USA > Indiana > Delaware County > A portrait and biographical record of Delaware county, Ind. : containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana > Part 44
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high school, the duties of which he discharged in an eminently satisfactory manner until 1883, when he resigned in order to accept a position in the city schools of Muncie. From 1883 until 1884 he served as second assistant in the Muncie high school, and in the latter year became principal of the same, which po- sition he held until 1887, when, upon the res- ignation of Prof. John M. Bloss, he was pro- moted to the superintendency of all the city schools. This is a position of great responsi- bility, the city of Muncie containing eight school districts, in which are ten school build- ings, with an aggregate of sixty rooms, requir- ing the services of sixty teachers, with one special teacher for the department of music. Under his efficient supervision the schools of Muncie have made most commendable prog- ress, and the city's educational system stands among the best in the state. Through his instrumentality many important improvements tending to lessen the work of the teacher and benefit the pupils have been adopted, and the confidence reposed in him, both by patrons and the school board, is sufficiently attested by his unanimous re-election for several years to the position he now holds.
The very high character Prof. Snyder has achieved as an educator has made him well and favorably known throughout the state, both as a teacher and manager, and in view of his untiring energy it is safe to assume that there are few, if any, more popular superin- tendents in Indiana. He is now in the prime of vigorous manhood, possesses genial man- ners, superior scholarship, and his twenty years' practical experience in school work, from village school to the superintendency, bespeaks for him a future of still greater effici- ency and usefulness. While meeting with success in his chosen profession such as few attain, Prof. Snyder at one time seriously con- templated abandoning teaching and making
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the practice of law his life work. While teaching at Acton and Waldron he pursued his legal studies under the instruction of Thomas B. Adams and Louis T. Michener, well known attorneys of Shelbyville, but never applied for admission to the bar, his success as an instructor convincing him that a wider sphere of usefulness was to be found in the field of education.
Since locating in Muncie, Prof. Snyder has been active in promoting the city's material prosperity, having been a liberal contributor to many important enterprises, among which is the Citizens' Enterprise company, of which he is a member; at this time he is president of the board of trustees of the Muncie library. He is prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity, belonging to chapter, council and commandery, and he also assisted in the or- ganization of Muncie tent, Knights of Macca- bees, of which he was the first eminent commander. Prof. Snyder is an earnest mem- ber of the Presbyterian church, serving at this time as clerk of sessions, superintendent of the Sunday school, and also as member of the committee having in hand the erection of the present beautiful temple of worship. Politi- cally he is a republican, and as such takes an active interest in all the leading issues of the day.
On the 30th of June, 1878, Prof. Snyder was united in marriage to Miss Nannie B. Ferran, daughter of John and Mary Ferran of Acton, Ind., the fruit of which union is two daughters: Lily E. and Mytle M.
ILLIAM HENRY SNYDER, late a prominent manufacturer of Muncie, was born in the year 1824 in Dela- ware county, Ohio, the son of John and Celia (Freeman) Snyder, both parents natives of the state of Kentucky. The father
was a cooper by trade, and in an early day moved to Ohio, where he followed his chosen calling for a number of years. William Henry Snyder spent his youthful years in the state of his nativity, and while still young began the cooper's trade, in which he acquired great pro- ficiency, and which he followed for some years near the city of Springfield, at the small town of Granville, working for a Mr. Spence, a leading business man of that place. While residing in Granville he met Miss Catherine Heffner, daughter of Laurence and Charlotte Heffner, to whom he was united in marriage on the 19th day of November, 1846. In July, 1852, he moved to central Indiana, locating on a farm about seven miles west of Muncie, where he resided for a period of three years as a successful agriculturist. At the end of that time he gave up tilling the soil and engaged in the coopering business in Muncie, erecting a large shop on the spot now occupied by the power house of the Citizens' Street Railway company, where he carried on the trade with gratifying success for almost five years, during which time, he was sole proprietor of the es- tablishment. He next effected a co-partner- ship in the manufacture of barrels and cooper- age material with the well known business- men, Messrs. Wysor & Kline, adding a large stave factory, which, under Mr. Snyder's per- sonal management, was operated until within a few months of his death in 1876. In addi- tion to his duties as superintendent, Mr. Sny- der took the road, for some years, as salesman for the product of the factory, besides doing an extensive brokerage business in barrels and cooperage supplies, throughout Indiana, Ohio, and other states. In 1865 the firm suffered an almost total loss by the destruction of their large and valuable plant by fire, but the estab- lishment was soon rebuilt, and it continued in successful operation until the site was sold to the Street Railway company, in 1893.
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Mr. Snyder was essentially a business man, fully alive to the interest of the factory with which he was for so many years identified, and few men of Muncie stood higher in the estimation of the public in general. He was always noted for his untiring industry and methodica1 business habits, and his relations with those in his employ were of the happiest kind, and his considerateness for their welfare and comfort was the subject of much favorable comment. After continuing with Messrs. Wysor & Kline for some years, Mr. Snyder purchased his partner's interests, after which, his son John became his business associate. As already stated, the death of Mr. Snyder occurred in 1876, having reached the age of fifty-two years. After his death the factory was continued by the widow and three sons, and remained in operation under the management of the differ- ent brothers until the death of Francis Marion Snyder in March, 1890.
The following are the names of the children born to William H. and Catherine Snyder: John M., a well known farmer of Delaware county, whose birth occurred on the 27th of May, 1852, in the town of Addison, Ohio; James Perry, cooper of Muncie, born in Dela- ware county, Ind., July 13, 1855; Francis Marion, born September 17, 1853, died March 19, 1890, aged thirty-two years; Ada Odelia, born July 27, 1860, married Marion Helvie, and departed this life on the 15th day of Octo- ber, 1887; Emma Jane-wife of Albert Ogle- born April 27, 1866; Harry Edward, carriage painter, born August 17, 1869, and infant that died unnamed. Mrs. Snyder is a worthy mem- ber of the Central Christian church.
Muncie city, and, indeed, Delaware county, are indebted for their prosperity to men of brains and industry such as was William Henry Snyder, and both city and county should and do welcome to their borders men of his caliber and enterprising energy.
UDOLPH SPRANKLE, banker, was born in York county, Pa., April 17, 1817. His father, Peter Sprankle, was a native of Pennsylvania, and his mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Walters, was brought to the United States, when a child, from Zuerbrecken, Germany, and for some time lived next door to Gen. George Washington, in Philadelphia. The father was a farmer by occupation and spent the greater part of his life in York county. Later he moved to Holmes county, Ohio, in which state his death occurred; his wife sur- vived her husband two years and died in Holmes county, at the town of Berlin. The early years of Rudolph Sprankle were passed in his native county and state, and at the age of fifteen he accompanied his parents to Holmes county, Ohio, where his introduction to business life was in the capacity of a clerk in a mercantile establishment, which position he filled for a limited period. His mind early turned toward mercantile pursuits, and on giving up his clerkship he purchased a stock of goods in the town of Portage, Summit county, Ohio, where, in addition to merchan- dising, he carried on the grain business and laid the foundation of his subsequent success- ful business career. Within a short time he disposed of his mercantile stock and turned his attention exclusively to the grain trade, locating, first, at the town of Navarre, Stark county, Ohio, where he carried on a very suc- cessful business for over thirty years, and then removed to Cleveland. where he enlarged his operations and became one of the most exten- sive grain dealers in northern Ohio In the latter city he became associated in the busi- ness with his son, James Sprankle, and their purchases of grain were principally in car lots from all points of the country; they also oper- ated a large elevator for twelve years. The business of the firm proved very successful,
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and the Messrs. Sprankle earned a wide repu- tation as safe and reliable dealers and honest business men.
Disposing of his interest in Cleveland, Mr. Sprankle came to Muncie, Ind., and, in part- nership with his son, organized the Delaware County bank, of which he was made president; he also continued the grain and milling busi- ness after locating in this city, operating the mills and elevator on High street. He retired from the bank when it became a national con- cern, and, although connected with the same, is now practically retired from business after a long, active, and creditable career. Mr. Sprankle has met with most gratifying success in his various business enterprises, and in ad- dition to amassing a comfortable fortune, has established a reputation for honesty and integ- rity that is in every way commendable. He was married in the spring of 1837, to Miss Mary Bentford, a natfve of Pennsylvania, who bore him two children, William and James R., the former of whom died at the age of eleven years. Mr. Sprankle was born a democrat, and has ever been an earnest and intelligent supporter of the principles of that party.
James R. Sprankle, son of Rudolph and Mary Sprankle, and one of the most widely known and one of the most successful business men of central Indiana, was born February 2, 1843, at the town of Navarre, Stark county, Ohio. After receiving a practical education in the public schools, assisting his fatheruin the grain business in the mean time, he went to the city of Cleveland at the age of eighteen, and effected a copartnership with Adam Burget, which, under the firm name of Sprankle & Burget, dealt very extensively in buying and shipping grain for a period of three years. At the end of that time, Mr. Sprankle bought his partner's interest, and became associated with his father under the firm name of Sprnakle & Son, and the partnership thus constituted
greatly extended the business, operating largely along the Ohio canal from Cleveland to Chilli- cothe, and over the Bee Line railroad from the former city to Indianapolis. They purchased extensively from all points contiguous to these lines, and extended their business over the greater portion of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, southern Michigan and other states, and be- came among the most widely known and suc- cessful shippers of grain to the seaboard cities. The business of the Sprankles was not confined to grain alone, but included seeds of all kinds, wool, and other commodities, and they sold the first cargo of Michigan salt ever brought to Cleveland. Mr. Sprankle continued in busi- ness in Cleveland until 1887, and the same year located in Muncie and built the steam flouring mills on High street. In partnership with his father he established the Delaware County bank, which was reorganized in De- cember, 1892, as a national bank, with a cap- ital stock of $100,000, Mr. Sprankle becoming vice-president. In addition to his connection with the banking and grain business, he is president of the Architectural Iron company, and also holds an important official position 'in the Common Sense Engine company of this city. He was one of the stockholders of the Citizens' Gas company, and has been promi- nently identified with other important business and manufacturing enterprises.
R. WILLIAM A. SPURGEON, of Muncie, Ind., was born near Salem, Washington county, Ind., February I, 1852, and is the eldest son of Wi- ley and Mary F. (McKinney) Spurgeon. Wiley Spurgeon was born February 24, 1825, and Mary F. (Mckinney) Spurgeon in 1824, both in Washington county, Ind., and were there married, February 27, 1848. Wiley's father
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was Josiah Spurgeon, born November 13, 1777, in North Carolina, came to Indiana in 1811, and settled near Salem, Washington county. James A. Mckinney, the father of Mary F. Spurgeon, was born in Tennessee, January 16, 1795, and settled near Salem, Ind., also in 1811. Wiley Spurgeon was the youngest son in a family of five boys and six girls. He was reared near Salem, and received a good com- mon school education. He served under Gen. Taylor in the Mexican war.
The father of the subject of this sketch, Wiley Spurgeon, served as county commissioner and in other official positions for a number of years. He has been for many years an elder in the Christian church. He was always re- garded as a man of great firmness and integ- rity of character. His home, with his aged wife, is now (1893) on the farm near Beck's Grove, Ind., where they enjoy fine health and a competency gained by years of industry and economy. Mary F. (Mckinney) Spurgeon was next the youngest daughter in a family of three boys and four girls. William A. Spurgeon was reared on a farm, with one brother and four sisters. He received his preparatory education at the common schools until sixteen years of age, then attended, two years, the academy at Clear Springs, Ind., after which he taught school during the winters, attending the acade- my at Salem in the summers, for two years, and later attended college at Bedford, Ind. In 1871 he began the study of medicine under Dr. George H. Chute, a prominent physician of southern Indiana, and in 1872 entered the Physio-Medical institute at Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1873 he began the practice of medicine in Freetown, in partnership with his preceptor. He soon after entered the Physio-Medical col- lege of Indiana, at Indianapolis, from which institution he graduated in 1875, and returned to his former partner, with whom he continued until 1877. Soon after his graduation from the
college at Indianapolis, he was elected to the chair of descriptive and surgical anatomy in the college where he received his degree, and con- tinued a member of the faculty, delivering regular courses of lectures each year until 1893, when he resigned in order to give more time to his professional duties. Dr. Spurgeon removed to Muncie, Ind., April 13, 1880. He soon took a leading rank in his profession, and beside attending to his ex- tensive practice the doctor gave some time to other matters pertaining to his profession. He is a member of the American Association of Physio-Medical Physicians and Surgeons, and was appointed to deliver an annual ad- dress before that body at its meeting at Chi- cago, 1890. He has been a member of the Physio-Medical Association of Indiana since 1875, serving a term as its president, and contributing freely to its medical literature. He was sent by the Physio-Medical college of Indiana as a delegate to the World's Congress of Temperance Physicians which met in New York in 1891. In politics the doctor was a republican till in 1886, when he joined the prohibition party, and in 1888 was a candidate for the legislature, and made an aggressive campaign, obtaining more votes than any other man on the ticket. In 1890 he made the race for secretary of state, when he again ran ahead of the ticket, and though the party as an organization seemed hopelessly in the minority, he remained true to its principles, and in 1892 he was the party's candidate for congress in the Sixth Indiana district, and made a dignified and effective canvass. The doctor was married August 29, 1872, to Miss Elvira Chute, daughter of his preceptor and partner. Of this union were born three sons and one daughter: The eldest son, George Wiley, and the second son, Alva Osten, died in infancy. The third son, Orville Elmer, and the daughter, Mary Alice, are living in Mun-
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cie. Mrs. Spurgeon died at Freetown in the summer of 1878. The doctor's second mar- riage was in the summer of 1883, to Miss Minerva A., daughter of Lafayette Whitney, of Muncie. This union has been blessed by the birth of four children, viz: Nora June, ยท Olive Fern, Kenneth Albertus, and William Chase. The doctor early united with the Christian church (Disciples), the congregation being known as the Buffalo church, at Beck's Grove, Ind., and has been active in church and Sunday school work. He was appointed to the eldership of the First Christian church, of Muncie, Ind., in 1881, which relation he still sustains.
ACOB STIFFLER, who, since 1890, has been making loans a specialty and is a prominent dealer in real estate and a representative of a number of the leading fire insurance companies of the United States, is a native of Pennsylvania, born May 8, 1831, in the county of Bedford, to Freder- ick and Martha (McCormick) Stiffler. When Mr. Stiffler was nine years of age, the family moved to Blair county, Pa., where he grew to manhood, residing there until the year 1856. His youthful environments were such as to preclude the possibility of receiving a very thorough education, but by his own efforts he secured a practical business training which has served him well through life. In 1856, Mr. Stiffler made an extensive tour of the cen- tral and western states, which lasted four years, and upon his return he located in Hamilton township, Delaware county, Ind., where, for a period of eight years, he was en- gaged in the milling business. At the end of that time he accepted the position of local agent of the Ft. W., M. & C. R. R., at Cowan station, in which capacity he continued six years, conducting a mercantile and lumber
business at the same place in the meantime. In 1876 he removed to Muncie, where he fol- lowed various occupations until 1886, when he was elected auditor of Delaware county, which office he filled with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the people.
Mr. Stiffler was married, in the year 1862, to Miss Elizabeth M. North, daughter of Jas- per and Nancy North, of Muncie, who were the parents of eight children, viz .: Elizabeth M., Lavina A., Matilda E., Mary J., Ivy Evangeline, Sarah V., Jasper N, and Arthur G. The father of Mrs. Stiffler was born in Maryland in 1823, and her mother in Ohio, in I821. To the union of Jacob Stiffler and Elizabeth North have been born four children, namely: Alta, wife of C. E. Moore; Laura, wife of Charles C. Brown, of Muncie; Joseph and Lue May-the last named deceased.
Politically, Mr. Stiffler is an earnest sup- porter of the republican party, and as such was elected to the office above noted. His fraternal affiliations are with Welcome lodge, No. 37, K. of P., to which he attached him- self in 1874. He is a stockholder in the Co- operative Gas company, of Muncie, and at this time is secretary and treasurer of the Muncie Hospital company. Mrs. Stiffler, as well as her family, are members of the Society of Friends, and both she and her husband are esteemed by all who know them for their many good qualities and sterling traits of char- acter. As a business man Mr. Stiffler's suc- cess has been most gratifying, and his present comfortable circumstances have been reached unaided and by close application and good management. His social position is an envia- ble one, and with himself his wife and family enjoy the respect and esteem of all who have the pleasure of their acquaintance.
Attention is called to the accompanying engraving, representing a group of four gener- ations of the Stiffler family.
JACOB STIFFLER.
LAURA S. BROWN. MASTER KARL BROWN. GRANDMA ELIZABETH STIFFLER. GRANDMA NANCY NORTH.
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MBROSE C. STOUDER is a native of Delaware county, Ind., and a son of David Stouder, who came to In- diana from Pennsylvania when a young man and settled near the town of New Bur- lington, Perry township. David Stouder by occupation was a farmer, and, later in life, be- came widely and favorably known as an in- ventor of a number of mechanical appliances which are still in extensive use. He resided in the township of Perry until 1856, at which date he emigrated to Iowa, where, in addition to agricultural pursuits, he carried on the manufacture of lumber, building the first saw mill ever operated in Page county, that state. He resided in Iowa until 1863, when he return- ed to Dayton, Ohio, remaining there two years, then going to Mansfield, at which place he de- voted his entire attention to perfecting his dif- ferent inventions and obtaining new patents for various kinds of machinery, principally the results of his own genius and skill. He married, in Delaware county, Ind., Sarah Ribble, daugh- ter of George Ribble, one of the earliest pio- neers of this section of the state, and reared a family of seven children, whose names are as follows: Ambrose C., Augustus G., Laura, Ira, Osborne, Sarah A. and Horace, of whom Ira, Osborne and Sarah are deceased. Mr. Stouder was a republican in his political belief from the organization of the party, but had formerly been an ardent whig. He was an active member of the Masonic fraternity and a man of more than ordinary powers of mind, straightforward, industrious and of the strict- est probity. His death occurred in the year 1870 in Mansfield, Ohio, and his remains lie buried in the cemetery at that place; Mrs. Stouder departed this life in the year 1861, while the family were residents af Iowa.
Ambrose C. Stouder was born April 27, 1850, near the village of New Burlington, and received his early educational training in the
first school house ever erected in Delaware county. He attended the last term taught in the historic structure, and after moving to Iowa he pursued his studies in a graded school in that state. During his youthful years he assisted his father on the farm and in the mill, and when a mere lad of fourteen he entered the army, enlisting at Clarinda, Iowa, in the Eighth Iowa volunteer cavalry, with which he served in the army of the Cumberland until the close of the war. His army experience embraced a wide and varied range, including the Atlanta campaigns and all the battles inci- dent thereto-Dallas, Resaca, Kenesaw Mount- ain, and others, also the campaign against Hood in Tennessee, including the bloody bat- tles of Franklin and Nashville. His command participated in the celebrated Wilson cavalry raid through Georgia, and his record of a brave and gallant defender of the national Union is one of which any soldier might feel deservedly proud.
On the cessation of hostilities, Mr. Stouder was mustered out of the service at Macon, Ga., and received his discharge at Clinton, Iowa. In the meantime his father had left Iowa, and finding himself without a home in that state, young Ambrose followed his father to Ohio, where, until the year 1868, he worked on a farm in summer and attended school during the winter seasons. In 1868 he returned to Iowa and began his journalistic experience in the office of the Herald at Clar- inda. He continued with that paper until 1871, at which date he came to Muncie, Ind., reaching this city under circumstances the most discouraging, the sum total of his earthly wealth at the time being one-quarter of a dol- lar. Without money and among strangers, the world presented anything but a smiling face to the young adventurer, who, until tem- porary employment was found in a saw mill after several days' search, was obliged to sleep
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in a lumber yard with nothing but the clouds and the blue sky for a covering.
A vacancy occurring in the office of the Muncie Times, shortly after his arrival, he was given the place, and for some time he earned a livelihood at the compositor's case. Subse- quently, he severed his connection with the Times and took charge of the first steam fire engine ever used in Muncie, having previously learned to operate an engine in his father's mill in Iowa. Later, he accepted a posi- tion in the office of the Muncie News and Indiana Granger, published by N. F. Ethell, in partnership with whom he soon after- wards assisted in establishing the Muncie Daily News, the first daily paper ever printed in the city-Mr. Stouder becoming local editor. After a brief connection with the News, Mr. Stouder took charge of the ma- chinery in the Times office, operating the same until 1880, when he established the Muncie Advertiser, by which venture he accumulated sufficient capital to start a small job office in a building where the new Little block now stands.
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