the Evangelical church, of which she is a worthy member. They have won for them- selves the high place which they now occupy, and are the recipients of the deserved and unbounded esteem of all who have the pleas- ure of their acquaintance.

FREDERICK W. LAMMEDEE. The name borne by Frederick W. Lammedee is one which is indissolubly identified with the an- nals of St. Joseph county from an early epoch in its history, and he is numbered among its native sons, for his birth occurred in the city of South Bend on the 6th of June, 1848, the youngest of six children, four sons and two daughters, born to Barnhardt and Elizabeth (Schaeffer) Lammedee. Four of the number are now living: Charlotte, the widow of Andrew Bird and a resident of Greene township; Barnhardt, who resides in South Bend; Margaret, who became the wife of William Manring, who also made their home in that city, and they are now deceased; and Frederick W., whose name introduces this review.

Barnhardt Lammedee, the father, was a native of France, and the name was origin- ally spelled "Lamady," but has been changed to its present orthography. After reaching years of maturity Mr. Lammedee left his na- tive land for America, arriving in Ohio thirty dollars in debt, and he was obliged to begin at the very bottom round of the ladder of life. In a very early day he left the Buckeye state for St. Joseph county, Indiana, which was then the home of the red man and other pioneer conditions existed which made it a frontier region. ' He could have purchased the land where the Oliver plow works now stand for one hundred and seventy-five dol- lars, and the son Frederick was born on the site of the St. Joseph County Savings Bank. Although he began life in this country a poor man, he was successful in his operations and at his death left an estate of one hundred and forty-two acres of land in Liberty town- ship. He pursued his trade of a tailor throughout the principal part of his business career, and his political support was given to the Democracy. His fraternal relations were with the Odd Fellows order, and both he and his wife were members of the Lu- theran church, he having aided in the erec- tion of the church of that denomination in South Bend. Mrs. Lammedee was born in

the little province of Alsace, Germany, and she was but fourteen years of age when she and her orphan sister crossed the ocean to America, she having learned to sew from a lady passenger during the long journey hither. Both she and her husband died in Greene township, St. Joseph county, which had been their home for so many years and where they were loved and honored by all who had the pleasure of their acquaintance.

Frederick W. Lammedee, whose name in- troduces this review, was reared in his na- tive county as a farmer lad, pursuing his education in its common schools, and throughout his entire business career he has been a successful farmer and stockman. He remained at home until his twenty-first year, when he was married and entered the busi- ness world for himself, his entire capital consisting of a mule valued at fifty dollars which had been given him by his father. Mr. Lammedee was first married in 1870, when Miss Lydia Whitmer became his wife, and they became the parents of the following children : Arthur B., who wedded Miss Susie Newcomer, and they reside in Canada, where he is well known in musical circles, being proficient in both instrumental and vocal, and has taught music from the age of fifteen years; Clarence M., who is engaged in railroad work and is a resident of Alberta, Canada; Nellie C., who received an excellent educa- tion in the schools of North Liberty, and is now engaged in teaching in Minot, North Da- kota, where she has secured a claim of one hundred and sixty acres; Lawrence, a farmer in Canada. The mother of these children died on the 6th of July, 1895, and on the 25th of November following Mr. Lammedee married Mrs. Mary (Smith) Arnold. She was born near Goshen, Elkhart county, In- diana, May 7, 1850, a daughter of John W. and Zilla (Wilson) Smith, in whose family were eight children, one son and seven daugh- ters, and four of the number are now living. namely: Sarah E., the wife of Samuel Pef- fley, an agriculturist of Walkerton, Indiana : Mary, the wife of Mr. Lammedee; Amanda L., the wife of Peter Jacobs, a farmer of Walkerton, Indiana; and Susanna, the wife of William Brown, who is engaged in agri- cultural pursuits near Wilson, North Da- kota. Mr. Smith, the father, was a native of Ohio, but in a very early day in the his- tory of northern Indiana he located within the borders of Elkhart county, where he se-

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Elmer Kane

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cured land from the government, the deeds for which were executed in Laporte. His father Daniel was a soldier in the war of 1812. The country at that time abounded in wild game of all kinds, and Mr. Wilson, being an excellent marksman, secured many val- uable trophies of the chase. It has been stated that at the time Mr. and Mrs. Wilson began life in this state their entire worldly possessions could have been tied in a silk handkerchief, but at the time of his death Mr. Wilson left an estate of one hundred acres of excellent land in Liberty township, valued at five thousand dollars. He was a Jackson Democrat, strong in the faith of the principles which he advocated, and both he and his wife were members of the German Baptist church for forty-six years, they hav- ing assisted in the erection of the church of that denomination west of North Liberty. They now lie buried in the cemetery in that city, where a beautiful stone marks their last resting place. John T. Wilson, the grandfather of Mrs. Lammedee, was a promi- nent factor in the early history of Elkhart county, Indiana, and he helped to hew the logs used in the first court house in Goshen. He was of Scotch origin, his father having emigrated from Scotland to America and taken up his abode in Ohio. At the time of the removal of his son to Goshen there were but six or eight houses in the now populous city, while many Indians roamed at will through the dense forests of the county. In those early days he was extensively engaged in trapping and hewing logs, and he also pre- emptied four hundred acres of land north of Goshen, where for many years he was well known as a miller. He made three trips to California, going once by water and twice across the plains.

Mrs. Lammedee remained in Elkhart county until about six years of age, when she accompanied her parents on their re- moval to St. Joseph county, continuing her education in its public schools. She was first married to Charles F. Arnold, a native of New York, and whose death occurred in 1894. Her marriage to Mr. Lammedee was celebrated on the 25th of November, 1896, and they began their married life on a farm in Greene township, which continued their home until 1903, the year of their removal to the village of North Liberty. There they purchased a beautiful cottage home, in which they are spending their remaining days in

quiet retirement, enjoying the rest which they have so truly earned and richly deserve. Mr. Lammedee cast his first presidential vote for Horace Greeley, and has ever since remained true to the principles of the Democracy. Both he and his wife are devout members of the German Baptist church, in which he is one of the trustees, and his wife is presi- dent of the Ladies' Aid Society and is now assistant superintendent of the Sunday- school, although for years she served as the efficient superintendent. They have at- tended nine of the annual conferences of their church, have crossed the Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains, have visited the White House and capitol building, and have gained that knowledge which only extensive travel can give.

ELMER KANE. During half a century the Kane family have been closely associated with the progress and development of St. Joseph county, and few of her citizens have manifested greater public spirit or more earnest interest in the reduction of the coun- try from a wilderness to a fertile land of fine farms and villages. One of the repre- sentatives of this prominent pioneer family, Elmer Kane, was born in Elkhart county, In- diana, December 3, 1852, a son of Joseph and Lydia (Hively) Kane, to whom were born eleven children, but only three are now liv- ing: Sarah, the wife of Zachariah Shene- man, one of the leading agriculturists of Lib- erty township; Elmer, whose name intro- duces this review; and Schuyler, who re- sides on the old Kane homestead in Liberty township. He married Mrs. Rhoda J. (Sheneman) Stull.

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A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 75

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