A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 85

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 85

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DAVID BACHTEL, a retired farmer and cooper of South Bend, where he has been a familiar and respected citizen for the past twenty years, is a native of Maryland, of which state his family embraced not a few well known and prosperous farmers. He him- self was born in Maryland June 8, 1812, his father, Christian Bachtel, having been a na- tive of the Keystone state, his life being ushered in by the year 1771. The paternal grandfather was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary war, and, when a boy, the father of David migrated to Maryland, where he mar- ried Katherine Smith, also 'a native of that state. Their family of seven children con- sisted of three sons and four daughters, of whom David is the youngest and the only one now alive.

David Bachtel was reared in Maryland, removing to Stark county, Ohio, when a young man of twenty-one years, where he en- gaged in farming and married Miss Mar- guerite Nelson. She was a native of that county, and by him became the mother of three sons and four daughters, dying in the year 1849. In 1852 he married for his sec- ond wife, Maria (Emerick) Stom, widow of Daniel Stom, a shoemaker of Stark county. She had seven children by her first husband, and four sons and one daughter by her union to David Bachtel.

In 1854 Mr. Bachtel removed to Whitley

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county, Indiana, where for twelve years he seph county and assisted in making it the passed an industrious and profitable period prosperous community which it now is, and all honor is due these brave and hardy lead- ers. Six children blessed their union, namely : Priscilla C. Fields; Marion, who served as a member of an Indiana regiment during the Civil war, and now resides at What Cheer, Iowa; Henry, a resident of Larned, Kansas, also served his country during that conflict; Rebecca, a resident of Buchanan, Michigan ; Gilbert, of Linn county, Kansas; and Sarah, deceased. of farming. In 1866 he located his family homestead in Union township, St. Joseph county, cultivating and improving about twenty acres and also engaging at his trade of cooperage. In 1887 he had acquired so comfortable a competence that he retired from active work, and in 1895 made South Bend his permanent residence. Mr. Bachtel has always been a firm Republican, but never an office holder or a seeker. In religion he is a faithful and old member of the Brethren church.

Mr. Bachtel was too far along in years to serve his country in the Civil war, but took a deep interest in the Union cause and con- tributed of his substance to its support and final triumph. Two of his sons were active participants in the four years' conflict, one of them sacrificing a leg and an eye. They both served in Indiana regiments, the elder son being with Sherman in his historie march to the sea and his other campaigns, participat- ing in many fierce engagements and wearying marches.

MRS. PRISCILLA C. FIELDS, whose home is Oak Grove Farm in Warren township, is one of the well known and honored residents of the community. She was born in Jen- nings county, Indiana, in 1831, and is of Scotch ancestry. Her paternal grandfather, John Buckles, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and his son, also named John, was born in Virginia, and was twelve years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Jennings county, Indiana. He grew to years of ma- turity there, and was married to Lovina Hughes, whose birth occurred in North Caro- lina, and that commonwealth was also the birthplace of her father, David Hughes. It was in 1833 that John Buckles with his fam- ily came to St. Joseph county, Indiana, this being at a very early epoch in its history and during the progress of the Blackhawk war. For a time they resided in Portage Prairie, Greene township, and the father's death occurred at the ripe old age of eighty- four years, long surviving his wife, who was called to the home beyond when but forty- two. Both were members of the Methodist church, while he was formerly connected with the German Baptists, and gave his political support to the Republican party. Their names are recorded with those who cast in their lot with the early pioneers of St. Jo-

On the 27th of January, 1852, Priscilla C. Buckles gave her hand in marriage to Ste- phen Fields, for many years a prominent and well known resident of Warren township. He was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, near Dayton, in March, 1822, a son of Wal- ter Fields. Mr. Fields had been previously married, wedding Charlotte Rush, by whom he had two children, Burris Lloyd, who re- sides on Michigan avenue in South Bend, and Almira Augustine, also of that city. By his marriage to Priscilla C. Buckles he be- came the father of eight children: Frank- lin P., engaged in the coal business in South Bend; Julia Pixley, who died leaving four children; Martha Egner, of South Bend; Douglass, whose death at the age of twenty- five years brought to a close a bright and promising career; Walter, a resident of War- ren township; Ida, the wife of William Pef- fley, of South Bend; John, also of that city; and Florence Haff, of Mishawaka. The fam- ily suffered an irreparable loss in the death of the husband and father on the 7th of De- cember, 1878, when he had reached the fifty- seventh milestone on the journey of life, and although he has long since passed to his re- ward his memory is revered by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. For eight years he served as a justice of the peace, and was a leading member of the German Bap- tist church. Mrs. Fields now resides on the estate of two hundred and forty acres left her by her husband. She is a woman of ex- cellent executive ability, and has worthily carried on the work laid down by her hon- ored husband. She affiliates with the Breth- ren church, and has drawn about her a large circle of devoted friends.

JOSEPH BEEHLER, an enterprising and pros- perous agriculturist of Madison township, St. Joseph county, where he owns a fine estate in section 25, has been identified with the industrial interests of this community

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throughout his entire business career, and is a member of one of the county's oldest and most prominent families. His birth occurred on the old homestead of his father in Madi- son township November 14, 1872, his parents being Peter and Mary (Weible) Beehler, both of whom were born near the river Rhine in Bavaria, Germany. The father's birth oc- curred in the year of 1817. In 1848, on a sailing vessel, the parents set sail for the United States, and after a residence in Erie county, New York, near Buffalo, until 1854 they came to St. Joseph county, Indiana, establishing their home on a farm in section 13, Madison township. Mr. Beehler became in time one of the most prominent of the town- ship's citizens and the owner of three hundred acres of rich and well cultivated land. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Beehler were eight children, seven sons and one daughter, namely : Phillip W., Peter H., Fred W., Adam G., Charles, Jacob and Joseph (twins), and Sarah Beehler. The father spent the remainder of his life on the old homestead farm which he had cleared and cultivated, dying at the age of seventy-two years. He was a weaver by trade, having learned and followed that occupation in his native land of Germany, and he was a worthy and promi- nent member of the German Evangelical church. The wife and mother is still living, making her home with her son Adam on the old homestead farm, where she has resided during the past fifty-four years.

It was on this farmstead, the home of the Beehlers for so many years, that the son Joseph grew to a sturdy manhood, in the meantime receiving an excellent educational training in both the German and English languages. When he had reached the age of maturity he established a home of his own, and he is now the owner of an estate of ninety acres of land, all rich and fertile land and all under an excellent state of cultiva- tion. His residence is a substantial and com- modious structure, and his fine bank barn is forty by seventy feet, and was erected in 1905.

Mr. Beehler married one of the township's native daughters, Anna Birk, and a sketch of her father, George A. Birk, one of the prominent early settlers of the community, will be found elsewhere in this work. Two children have been born to them, Edna Marie and Clarence Joseph. The Democracy re- ceives the political support of Mr. Beehler,

and he is a member of the Evangelical church.

EDWIN DOUGLASS EATON, one of the leading farmers of Clay township, St. Joseph county, was born in this township on the 28th of March, 1854, and is a representative of one of its oldest and most prominent families. His paternal grandfather, Isaac Eaton, was born in Loudoun county, Virginia. January 24, 1775, having been born after his father's death. He was bound out to learn the black- smith's trade, but ran away to Maryland, and was there engaged in work at his trade until he came to St. Joseph county, Indiana, where he entered eighty acres of land on sec- tions 16 and 17, Clay township. He offered his services to his country during the war of 1812, serving under General Mason, and witnessed the burning of Washington, D. C. He was an only child, and was married in 1798, in Frederick county, Maryland, to Mar- garet Metzger, a native of that county. born on the 15th of November, 1781, the family having come from Holland to this country in colonial days. The Eaton family is of Eng- lish descent, and the father of Isaac served in the war of the Revolution. Both Mr. and Mrs. Eaton passed away on their old home- stead farm in Clay township, she on the 23d of April, 1863, and he on the 25th of De- cember, 1869. . In their family were eight children, as follows: Millie, born December 25, 1800; Susan, July 26, 1806; Samuel, October 5, 1809; John, August 4, 1811; William, February 7, 1814; Mary, December 5, 1816: Jacob, May 1, 1819; and Abraham, June 10, 1822.

Jacob Eaton was born in Frederick county, Maryland, May 1, 1819, and was eleven years of age when his parents located near Dayton. in Montgomery county, Ohio, but after a resi- dence there of one year they came to Clay township, St. Joseph county, Indiana, in the year 1831. They first located on the present site of St. Mary's Academy, on sections 25 and 26, living there with people who had a lease on the property. Five years later they took up their abode on sections 16 and 17. where Mr. Eaton, Sr., entered eighty acres of land and turned it over to his son Jacob, the youngest son. The latter resided on that place until he came to what afterward became known as the old Eaton homestead on the 12th of April, 1856. He cleared, improved and sold other places, and also purchased one hundred and twenty acres on sections 13

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and 18, of which he cleared about twenty- five acres and erected the present substantial buildings. He later. purchased twenty-five acres more, then eighty acres on section 18, and at the time of his death, which occurred on the 11th of February, 1894, left an es- tate of two hundred and twenty-five acres, which is still owned by his children. He was a life-long Democrat in his political affilia- tions, and for sixteen years served as the trustee of Clay township, while for a period of eight years he was a county commissioner.

On the 6th of August, 1846, Mr. Eaton was united in marriage to Elizabeth Barnes, who was born in Frederick county, Maryland, October 27, 1820, and come to St. Joseph county, Indiana, with her father in 1836, he securing a farm south of the city of South Bend. Her parents were John Eli and Han- nah (Yeast) Barnes, he a native of Virginia and of English descent. The mother, who was of German descent, died before the fam- ily home was established in this county, the father having made the journey with his second wife. Jacob and Elizabeth (Barnes) Eaton became the parents of seven children, namely : Emma F., born May 23, 1847, re- sides on the old homestead; Clarissa M., born February 4, 1849, married Charles Jen- nings and died June 1, 1890; Mary A., born January 28, 1851, married John Kiefer, and died May 1, 1875; Edwin D., who was born March 28, 1854: Joanna W., born Novem- ber 12, 1856, also resides on the old home- stead; Norman Eddy, born March 24, 1859, died March 30, 1883; and Mark Byron, born January 6, 1862, died March 20, 1883.

Edwin D. Eaton has resided on the old homestead place in Clay township for fifty years, since 1856, where he makes his home with his two sisters, Emma F. and Joanna W. The place consists of two hundred and twenty-five acres of rich and well cultivated . land, which is devoted to general farming purposes and on which is located good and substantial buildings. Mr. Eaton has erected the splendid barn which now adorns the place, and is numbered among the most substantial agriculturists of Clay township. In his po- litical affiliations he upholds the principles of the Democratic party.

SAMUEL R. JENNINGS is a well known agri- culturist of Clay township, St. Joseph county, whose skill and ability in his chosen calling are plainly manifest in the well tilled fields and neat and thrifty appearance of his place.

He was born on the 18th of December, 1845, in the township which is yet his home, and in early life became familiar with every depart- ment of farm work. His father, Samuel R. Jennings, was a native of Orange county, New York, born in 1808, and when but a young lad was deprived of his father by death, after which he was bound out and learned the carpenter's trade. He subse- quently removed to Toledo, Ohio, thence to Monroe, Michigan, and in 1833 took up his abode in South Bend, which continued as his home for about three years. At the end of that time he traded his property in that city with his brother James H. for his farm in Clay township, and there his death oc- curred on the 4th of January, 1874, leaving an estate of about three hundred acres in this township and also a block in South Bend. During his residence in Toledo, Ohio, he was engaged in merchandising, while in South Bend he followed his trade of carpentering, and in Clay township he was extensively en- gaged in agricultural pursuits. A Democrat in his political views, he served a number of times as township trustee, and at one time was a candidate for the office of sheriff.

On the 8th of June, 1841, in Clay town- ship, Samuel R. Jennings was united in mar- riage to Matilda Barkdoll, who was born in Jamestown, Ohio, in 1818, and accompanied her parents on their removal to this county. Her father, Solomon Barkdoll, was a gun- smith, and served in the war of 1812, par- ticipating in the battle of Fort Meigs. After the close of that conflict he came to St. Jo- seph county, Indiana, but about five years later removed to Chillicothe, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Jennings became the parents of four children, namely; James, who was killed at Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1865, while in the United States detective service under Theodore Coquillard; Samuel R., whose name introduces this review; Charles, who died at the age of about forty-five years; and Francis, an agriculturist of Clay township. Mrs. Jennings, the mother of these children, died in 1863.

In December. 1862, when but seventeen years of age. Samuel R. Jennings, Jr., enlisted for service in the Civil war, becoming a mem- ber of the Twenty-first Independent Indiana Battery. which he joined at Nashville, Ten- nessee. About November 1, 1864, he par- ticipated in the engagement at Columbia, Tennessee, thence to Nashville in advance of

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Hood and was under fire there on the 15th and 16th of December, and was discharged at Indianapolis in June, 1865. During his service he was twice in the hospital at Co- lumbia, Tennessee, and once at Indianapolis, and at the time of his return home was ill with typhoid pneumonia. Mr. Jennings sub- sequently spent four years in Missouri, and during that time was engaged in various occu- pations, in farming, painting and as a school teacher. At the end of that time he returned to St. Joseph county, and after his marriage removed to Edwardsburg, Michigan, where he remained two years, then spent a similar period in Missouri and Kansas engaged in farming, and in 1874 again returned to St. Joseph county. In 1876 he removed to his present farm of eighty-eight acres in Clay township, section 30, known as "The Wil- lows," which he has transformed from a wild tract into one of the best improved farms in the township. He has been a life-long Demo- crat, and is now serving his second term as township trustee, while previous to his elec- tion to that office was the township assessor for four years, and was at one time a candi- date for the office of county assessor. He is a member of Laughton Post, No. 8, G. A. R.

Mr. Jennings returned to Missouri for his bride, and was there married on the 1st of March, 1870, to Mary M. Melton, born in Monroe county of that state July 19, 1856, a daughter of William and Margaret (Jar- boe) Melton, natives of Kentucky. The fol- lowing children have been born of this union ; Mary Lillian, born February 16, 1872, the wife of Clarence E. Lee, of South Bend, and she was the official stenographer of the cir- cuit court a number of years before her mar- riage; Samuel Harrison, born August 11, 1874, and now resides in South Bend; the third child died in infancy in 1876; Clar- ence, born September 11, 1878, died on the 25th of December following; Asher M., born February 6, 1880; Louis E., born October 12, 1883; and James Elmer, 'born April 28, 1890, are all at home.

JOHN V. ZEITLER was a native of Bavaria, Germany, born on the 2d of May, 1835, a son of Heney Zeitler, whose death occurred in the fatherland. His widow, nee Catherine Klugart, and a native of Bavaria, afterward married John M. Myers, by whom she had four daughters, while by her first marriage she became the mother of two sons and three daughters. One of the sons, Andrew, died

in Alabama. He owned three thousand acres of land, and was extensively and widely known as a cotton grower and merchant. The death of the mother occurred in this county.

John V. Zeitler accompanied the family on their removal to the United States in 1847, continuing their journey by boat to Chicago and by flat-boat up the St. Joseph river, being one of the first German families to come direct to St. Joseph county, Indiana. They first established their home south of South Bend, but later removed to Clay town- ship, and for six years Mr. Zeitler was in- terested in the St. Joseph Milling Company. In 1870 he purchased his farm of his step- father, the contract price being ten thousand dollars, and there he made all the modern improvements and spent the remainder of his life, his labors being ended in death on the 20th of September, 1904. He followed the tilling of the soil throughout his entire active business career with the exception of six months spent in the milling business, was a Mason in his fraternal relations, and politi- cally a Democrat, having served his township as its trustee and assessor. He was truly a self-made man, for without advantages at the commencement of life he battled earnestly and energetically, and at his death left to his family a fine estate.

On the 9th of May, 1867, Mr. Zeitler was united in marriage to Lottie Kleindinst, who was born in the Rhine country of Germany. and came to America with her parents when about seven years of age. Their union was blessed by the birth of two children, Edward A., who is a farmer in Clay township; and Charles, who died at the age of thirty-one years in Springfield, Missouri, on the 2d of June, 1903, having been employed as trav- eling salesman for the Oliver Chilled Plow Company. The mother now resides with her son in St. Joseph county.

JOHN BELLEDIN. This well known farmer and honored citizen of Clay township has throughout his active business life been promi- nently identified with the agricultural inter- ests of St. Joseph county and has for many years past resided upon his present farm. He was born, however, in Erie county, Penn- sylvania. December 16, 1837. His father, Joseph Belledin, was born in the Rhine coun- try of Germany, and came to Pennsylvania prior to his marriage. At the time of the Mexican war he offered his services to his country, and was never heard from after

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the close of that conflict. In the state of New York he married Barbara Becker, a na- tive also of Germany, but who came to the . United States alone, and her death occurred in this county in 1894, at the age of eighty- four years. In their family were five chil- dren: John, whose name introduces this re- view; Joseph, deceased; Mary Wolf, a resi- dent of South Bend; . William and Benhart, both also deceased.

John Belledin was but two years of age at the time of his parents' removal to St. Joseph county, Indiana, the home being es- tablished on a farm on the Kankakee river, west of South Bend. When he had reached the age of twenty-three years he joined the tide of gold seekers to Colorado, for nine years working between Pike's Peak and the Missouri river, but after two years he aban- doned the search for the precious metal and engaged at other occupations. During his residence in the west, in 1863, he enlisted for service in the Civil war, joining Company C, Second Colorado Volunteer Infantry, and during his military service, which covered a period of about nine months, he lost the sight of his right eye. In December, 1869, Mr. Belledin returned to his old home in St. Joseph county, and in 1870 purchased the farm on which he now resides, first securing eighty acres in section 16, while later he bought the old homestead of one hundred and twelve acres on section 9, so that now his landed possessions consist of one hundred and ninety-two acres of rich and fertile land, all in one body and all under an excellent state of cultivation. The place is devoted to the purpose of general farming, and the at- tractive and substantial buildings which now adorn the place were put there by Mr. Belle- din. He gives his political support to the Democratic party, and is a member of the Catholic church.

In 1874 Mr. Belledin was united in mar- riage to Elizabeth Hoose, who was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1852. and came to this county with her parents, John and .Jose- phine (Fet) Hoose. Three children have been born of this union: Frank, an agricul- turist of Clay township, is married and has two children, Bertha and Marie; Edward, at home, who is married and has one child. Mabel; and John, who was the first born and died at the age of twenty-one months. Mr. Belledin now draws a small pension in compensation for the valiant service which

he rendered his country during the dark days of the rebellion.

DANIEL CHAMBERLAIN. German township, St. Joseph county, Indiana, includes among its representative farmers and honored citi- zens Daniel Chamberlain. He is of English, Scotch and German descent, and in the pa- ternal line the family was founded in this country by his grandfather, Freegift Cham- berlain, who came from England to Pennsyl- vania, but subsequently took up his abode in Licking county, Ohio. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, under General Wash- ington, and as an incident in his war life it is related that all night long he sat in a tree top, with the snow piled around him and also the Indians all about him. His being a soldier in the Revolutionary war entitles Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain and the Chamberlain descendants to become members of the Sons and Daughters of the Revolution. His wife was a native of Scotland. Their son, Wil- liam Chamberlain, was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, February 27, 1800, but removed with his parents to Ohio, where the home was established on Rattlesnake creek in Licking county. His journey to St. Jo- seph county, Indiana, was made by wagon, and his first home was a little log cabin of the most primitive sort. There was no well upon the place, and their water had to be carried a distance of eighty rods. His father and two brothers afterward joined him here. and he became one of the leading agricul- turists of the township, his landed estate at the time of his death consisting of two hun- dred and thirty-one acres in the home place, while he also owned another farm of one hun- dred and forty-two acres and forty acres near Crumstown. His death occurred on his old homestead on the 12th of December, 1872, after a life devoted to agricultural pursuits except during the period of his young man- hood, when he was engaged in coopering. He gave his political support to the Demo- cratic party, and was a member of the Chris- tian church. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Juliann Rush, was born in Vir- ginia on the 14th of April, 1800, and died here at the age of seventy-eight years. She was a daughter of Katharine Rush, a native of Germany, and after their emigration to the United States they took up their abode in Virginia, but later removed to Delaware county, Ohio, where their deaths occurred. They were the parents of six children, name-

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A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 85

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