USA > Indiana > St Joseph County > A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 89
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been acquired through persistent and arduous labor. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, Mr. Palmer has upheld the prin- ciples of the Republican party. His upright, honorable life has won him the confidence of friends and neighbors, and Center township classes him among her representative citi- zens.
WILLIAM C. KOWNOVER. The Kownover family is one of the oldest in America, it having been founded in this country by Wol- fort Garretts Von Kovenhoven, who came from the province of Ulrich, Holland, to America in 1634, establishing his home on Long Island, where he secured a township of land where the present city of Brooklyn now stands. In 1637 he secured a patent from Governor Woulter Von Twiller, one of the Dutch governors of New York. In 1736, the family emigrated from New York to New Jer- sey, and since its establishment in America the name has undergone many changes in orthography, it being spelled differently by some of Mr. Kownover's near relatives. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Ru- dolph or Rulf Kownover, while his parents were Richard and Katharine (Dye) Kown- over, natives of New Jersey, but both died in Pennsylvania, the father in Munsey and the mother in Milton. In their family were seven children, three sons and four daughters.
William C. Kownover, the youngest of the family, was born in Limestone township, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, on the 25th of December, 1834, and subsequently accom- panied his parents on their various removals. In the spring of 1840, the home was estab- lished in White Pigeon, St. Joseph county, Michigan, but six years later the family re- turned to Danville, Pennsylvania, and in the fall of 1847 went to Munsey, that state. They were driven from that city by the flood and went thence to Milton, Pennsylvania, while in the spring of 1860, they returned to Munsey. In the spring of 1865, Mr. Kownover came with his sister, Matilda, to Harris township, St. Joseph county, Indiana, for his parents had both previously died, and here he has ever since remained. He took charge of the farm of his widowed sister, Mrs. John Foll- mer, and in the fall of 1877 removed to his present farm on the state line, forty-five acres of his place being located in Ontwa town- ship, Cass county, Michigan, while the re- mainder lies in section 7, Harris township,
St. Joseph county, Indiana. He also owns another good farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Harris township, adjoining the vil- lage of Granger. His son assists him in the cultivation Of the homestead. Mr. Kownover has placed all the good buildings on his farm, including a fine brick residence and he has been a life-long tiller of the soil, with the exception of the early days when he was em- ployed as a pattern maker.
On the 5th of December, 1869, Mr. Kown- over was married to Erepta Perkins, who was born in South Bend on the 28th of January, 1846, and has spent her entire life in this county. Her parents, Erastus and Lucy (Palmer) Perkins, were natives of New York and of New England descent. They were reared and married in their native state, and in 1843 came to South Bend, Indiana, their farm being the present site of the Oliver Plow Works. The mother passed away in death at the age of thirty years, but the father sur- vived until he had reached his fifty-ninth year, and in their family were six children. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kownover have also been born six children: Kittie, the wife of George Snyder, of River Park; Harry, who died at the age of two years; Bert B., at home; Charles Francis, who is an excellent me- chanic; and May and Helen, also at home. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Edwardsburg, Michigan, with which Mr. Kownover has been connected since 1849, and is a trustee and class leader. He is an active worker in the Prohibition party, and is a member of St. Peters Lodge, F. & A. M., No. 106, at Edwardsburg, in which he was initiated December 28. 1865.
JACOB SHIMP. The name of Jacob Shimp has been inscribed high on the roll of St. Joseph county's honored pioneers and leading citizens, and his memory is revered by all who knew him. His career was a long, busy and useful one, and as the day, with its morning of hope and promise, its noontide of activity, its evening of completed and successful effort, ending in the grateful rest and quiet of the night, so was the life of this honored man. He was a native son of New Jersey, born on the 16th of June, 1812. His father died when he was a young man, and when eleven years of age he went with his widowed mother to Warren county, Ohio, there residing and con- tinuing to care for her until her death. He came to Indiana in 1833, and his death
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occurred on the 19th of March, 1901, at which time the following memorial of his life appeared in one of the local papers:
"Jacob Shimp, the last Jackson voter in St. Joseph county, died at 4:30 Tuesday morning at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Cyrus B. Miller at the corner of Monroe and Frank- lin streets, his death being painless, having. been unconscious about a day. His death was due to a general breaking down of the system, but his last illness lasted but two days. Mr. Shimp would have been eighty- nine years old June 16, and he had resided in this county sixty-eight years. He bore his years remarkably well and retained his facul- ties to a remarkable degree. The deceased was a Mason, and was buried under the aus- pices of Terre Coupee Lodge, No. 204, of New Carlisle, the services being held at the New Carlisle Christian church.
"The deceased had long been a familiar figure in this city and county, and was a citi- zen of most excellent repute and a Democrat of unwavering integrity. His death took the last Jackson voter from St. Joseph county. Few men were prouder of a deed than was the deceased in the fact that he had voted once for Old Hickory. Mr. Shimp was a Jacksonian. He was one of the ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Shimp, both of whom were natives of New Jersey. Andrew Shimp was born in New Jersey, February 18, 1767, and when quite a young man married Margaret Wendyell, who was born November 12, 1771. Their children were: Susan, born August 1, 1782; Hannah, December 20, 1794; Anna, September 12, 1797; David, February 10, 1800; Elizabeth, April 8, 1802; Sarah, April 6, 1803; Samuel, October 18, 1805; An- drew, May 27, 1810; Jacob, June 16, 1811; and John, May 28, 1817.
"Jacob, the ninth child, was born in Salem county, New Jersey, but removed with his parents to Ohio in 1825, settling in Warren county, one of the old Abolition and Republi- can strongholds of that state. He lived there until 1833, when he removed to St. Joseph county, where he has since resided. Jacob's grandfather and grandmother were natives of Germany. His father was a prosperous farmer until the era of depreciated continental money came upon him, causing him to lose the farm which he had worked hard to de- velop. In 1838 Jacob married Ann Druliner. who died in 1840. Two years later he took for his second wife Hannah Graham, of War-
ren county, Ohio, who died March 15, 1889. To them seven children were born, and all but two survive. The survivors are: Mrs. Lewis Kirby, of Warren county, Ohio; Mrs. Cyrus B. Miller of this city ; ex-Trustee John M. Shimp of Harris township; ex-County Re- corder William D. Shimp of this city; and Mrs. Joseph Burden of Olive township.
"The entire Shimp family, beginning with Andrew, the father of Jacob, have been Democrats to the backbone. The women have been as loyal and enthusiastic as the men and would gladly have voted had the law allowed. Jacob Shimp cast his first vote for Andrew Jackson, in 1832, and had voted the straight Democratic ticket ever since until the last when he was too ill to go to the polls. He took great pride in his long record of unswerv- ing allegiance to the Democratic party and in the fact that his sons tread in the same path. One of the latter, William D., has served as recorder of St. Joseph county and is a leading citizen of the city of South Bend."
Throughout the long period of his residence in St. Joseph county, Mr. Shimp was ever true to the trusts reposed in him. He com- manded the respect of all by his upright life, and engraved his name indelibly on the pages of the county's history.
CHARLEY L. SLAUGHTERBECK. The Slaugh- terbeck family is one that has long been identified with the development of the farm- ing interests of St. Joseph county, and the subject of this review is now a worthy repre- sentative of the time-honored occupation af agriculture. He was born on the farm on which he now resides, on the 25th of April, 1874. His father, Jacob Slaughterbeck, was a native of Germany, and was his mother's only child, although his father had a number of children by a second marriage. When but two years of age, he came with his parents to the United States, and soon after their arrival they made their way to St. Joseph county, Indiana. Mr. Slaughterbeck subsequently became the owner of two hundred and seventy acres of land, all of which was located in Har- ris township with the exception of fifty acres lying in Penn township, and all of which he cleared and put under an excellent state of cultivation with the exception of eighty acres. which has since been developed by his son. He also erected the substantial buildings which now adorn the place, and his entire life was devoted to the tilling of the soil with the exception of about two or three years which
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were spent in Elkhart before his marriage. He married Maggie McFaren, who was born in Elkhart, Indiana, and now resides in Penn township, St. Joseph county. Mr. Slaughter- beck died on his farm on the 8th of August, 1894, aged fifty-six years. In their family were three children: Nora, the wife of Adel- bert Ipes, of Mishawaka, Indiana; Annie Smith; and Charley, whose name introduces this review.
Charley Slaughterbeck has always resided on his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which forms a part of the old Slaugh- terbeck homestead and lies in sections 29 and 30, and about three years ago he purchased another one hundred and sixty acres in section 28, this three hundred and twenty acres making him one of the largest property own- ers in the township. The place is devoted to general farming pursuits, raising annually about three thousand bushels of corn, two thousand bushels of oats, and he also fattens about fifty head of hogs each year. In one year on eighty acres of this place, his father raised over nineteen hundred bushels of wheat, and thus it will be seen that the land is rich and fertile, and under the management of its owner it annually produces excellent re- turns.
On the 4th of February, 1900, Mr. Slaugh- terbeck was united in marriage to Laura Thornton, who was born in Cleveland town- ship, Elkhart county, Indiana, July 7, 1884, a daughter of William and Ellen (Linninger) Thornton, who still resides in Elkhart county, where the Thorntons are numbered among the early pioneers. Two children have been born of this union, Floyd B., who died when but two years of age, and Vera. Mr. Slaughter- beck is a Democrat in his political affiliations, and is a member of the Evangelical church, as is also his wife. His beautiful home is known as "The Idlewild Stock Farm."
JOHN LERNER. This well known citizen is a leading and representative agriculturist of St. Joseph county, where he was born in Mish- awaka, on the 16th of April, 1862. His father, John Lerner, was a native of Germany, born on the 7th of February, 1830, and in his native land he learned the trade of slate roof- ing. Coming to the United States in 1852, he spent the first three years in New York City working at the carpenter's trade, and in 1855 came to Mishawaka, Indiana, where for thir- teen years he was employed in the woolen mills. On the expiration of that period he
purchased the farm on which his son John now resides. This was then marsh land and considered worthless, and he spent much time and money in placing it under cultivation, his death here occurring on the 8th of Novem- ber, 1883. He was a worthy member of the Lutheran church, and was a Republican in his political affiliations. In 1854, Mr. Lerner was united in marriage to Dora D. Windel, who was born in Germany on the 2d of Feb- ruary, 1827, and died on their farm in this county, April 14, 1897. She came to the United States with a brother and sister. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lerner: William, of Mishawaka; Christopher, an agri- culturist of Harris township; Henry, a resi- dent of South Bend; John, whose name intro- duces this review; Mary, who makes her home with her brother John; and George, also a resident of Mishawaka.
John Lerner was but eight years of age when with his parents he came to the farm on which he now resides, which has ever since re- mained his home, and he is now the owner of one hundred and twenty acres in the home place, eighty acres of which lie in section 25, Harris township, and forty acres in section 36, Penn township, while in addition he has eighty-three and a fraction acres in section 1, Penn township. Mr. Lerner owns the farm in connection with his sister. He is an original stockholder in the Osceola creamery, of which he served as a director for a number of years. and during the past thirteen years he has made a specialty of the dairying business on his farm, which is known as the Maple Front Farm, so named from a beautiful maple grove which occupies a conspicuous place.
Mr. Lerner has one son, Ernest, who was born in Mishawaka, November 17, 1889. Mr. Lerner, Sr., is a Republican in his political affiliations, and is a member of the Lutheran church.
ASA D. CHRISTIAN, one of the honored old pioneer residents of St. Joseph county, was born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, July 24, 1821, a son of Michael and Jane (Kennedy) Christian, natives also of Colum- bia county. The father, who was born in 1785, died of a contagious disease when his son Asa was but two years of age, and the mother, who was born in 1795, passed away in Harris township, St. Joseph county, on the 24th of September, 1863. They were the parents of four children : James, who died in 1856: Asa D., whose name introduces this
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review ; Michael, who died in 1867; and Re- becca Muffley, of St. Edwards, Nebraska.
On the 8th of April, 1834, Asa D. Christian was a member of a party which consisted of his mother, grandmother, two aunts and an uncle which started on the westward journey to South Bend, Indiana, with two teams, ar- riving on the 9th of May following. The party entered four lots of eighty acres each in Harris township, and settled in section 14. For two years all lived together in a little cabin sixteen by sixteen feet, with a stick and mud chimney, and their water was drawn with the old fashioned well sweep. At the expiration of the two years, the widowed mother with her three sons and a daughter, the grandmother and aunt, who were also widows, took up their abode in a log cabin on an adjoining farm, where Asa lived with his mother until reaching years of maturity. He had an older brother, but the latter was not well, and so the burden of the family fell upon the second son, who worked hard during his early life in clearing and cultivating the farm. In 1847, at the time of his marriage, he took up his abode on the farm on which he now resides, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres in section 24, Harris township, which he has cleared and placed under an excellent state of cultivation, and has also erected good buildings thereon. During a period of six years he was engaged in break- ing new land, using a five yoke team of oxen and a regular breaking plow which turned a two-foot furrow, and he broke the land in South Bend where the Oliver shops now stand, that city then consisting of only a few shanties and a population of three hundred people, while at that time Indians were also plentiful throughout the county, but they were peaceable and friendly.
On the 28th of December, 1843, Mr. Chris- tian was married to Elmira Foster, who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, May 22, 1825, and her death occurred at her home in this town- ship July 15, 1886, to which she had removed with some cousins, as her mother died during her youth. Thirteen children were born of this union, namely: Valentine, of Kansas; Ezekia, who died in 1846; Clementine, wife of Frank Rupe, of Kansas; Elvina, wife of Mil- ton Garwood, also of Kansas; Edwin, a resi- dent of the Sunflower state; Robert, who makes his home in Missouri; Uzell, of Clay township; Elsie, a trained nurse in Misha- waka; Martha, who resides with her brother
in this township; Irene, who died in 1862 at the age of thirty-three years; Byron, of Clay township; William, who resides on a neigh- boring farm; and Herdman, who resides at home and carries the mail and operates the farm. He was married in 1896 to Nellie May Ribble, who was born in Niles, Michigan, a daughter of Henry and Mary Ellen (Snod- grass) Ribble. In 1853. Mr. Christian of this review united with the Christian church, and . has ever since been identified with that de- nomination, having assisted in the erection of their church near Harris Prairie in 1880, while previous to that time meetings were held in the school house and in private homes. He has been a life-long supporter of Republi- can principles, having cast his vote for its first presidential nominee, General Fremont. In the work of growth and upbuilding he has ever borne his part, has been honorable in business, faithful in citizenship, and now in his declining days he can look back over the past with little occasion for regret.
JOHN M. SHIMP. The Shimp family is one of the oldest in St. Joseph county, and have been noted from the beginning of their iden- tification with its interests for the sterling traits that are so characteristic of the subject of this review, constituting him a fitting rep- resentative of the name. He is one of Harris township's most honored citizens and farmers, and is the son of Jacob and Hannah (Graham) Shimp. He was born on the 18th of January, 1848, and this county has always been his home and agriculture his chosen vocation. He received his education in the public schools of Olive township, and remained with his par- ents until twenty-two years of age. On the 16th of March, 1869, he was united in mar- riage to Sarah J. Longley, at the residence of her parents, Andrew and Mary (Rupel) Longley, of Greene township, St. Joseph county, and they have become the parents of three children : Gertrude, who died when only two months old; Delbert, an agriculturist of Harris township; and Andrew L., a resident of Mishawaka.
In 1870 Mr. and Mrs. Shimp came to his present farm, known as the Burr Oaks, and this is one of the valuable farming properties of the township. He is a member of the St. Joseph County Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, which has three million dollars worth of insurance in this county, and for eight years he served as its director, while during the past three years he has been its
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president. He has been a life-long Democrat in his political affiliations, and has held many positions of honor and trust. For nine years he served as assessor, and for two terms, of two years each, was township trustee, and six- teen years ago was appointed jury commis- sioner of St. Joseph county by the circuit court judge, he having been the incumbent of this important office ever since. Two years ago he was the Democratic candidate for the office of county commissioner, and while Roosevelt carried the county by over five thousand, Mr. Shimp ran about twenty-three hundred votes ahead of the national ticket. In his fraternal relations he is a member of the Masonic order, No. 45, of South Bend, and in that city he also has membership relations with the St. Joseph Valley Grange. His ster- ling worth commands the respect and confi- dence of all, and he is one of the valued citi- zens of his native county of St. Joseph.
FRANKLIN E. LOWRY. Franklin E. Lowry, a member of one of the prominent old fami- lies of St. Joseph county and one of its native sons, was born in Harris township, December 8, 1849. His paternal grandfather, James Lowry, was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, Eng- land, but came with his father, James Lowry, to America, locating in Middleford, Delaware. In 1833 he came to St. Joseph county, Indi- ana, and entered the farm in Harris town- ship which has ever since been in the posses- sion of his descendants. His death here occurred in about 1840, when he had reached the age of forty-nine years. A son of this worthy old pioneer, James Lowry, Jr., was born in Delaware in 1820, but in the early year of 1833, accompanied his father on his removal to St. Joseph county, where his death occurred in February, 1904, nearly his entire life having been spent on the old homestead. He owned three hundred and fifty acres of land in Harris township, Indiana, and Milton township, Michigan, and in his later days was extensively engaged in loaning money. He first gave his political support to the Democ- racy, and later to the Prohibition party. He served as trustee of Harris town- ship twelve years under the old dispensation, and was a worthy member of the Christian church. He is still survived by his wife, nee Hester E. Powell, who was born in Delaware in 1822, and came to this county with her parents, Thomas and Meriam (Dennis) Powell in 1837. She now resides on the old home place in Harris township. Mr. and
Mrs: Lowry became the parents of four chil- dren: Franklin E., whose name introduces this review; Mariam A., at home with her mother; James T., of California; and Mary A., the deceased wife of T. N. Longley.
After attending the common schools near his home Franklin E. Lowry entered the high school at South Bend, while later he became a student in the Northern Indiana Normal Col- lege at South Bend. With this excellent edu- cational training he was able to enter the teacher's profession, thus continuing for twelve years, and when thirty-two years of age he rented a farm and devoted his sum- mers to its cultivation, while during the win- ter months he continued to teach in both Michigan and Indiana. During a period of two years, in 1875 and 1876, he was principal of the Marcellus schools, and during the fol- lowing year taught one term in Harris town- ship. Thus his name is inseparably inter- woven with the early history of the educa- tional interests of this locality, while his broad intelligence, scholarly attainments and his full appreciation of the value of knowledge as a preparation for life's responsibilities made him one of its ablest educators. At the time of his marriage Mr. Lowry purchased and located upon a farm in section 15, Milton township, Cass county, which he still owns, and on which he resided for three years. In 1882 he came to Granger, where for thirteen years he served as its postmaster, under the administrations of Garfield, Arthur, Cleve- land and a part of the Harrison term. He had embarked in the mercantile business in 1883, although he has long been extensively engaged as a grain dealer and he is also a large land holder, owning a farm of one hundred and sixty acres near Cassopolis, Michigan, eighty acres near Niles, that state, one hun- dred and sixty acres in Boone county, Ne- braska, one hundred and twenty acres in Mil- ton township, Cass county, and forty acres in Harris township, while in addition he owns store property and an elevator with eight acres. His varied interests number him among the leading business men of St. Joseph county, and in his life work he has achieved an excellent success. Mr. Lowry has been a life-long Democrat, and is the present town- ship trustee, elected in 1904, while he was also twice a candidate for the state legislature and made an excellent run, and during one term he served as clerk of Milton township, Michigan. His fraternal relations are with
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the Free and Accepted Masons, St. Peters Lodge, No. 130, of Edwardsburg, Michigan, and with Harris Prairie Lodge of Foresters, No. 4395.
In 1878, Mr. Lowry was married to Laura Parsons, who was born in Milton township, Cass county, Michigan, in April, 1856, a daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Abbott) Parsons, natives of Delaware. They have be- come the parents of three children: Homer J., Mabel C., and Mildred E. Homer J. re- ceived his diploma in the common schools with the class of 1894, and in the Niles high school with the class of 1899, and is now a student in Perdue University, where he is taking the civil engineering course. He spent two years as a teacher in Michigan and two years in Indiana. Mabel C. received her diploma from the common schools in the class of 1900 and the high school at Granger, in 1902, and she attended the Northern Indiana Normal at Valparaiso, Indiana, three terms. She taught one term in Michigan and four terms in the River Park school, near the city of South Bend. She has also taken music. Mildred E. is pursuing her studies in the fifth grade.
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