USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A standard history of Elkhart County, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development, Volume II > Part 11
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Abraham H. Moyer has spent most of his life in Elkhart County. As a boy he attended the country schools, and also assisted in the farm work, but his early inclinations were manifested for mechan- ical pursuits, and at the age of sixteen he began an apprenticeship at Vol. II- 7
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the carpenter's trade. After six months he was a finished workman, and he at once started out on a modest scale as a contractor and builder. In that business he has continued successfully to the pres- ent time, and has a record of fully forty years in the business.
On March 7, 1880, Mr. Moyer married Sarah A. Culp, who was born near Waukarusa in Elkhart County. Her father, Solomon Culp, was born in Mahoning County, Ohio, and her grandfather, George Culp, moved from Ohio to Indiana, and became an early settler in Harrison Township. George Culp was one of the suc- cessful early farmers in that locality and acquired such an amount of land in that and in Union Township and also in St. Joseph County that he was able to give each of his children eighty acres. George Culp died at Nappanee when about eighty years of age. The maiden name of his wife was Magdalena Garringer, who died when about seventy years of age. They reared ten sons and one daughter. Solomon Culp, father of Mrs. Moyer, was a boy when he accom- panied his parents from Ohio to Indiana, and the journey was made overland with wagons and teams. He took the eighty acres of tim- bered land which his father gave him and in due course of time had cleared away most of the forest and had developed a good farm. He remained a resident of Harrison Township until his death when about sixty years of age. His wife's name was Anna Holdeman, who was born in Holmes County, Ohio. Her father, John Holde- man, moved from Ohio to Indiana, accompanied by his father, and located in Harrison Township where he secured a tract of timbered land and after developing a portion of it moved to Baugo Town- ship, where he spent the rest of his days. Mrs. Moyer's mother died when about seventy years of age, and there was only one other child, Magdalena, who married Daniel Moyer.
In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Moyer are children named Abra- ham S., Harvey, Mervin M., Della M., Grace E, and Ralph. The son Abraham married Minnie Leader and their three children are Helen, Lamar and Wayne. Harvey married Theo Emminger and has a daughter named Margaret. Mervin M. married Theresa Peterson and their daughter is named Estella J. Grace married Mervin Leatherman and has a daughter Irma Bernice. Mr. and Mrs. Moyer are active members of the United Brethren Church.
MILO W. STARK. One of the native sons of Elkhart County, born in a log house in Osolo Township April 12, 1866, Milo W. Stark has had a very active and useful career in the past thirty years, was for about four years in the employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, and in recent years has managed a success- ful real estate business at Elkhart.
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He comes of a pioneer family both in Northern Ohio and in Northern Indiana. His grandfather Captain Stark was of Scotch ancestry and of the same family as Gen. John Stark of the Revo- lutionary war. Captain Stark was a pioneer in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, locating there when the present site of Cleveland was a wilder- ness. For several years he was a boat captain on the Erie, plying between Cleveland and Detroit, and subsequently commanded a boat on the Ohio River. In an accident which sunk his boat he was drowned. Captain Stark married Mary Lovisa Dibble. She owned the property through which Stark Avenue in Cleveland passes, and she died at her home on Cedar Street in that city at the age of seventy-five.
Henry Stark, father of Milo W., was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1825 and was reared and educated in that city. After reaching manhood he began business as a market gardener and for several years cultivated twenty-eight acres of land now included in Wade Park of Cleveland. Later he bought ten acres now included in Euclid Heights. This was heavily timbered at the time, but he cleared off the trees and for several years continued his business as a market gardener, finally selling the land at two hundred dollars an acre.
Somewhat later he traded his Wade Park property in Cleve- land for eighty acres of land in Osolo Township, half a mile north of city limits of Elkhart and about 1862 he removed his family to this county. The principal improvements of his land were a log house, a small barn and thirty acres cleared. He forthwith set him- self with characteristic enterprise and vigor to his business of general farming and market gardening. Later he added by purchasing an- other eighty acres adjoining, and in 1875 he put up a commodious frame house, one of the best in the country outside of Elkhart at that time. Late in life he rented the farm and spent his last years at ease in Elkhart, where he died in 1908 aged eighty-three. Henry Stark married Abbie N. Thorp, who was born in that section of Cleveland now known as Collingwood, a daughter of Cornelius Thorp, who was an early settler in that section of Northern Ohio. Mrs. Henry Stark died in 1910 aged seventy-eight. She reared six children named Job, Howard, Eben, Hattie M., Henry L. and Milo W., while a daughter Mamie died at the age of six years.
Milo W. Stark spent his early years on the old homestead north of Elkhart. It was a home of comfort, his people were among the substantial citizens of Elkhart County and he was trained to habits of industry and given a good education in the district schools of Osolo Township and three years in the high school at Elkhart.
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On leaving school he returned to the farm and after his marriage moved into Cass County, Michigan, and operated a farm belong- ing to his father in that county. After a year he returned to Elk- hart and became identified with the Lake Shore & Michigan South- ern Railway Company as clerk in the office of the engine dis- patcher. Subsequently he was a fireman for a year and a half, but during the panic of 1893 was out of employment for a time, and finally returned to the service in the capacity of assistant baggage master. On leaving the railway Mr. Stark entered the employ of the Elkhart Carriage & Harness Manufacturing Com- pany, and was with that large local corporation a year and a half. He then turned his attention to real estate, being in the office of D. M. Best until 1898, and then established an office of his own at 224 South Main Street. In 1905 he opened his office in the Monger Building, where he is still located. He has enjoyed an enviable reputation as a reliable judge of real estate values and has a large clientage.
In 1889 Mr. Stark married Miss Flora C. Page, who was born in Lake County, Indiana, a daughter of Martin and Margaret Page. Mr. and Mrs. Stark have four children, Roy M., Mayme, Marie and Ruth. The son Roy is now on the road to success in business and is assistant cashier of the St. Joseph Valley Bank of Elkhart. Mr. and Mrs. Stark are both active members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. He is one of the leading members of the Elkhart Real Estate Board and fraternally is affiliated with Pulaski Lodge No. 60, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
CASPER SCHWEITZER was sixteen years old when he began to serve his apprenticeship in a brass foundry. He learned the trade of a moulder in time, and from then to now his business activities have been confined to that field of enterprise. Today Mr. Schweit- zer is proprietor of the Northern Indiana Brass Foundry, a concern engaged in the manufacture of the finest brass goods made in Amer- ica. The business was established in 1905 and in 1909 it was incorporated, with Mr. Schweitzer in the office of president of the concern.
Mr. Schweitzer was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts, on March 21, 1867, and he is the son of Frederick and Katherine ( Herman, ncc Schaffer ) Schweitzer. Both of them were born in Wurttemberg, Germany. The father was seventy-five years old when he died in 1015. and the mother passed away in 1912, at the age of sixty-eight years. Three daughters and one son were born to them. The son was Casper Schweitzer of this review, and he was the second child
Casper Schweizer
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of his parents. The mother, however, of her first marriage to John Herman, had four children, three of them alive today.
Frederick Schweitzer came to America as a young man. He set- tled first in New Britain, Connecticut, and later in Greenfield, Mas- sachusetts. He was not trained to any especial trade, but he applied himself diligently to whatever work he found, and he was able to provide for his family as long as his support was needed. He spent his later years in retirement in the homes of his children. He was a member of the German Lutheran Church all his life, and he em- braced the political faith of the republican party when he came to this country. He was a good citizen all his days, and in him and his family, his adopted country realized the best to be found in its emigra- tion policies.
Casper Schweitzer had some training in the schools of New Britain, but the best of his education was self-acquired, for he quit his books at the age of eleven and worked at any task he could find When he was sixteen he saw the need for training along some par- ticular line, if he was to make any success of his life, and he straight- way entered a brass foundry in New Britain with the intention of learning the trade of a moulder. He finished his apprenticeship and continued in the work of a moulder up to the year 1892, when he was twenty-five years old. He married in that year and moved to Chicago, where he was employed as foreman of the brass foundry of a hardware concern there. He held that position up to 1902, mean- while living carefully and thriftily, saving what he could with the hope of being able to launch a business of his own in time. In 1902 he felt himself in a position to be able to do something for himself, and he accordingly located in Coldwater, Michigan, opening a small shop, which he operated until 1905. In that year he sold out and located in Elkhart, Indiana, his present place of business. He established the Northern Indiana Brass Foundry Company then and the business has been an especially fortunate one. It was begun in a small way, as fitting a new venture in a strange locality, but it has been enlarged with each passing year until it is now one of the foremost concerns of its kind in this part of the state. The firm is engaged in the manufacture of high class brass goods, their products finding ready sale in the best markets of the land. The finest cornet keys made in America are the product of this plant in Elkhart, and their appliances are used in the manufacture of brass band instruments all over the country. Another of their specialties is the manufacture of fine brass plates for marking purposes. The foundry has a floor space of 255x44 feet, and it is equipped with the best and latest in the way of appliances. According to the report of the state factory
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inspectors of Indiana, the Northern Indiana Brass Foundry is equipped with the best fan ventilating outfit in the state, all its equipment being on a par with that part. When running at capacity the plant employs twenty-five skilled workmen, and it is accounted one of the sturdiest industrial enterprises in the community.
Mr. Schweitzer is a man who manifests a wholesome interest in the affairs of his home town, wherever he may be located. In Chicago, as a resident of North Chicago, he was a trustee for his district and in 1912 he was elected a member of the Elkhart City Council from the first ward, for a term of four years. He was elected on the progressive ticket, though his politics have been repub- lican in their nature for the most part. He is prominent in fraternal circles of the city, and one of his affiliations in a fraternal way is with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Elkhart Lodge, No. 425.
In 1892 Mr. Schweitzer was married to Miss Sarah Towers, who was born in Haverstraw, New York. Two children were born to them. Ralph, the first born, died in infancy, and their remaining child is Esther Lee Schweitzer. The family is one that is highly regarded in Elkhart, and they have many staunch friends to their credit in the community.
NAT NEWELL. The name of this well known citizen of Elk- hart calls up some of the earliest settlers of Elkhart County. His mother was a Compton, and both the Newells and Comptons helped to develop Elkhart County from the wilderness to a smiling land- scape of farms and prosperous villages and cities.
The place where Nat Newell first saw the light of day on May 3. 1873, was a frame house on a farm in Osolo Township. His father George Newell was born in the same township May 12, 1839. The grandfather was Nathaniel Newell, who was born on a farm near Charlotte in Chittenden County, Vermont, in 1800. The great-grandfather Abel Newell was born in Connecticut of early colonial ancestry, removed to Chittenden County, Vermont, as an early settler, and saw service in the War of 1812. He married Polly Hollerbert, and both spent the rest of their days in Vermont. Grandfather Nathaniel Newell was reared and educated in Ver- mont and was a product of typical New England conditions. He had only a common school education and became a practical worker at an early age, assisting on the farm in the summer and working in the woods in the winter.
In 1835 Nathaniel Newell married Lucinda Johnson. Soon after their marriage they loaded their effects into a wagon and started for
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the Far West. In that early time the chief difficulties of traveling overland from the East into Michigan or Indiana were encountered in the dreaded Maumee Valley of Northwestern Ohio. As was the case with many of the early pioneers who journeyed across that country, Nathaniel Newell's wagon and team got stuck in the mud and it required an extra yoke of oxen to pull them out. They were five days in making thirty miles across that swamp. However, they finally reached Edwardsburg on the Detroit Chicago Road in the territory of Michigan in what is now Cass County. There they found themselves in the midst of a sparsely settled wilderness, and the greater portion of all the surrounding lands was still owned by the government. While making Edwardsburg his temporary resi- dence, Nathaniel Newell explored the surrounding district and eventually bought a tract of timbered land in Osolo Township of Elkhart County. About eight acres of this had been cleared and the only other improvement was a log cabin. There Nathaniel Newell began his pioneer efforts in earnest, and in the course of time had cleared up his land and exercised his good judgment and fore- sight in purchasing other tracts. He also provided his farm with comfortable buildings, and remained a resident of Osolo Township until his death at the advanced age of ninety-three years. His first wife, the grandmother of Nat Newell, died in 1839, leaving two children, the daughter being named Mary.
George Newell was reared on the Osolo Township farm, had an education in such schools as could be found in that region during the 'Los and '50s, and was already making considerable headway as an independent farmer when the war broke out between the states. Leaving his farm and family he enlisted in 1861 in Company M of the Second Indiana Cavalry. Going to the front, he was with his regiment in several of the important campaigns and battles in the Mississippi Valley. At Hartsville, Tennessee, he was wounded and his horse shot from under him, and while still suffering from this wound he was with his regiment in the battle of Murfreesboro, and the entire regiment was captured by the Confederates. However, he was soon paroled, and was then given detached service in the quartermaster's department, and as such he completed his army ser- vice and received an honorable discharge at the end of his term.
Then returning to Elkhart County, he bought a farm bordering Simonton Lake, occupied it six years, and then acquired another place on Johnson Street Road near Elkhart. He gave himself to the management and cultivation of this land, also did considerable dairying, but in 1903 removed from the farm to the City of Elk- hart, where he lived retired until his death on October 25. 1907.
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George Newell was married October 17, 1864, to Sarah A. Comp- ton. She was born in a log house in Osolo Township May 3, 1843. Her father James Compton was born in New Jersey in 1808. Her grandfather Jacob Compton was also a native of New Jersey, but removed from that state to Ohio and acquired land in Cuyahoga County now included within the city limits of Cleveland. He was an industrious and prosperous farmer and resided there until his death. He had seen active service as a soldier in the War of 1812. In 1833 Jacob Compton visited Elkhart County and selected two tracts of government land, 120 acres each, and entered them in the land office at Fort Wayne. He then returned home, having made the entire journey on foot. Later in the same year his sons James and Ezekiel Compton came out and occupied those tracts of land in Elkhart County. Thus the Comptons were here at almost the be- ginning of settlement and civilization. Elkhart was a recently established village and the county had been organized only a year or so. Among the pioneer conditions with which these two sons became familiar was the presence of a number of Indians who still roamed the prairies and woods, and the Indians were not in- frequent callers at their home. James Compton was well fitted for the task of pioneering, improved a good farm with buildings and other equipment, and resided there until his death in 1876. James Compton married Eliza Nutting, who was born in Vermont but was reared near Akron, Ohio. She died in 1898. Her seven chil- dren were named Thomas J., Harriet, Mary, Kenyon, Sarah, Amanda and Albert. Mrs. George Newell is still living in Elkhart. Her two children were named Minnie and Nat. The daughter is the wife of Charles Shaver and resides in Osolo Township, her five children are George, Merle, Frank, Lewis and Harriet. George Newell was an honored member of Shiloh Post of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Nat Newell grew up on a farm and continued farming after his parents moved into Elkhart. In 1912 he rented the farm and has since lived in Elkhart, where he conducts a billiard parlor. He has recently secured a patent on a "square turn tractor," and con- cerning this invention a local publication issued the following state- ments :
"Nat Newell of East Jackson Street on March 14 was granted a patent on a square turn tractor, the first of its kind. Machinists are busily engaged in the building of one in the shop of David Baugher, State street, and it is expected to have a complete machine ready for demonstration by April I.
"Jack Leicester, who is associated with Mr. Newell in the
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New Brunswick pool room, 'Nat and Jack's Place,' 120 South Main street, and his brother, James Leicester, have secured a half inter- est in the patent and if it proves a success, the machine will be manufactured here.
"The square turn tractor it is claimed can be used on small tracts, and this is a decided advantage over all other makes. The machine will do what the name implies, turn a square corner. While a price has not yet been made on the finished product, it is under- stood it will be sold at a figure within the reach of the smaller farmer.
"There are a number of small farms on which anything but a square turn tractor could not be utilized on account of the small sized fields. The designer of the new improved tractor be- lieves that demonstration of the machine will prove it a machine that will find a ready sale with the large and small farmer."
Mr. Newell is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters. On October 5. 1893, he married Harriet Osborne who was born in Iowa. Their two children are named Blon and Elsie.
HOMER E. JOHNSON is president of the American Hay Com- pany. of Goshen, one of the largest enterprises dealing in hay in the Central States. For a great many years the name Johnson has had prominent associations in this part of Indiana in connection with the general grain business, and the sterling reputation of Mr. Johnson in grain circles is due to many years of honorable business dealings and a broad range of commercial enterprise.
Born in Elkhart County at New Paris October 17, 1876, Homer E. Johnson is the oldest son of Levi L. and Sarah A. ( Charpie) Johnson, the former born in Canada and the latter in New York, and they are now living in Goshen. The father is also a veteran hay and grain merchant, and still continues the business, though separately from his son. Homer E. Johnson attended the village schools of New Paris, the high school at Goshen, and graduated from Eastman College at Poughkeepsie, New York. In 1893 he went to New York City and gained considerable practical exper- ience in the grain trade in the East. In 1894 he returned to Goshen and was employed by his father in the wholesale grain and hay business for twelve years. In 1906 Homer E. Johnson with- drew and has since been alone in the wholesale hay trade. He handles only carload lots, buys extensively from a number of states, and ships both east and west, to practically all the states and cities east of the Mississippi River. Occasionally shipments are made even as far west as Utah, Wyoming and Kansas. He has
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large yards, warehouses, elevator and other facilities for the busi- ness located on East Lincoln Avenue in Goshen.
In 1898 he married Miss Isabelle Rockwell of Goshen, daughter of Byron B. Rockwell. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson reside at 313 East Jefferson Street. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, is a member of the Goshen Golf Club, and both at home and abroad is known as an excellent business man, intelligent, enterprising and public spirited.
CHARLES A. POOLEY. Of the men who have helped to sustain the integrity and prestige of Goshen's financial institutions, one who has been a leading factor in banking circles is Charles A. Pooley, secretary and treasurer of the Elkhart County Trust Company. A product of the city by birth, education and training, his entire career has been passed here, and from the time he entered busi- ness life, at the age of sixteen years, he has won advancement through personal ability and effort.
Mr. Pooley was born at Goshen, July 24, 1861, the youngest son of Nathan and Mary ( Bilby ) Pooley, the former a native of New York and the latter of New Jersey. They came to Indiana more than a half century ago and Nathan Pooley was engaged in farm- ing and merchandising during a long, active and successful career, dying at Goshen in 1894. Mrs. Pooley passed away in 1900, in advanced years. Charles A. Pooley was educated in the graded and high schools of Goshen and left the latter when sixteen years of age. He was variously employed until entering the I-X-L Pump Company, with which concern he remained until 1895, and then be- gan his experience in banking as bookkeeper and office man in the Goshen State Bank. Mr. Pooley remained with that firm until 1906, securing a valuable training, and in the year mentioned became interested in the Elkhart County Trust Company, of which he was soon made secretary and treasurer, positions which he has con- tinued to fill with fidelity and ability.
The Elkhart County Trust Company was organized in 1900 by several local capitalists, its first location being in the rear of the State Bank of Goshen. From its inception it met with public favor and a liberal patronage, and in 1906 it was found necessary to secure larger quarters, the offices being moved to its present build- ing at Main Street and Lincoln Avenue, where the building was remodeled to meet requirements and entirely new equipment and fixtures installed, making this one of the best establishments of its kind in the city. The company does a general banking business and has installed a fine system of modern safety deposit boxes and
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vaults, and each year, under capable management, the business has grown and enlarged its scope. The capital stock of the Elkhart County Trust Company is $75,000, while the surplus is $29,500. Since identifying himself with this enterprise, Mr. Pooley has devoted his entire time to its interests, and much of its success must be accredited to his business and financial ability and earnest, zeal- ous work. He is a republican in his political views, but has not engaged actively in politics, nor has he cared for public office.
In 1882 Mr. Pooley was married to Miss Libbie Irwin, daugh- ter of Elisha D. Irwin, an old and greatly respected citizen of Goshen, who came to this city as early as 1832, and whose death occurred July 2, 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Pooley are the parents of one son, Irwin C., who is a graduate of the Goshen High School and one of the prominent young business men of Des Moines, Iowa, where he is secretary and treasurer of an important business concern. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Pooley is at No. 410 South Sixth Street, Goshen.
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