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 19
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57
On June 11, 1882, Judge Deahl was united in marriage with Miss Ilattie Rogers, and they have three sons : Floyd, who was born July 15, 1883: Ray, June 5, 1886; and Orlo, September 30, 1801, the two elder sons completing their course in law in the University of Michigan but under much easier conditions than did their father. During a part of the year the Goshen residence is occupied but the summer season usually finds a cottage situated in beautiful seclusion on the bank of Wawasee Lake, the family home.
Patience, calmness and cool judgment are the marks of useful. superior people wherever they are found, and these characteristics
578
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
are notably present in Mr. Deahl but they do not exclude the geniality which make him a welcome addition to any social circle and a valued member of such fraternal bodies as he has identified himself with, these including the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Samaritans of the World and the Red Men. He has been connected with many useful activities and served seven years as president of the Goshen Commercial Exchange.
UNIE CLARK. Broad intellectual grasp and marked executive ability have come into effective play in the business career of Mr. Clark, who is one of the liberal and public-spirited citizens of Elkhart County, where he is now serving as county councilman at large and where he holds secure vantage-place as one of the vigor- ous and representative business men of the city of Elkhart. He is the executive head of the large and prosperous enterprise here conducted under the title of the Clark Cash Coal Company, the well equipped yards and office of which are established at the corner of Lexington Avenue and Commercial Street. The business was founded by Mr. Clark in 1911, after he had previously been tor somewhat more than a decade identified with a similar enterprise in Elkhart. The plant of the company has ample storage capacity not only for the coal demanded in serving its extensive and representa- tive retail patronage but also for adequate quantities of coke, lime, cement, plaster, etc., all of which are extensively handled.
Mr. Clark was born in Laporte County, Indiana, on the 13th of September, 1863, and is a son of Horace and Susan (Lenhart) Clark, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania, in 1832, and the latter of whom was born in Ohio, in 1833, her death having occurred in 1897. Of the six children the subject of this sketch was the fifth in order of birth, a sister, Lodema, who died in March, 1916, resided in Elkhart and was the widow of Jacob P. Saunders ; another sister, Chloe, who is the wife of Robert Kauffman main- tains her home at New Haven, Allen County.
Horace Clark established his residence in Laporte County, Indiana, in the early '50s, and there he became a progressive and successful farmer of the middle pioneer period. Later he removed with his family to the village of Concord, Jackson County, Michi- gan, from which place he removed with his family to Three Rivers, St. Joseph County, that state. In 1878 he became a clergyman of the United Brethren Church and he has given long and effective service in the work of the ministry. He was a loyal and valiant soldier of the Union during three years of the Civil war, in which he served as a member of Company B, Seventy-third Indiana Vol-
579
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
unteer Infantry. He participated in numerous engagements, includ- ing a number of important battles, and after receiving his honorable discharge he returned to his farm in Laporte County, where he continued his activities until his removal to Michigan, as previously noted. He is now a resident of Howard County, Indiana, where, venerable in years, he is living virtually retired. In politics he was originally a republican but later became a zealous supporter of the cause of the prohibition party. In the last national election, that of 1912, he cast his ballot in support of the democratic candidate, President Wilson. He perpetuates the more gracious memories of his military career through his active and appreciative affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic.
Unie Clark acquired his earlier educational discipline in the public schools of Michigan and Elkhart County, Indiana, where he attended the village schools at Bristol and later the high school at Wakarusa. This discipline was supplemented by a course in Roa- noke Academy, at Roanoke, Huntington County, Indiana. For ten years he was a successful and popular representative of the pedago- gic profession, and his teaching was principally in the public schools of his native state. For two years he taught in the schools at Men- tone, Kosciusko County, and while a resident of that place he served for years as postmaster of the village, a position to which he was appointed in the second term of President Cleveland's administra- tion. After his retirement from this office he continued his work as a teacher for some time, and in 1899 he established his residence in the City of Elkhart. Here he continued to be associated with Jacob P. Saunders, his brother-in-law, in the coal business until IgII, when he established his independent enterprise in the same line of business. Effective service to patrons, combined with fair and honorable dealings at all times, have enabled him to build up an extensive and substantial trade, and he has made the Clark Cash Coal Company one of the foremost concerns of its kind in this part of the state.
In politics Mr. Clark gives unqualified allegiance to the demo- cratic party, and he is admirably fortified in his opinions concerning governmental affairs, both general and local, so that he is specially qualified for the office of which he is now the valued incumbent, that of county councilman at large, an office to which he was elected in the autumn of 1914 and in which he has been able to bring into potent influence his well ordered public spirit and civic progressive- ness. The original Masonic affiliation of Mr. Clark was with Men- tone Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and upon his re- moval to Elkhart he was dimitted from this lodge and became
580
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
affiliated actively with Kane Lodge, No. 182. From Warsaw Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons, at the county seat of Kosciusko County, he was dimitted to form his present affiliation with Concord Chap- ter, No. 101, at Elkhart.
In 1897 Mr. Clark wedded Mrs. Frances (Drake) Wilkinson.
JOHN P. MICHAEL. The present superintendent of the Elkhart County Infirmary in Concord Township is a man of such substan- tial accomplishments and character as is especially well fitted for the responsibilities in an office in which he is in charge of one of the county's largest institutions. Mr. Michael has for many years been a farmer and was formerly best known over the county as a thresherman, and operated one of the first steam power threshing outfits in this county.
Though he has lived in Elkhart County since infancy he was born on a farm three miles southeast of Greenville in Darke County, Ohio, March 8, 1854. His father, also named John P. Michael, was born in Germany in 1829. The grandfather was also named John Paul Michael, and was reared and married in Germany and as a young man did some service in the German army. In 1835 he brought his family to America. With him came his wife and four children. They embarked on a sailing vessel, and spent several months in crossing, the ship having encountered many adverse conditions of wind and weather. After landing at New York they went on to Ohio, and located in Darke County. where Grandfather Michael bought a farm. He lived there until 1854 and then came to Elkhart County, Indiana, buying land four miles south- west of Goshen. On that farm he spent the rest of his life. The grandmother had died and was buried in Ohio. Their four chil- dren were: George and Aaron, twins, John P. and Barbara. Bar- bara, the only daughter, married August Feldman.
John P. Michael, father of the Elkhart County Infirmary's superintendent, was about six years of age when he came to America with his parents and was reared and educated in Darke County, Ohio. He was married there and in 1854 he came to Elkhart County and after the death of his father bought the old home place, on which he resided until his death in 1901. John P. Michael, Sr., married Molly Banta. She was born in Germany and was eighteen years of age when she came to America. Later two of her brothers came to this country, and one of them, Fred, settled in Goshen and the other one went to Missouri. Molly ( Banta) Michael died in 1807 at the age of seventy-four. The seven children who grew up in her home and under her supervision were : John P., George, Lewis, Elizabeth, Edward, Kallie and Harvey.
581
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
The first definite recollections John P. Michael has were asso- ciated with the old Elkhart County homestead. As a boy he attended the rural schools and was still young when his strength was employed by his father in the work of the farm. As a boy he had a natural talent and inclination for mechanical pursuits, and it was this which turned him to the operation of a threshing machine. Measured by modern machinery, his outfit was very crude and lacked both in power and efficiency. For the first two years the separator was operated by horse power, but he then bought a traction engine, and that was one of the first brought into Elkhart County. Mr. Michael continued to operate a threshing outfit during the threshing season altogether for twenty-eight years. In the meantime he had also invested in farm land, buying 117 acres in Elkhart Township, and with very substantial results he combined farming and threshing for many years. It was in 1911 that he gave up farm management as his regular business in order to accept the heavy responsibilities of the position of superintendent of the county infirmary. He now lives in the county institution between Elkhart and Goshen, and his administration has been one that reflects credit upon his com- petence and integrity and has meant a great deal for the dependent wards of the county.
Mr. Michael married Catherine Miller. She was born in Allen County, Ohio, a daughter of Martin and Mary ( Riggel) Miller. Mr. and Mrs. Michael have reared a family of two sons and three daughters: Nellie, Arthur J., Maude, Mary Zelma and Forrest. The son Arthur married Alletah Bowser and their two children are Eliz- abeth and John Paul. The daughter Maude married Frank Over- lease, and their two children are Christine and Maxine. Forrest married Edith Overlease and they have a daughter named Cath- erine. Mr. and Mrs. Michael are members of the Mennonite Church.
JOIN H. LEHMAN. Prominent among the progressive and rep- resentative business men and liberal and public-spirited citizens of the City of Elkhart stands John H. Lehman, whose large and well equipped hardware establishment occupies the three floors of the building at [11 South Main Street, opposite the First National Bank. His civic loyalty is shown through the effective service which he is rendering as a member of the city council, a position to which he was elected in the spring of 1915, as councilman at large from the south district of the city.
Mr. Lehman was born on his father's farm in Livingston County, Illinois, and the date of his nativity was February 17, 1876. He Vol. 11-12
582
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
was the third in order of birth in a family of ten children, all of whom are living except one. He is a son of John H. and Mary Lehman, both of whom were born and reared in Mahoning County, Ohio, whence they removed to Livingston County, Illinois, in the early '70s. There the father was successfully engaged in farming until 1882, when he returned with his family to his native county in the old Buckeye State, where he continued his activities as an agri- culturist and stock-grower until 1907. since which time he has lived retired, he is still maintaining his home in Mahoning County, where he is a representative of the sterling pioneer families and where his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances. John H. Lehman has always been found aligned as a stanch suppporter of the principles and policies for which the republican party stands sponsor in a basic way, and in Mahoning County he has held town- ship office.
He whose name initiates this review was about six years of age when his parents returned from Illinois to Mahoning County, Ohio, where he was reared under the sturdy discipline of the home farm and made good use of the advantages afforded in the district schools, as well as in the high school at North Lima. In 1899, at the age of twenty-three years, Mr. Lehman came to Elkhart, Indiana, and after completing a business course in the old Elkhart Institute he here engaged in the hardware business, by purchasing an interest in a well established retail store with L. S. Hostetler, with whom he continued to be associated under the firm name of Hostetler & Lehi- man until 1905, when he became sole owner of the business, which he has since conducted individually and which is one of the leading enterprises of the kind in the city, with the highest reputation for fair and honorable dealings and effective service, so that the estab- lishment controls a large and representative trade. In carrying on the large and substantial business three floors of a most eligibly located building are utilized, each being 22 by 150 feet in dimen- sions, and the establishment being stocked with most select and com- prehensive lines of heavy and shelf hardware, stoves and ranges, various lines of building supplies and household necessities. An Elkhart newspaper has recently referred to Mr. Lehman in the following terms: "He is one of our most public-spirited citizens, being at the present time a member of the city council, as represen- tative at large from the South District, whose people he serves with his best energies, devoting much time to the city's affairs. He is looked upon as the type of citizen that has made Elkhart what she is to-day, America's greatest 25,000 city."
In politics Mr. Lehman gives his allegiance to the republican
583
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
party, and his election to the city council occurred in the spring of 1915, a due recognition of his loyalty and progressiveness as a citizen. Since 1913 he has held the office of treasurer of Pulaski Lodge, No. 60, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in the same fraternal order he is affiliated also with Elkhart Encampment, No. 104, Patriarchs Militant.
On the 26th of August, 1905, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Lehman to Miss Bessie A. Stuck, who was born and reared in Elkhart, and they have four children, Mary, Hazel, Helen and Herbert.
WILLIAM H. RUSSELL. One of the thriving enterprises of Elk- hart is the St. Joe Ice Company, which, wisely conducted, carefully managed and operated along the line of the most honorable business principles, has grown to the proportions of a necessary commercial adjunct. William H. Russell, the proprietor of this business since 1898. is an illustrative example of that class of citizens who have brought Elkhart to the forefront as a center of business activity. He was born at Ripley, Chautauqua County, New York, February 14, 1855, and is a son of Erastus and Ann ( Murphy ) Russell.
Erastus Russell was born in New York, where he was reared and educated, and as a youth learned the trade of tanner, a vocation which he followed throughout the period of his active career. While a resident of Ripley, he took an active interest in civic affairs, and at various times was elected to hold public office, the duties of which he discharged in an entirely commendable and efficient manner. In 1865 he removed to Michigan, locating at Kalamazoo, and re- mained there until his death at the age of fifty-eight years. He was a republican in his political views. Mrs. Russell, who was born in Oswego County, New York, survived her husband for a long period and was seventy-four years old at the time of her demise. Of the six children in the family, five are still living, William H. being the fourth child in order of birth.
The public schools of Kalamazoo, Michigan, furnished William H. Russell with his education, he having been a lad of ten years when taken to that city, and there he received his introduction to the bottling business. Subsequently he embarked in a venture of his own and for twenty-two years dealt in soda and mineral waters, finally disposing of his interests to engage in the paper milling business. This line of endeavor held his attention for five years, and he then engaged in the ice and fuel business, carrying on the enterprise under the name of the Kalamazoo Ice and Fuel Com- pany until 1898. In that year he came to Elkhart, where he bought
584
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
out the business of the St. Joe Ice Company, of which he has since been president, his sons, Joe and Fred E. being associated in busi- ness with him. The product of this company consists of ice and distilled water, and meets with a large sale in Elkhart and the sur- rounding towns and villages. The quality of the product and Mr. Russell's honesty and promptness have insured him a good and liberal patronage from the inception of his business to the present time. In political matters, Mr. Russell votes independently, prefer- ring to use his own judgment in the selection of candidates and endeavoring to choose men who have the interests of the com- munity at heart. He is fraternally affiliated with Lodge No. 5, Knights of Pythias, at Kalamazoo, Michigan ; the Modern Woodmen of America, also at that place ; and Elkhart Lodge, No. 425, Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks.
Mr. Russell was married in 1881 to Miss Kate Turner, who died in 1901, leaving four children: Joe M., who is associated with his father in business; Fred E., also connected with the St. Joe Ice Company ; Marjorie; and Lawrence M., who is city engineer of Elkhart. In 1903 Mr. Russell was again married, being united with Miss Agnes Bevier.
OSCAR JAY. It is as a lawyer that Mr. Jay is best known over Elkhart County, where he has distinguished himself for solid ability and by his devotion to the public welfare. In his present office as prosecuting attorney he has given an administration which for vigilance and industry ranks him among the best prosecutors the county has ever had, and the experience is one which assures his future success in the law.
Practically all his life Mr. Jay has lived in this section of North- ern Indiana. He was born at Mishawaka in St. Joseph County October 5. 1871. His parents were Henry E. and Rebecca E. (Brown) Schoonover. Considering the family name as somewhat cumbersome, Mr. Jay since youth has been known by his present sur- name. His father was born in Ohio, which was also the native state of his mother, and the former died in 1900, while his mother is still living. Their five children are : Solomon ; Oscar; Ella, wife of John D. Teeter ; William H. H. ; and Arton B. Henry Schoon- over was married in Ohio and during the war enlisted in an Ohio regiment of infantry, and saw three years of active service in the Union armies. After the war he moved to Mishawaka, Indiana, spent several years there working at his trade as a cabinet maker, then lived for two or three years in Buchanan, Michigan, employed at the same trade, and finally located at Wakarusa in Elkhart County,
585
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
where his last years were spent in the carriage and wagon business. He was a republican in politics, and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Oscar Jay spent most of his youth in Wakarusa, attended the public schools there and began his career as a teacher. For three years he taught in the country district, and was also employed for two years as a teacher in the village schools at Wakarusa. Mr. Jay studied law at Goshen with Hon. E. E. Mummert, and after being admitted to the bar in 1898 engaged in practice with Mr. Mummert under the name Mummert & Jay. In 1902 Mr. Jay became a partner of Hon. Aaron S. Zook, under the name Zook & Jay. This was one of the prominent law firms at the county seat up to 1907, in which year Mr. Jay removed, took up an individual practice at Goshen and in order to handle his growing practice more conveniently he located at Elkhart in November, 1913.
In November, 1912, Mr. Jay was elected prosecuting attorney and was reelected to the office in 1914. His present term expires January 1, 1918. He is an active member of the Elkhart City Bar Association and the Elkhart County Association, is a member of the Century Club at Elkhart, is affiliated with Goshen Lodge of Elks and with the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Politically he is a democrat and was elected to office on that ticket. In 1902 Mr. Jay married Viola R. ( Bollinger ) Hess. By her first marriage she had two children : Neil, now living in Detroit, Michigan ; and Fay, at home with Mr. Jay. Mrs. Jay died in 1908. On May 19, 1915, he mar- ried for his present wife Rose ( Knouse ) Hill.
HENRY C. MARTIN. In musical circles all over the country, the City of Elkhart is known as the home of the Martin Band Instru- ment Company, manufacturers of the famous "Renowned" band instruments, which because of their beauty of appearance and tone, their perfect proportionment, and their reliability and durability, have lived up to their trade name and have carried it to all corners of the civilized earth. Founded originally in 1865. at Chicago, this company was completely wiped out in the great conflagration of 1871, and it was not until 1904 that the concern was again estab- lished, this time at Elkhart. Since that time its founder has passed away, but the high standard of the goods has been maintained, under the able direction of one of America's most skilled hornmakers, Henry C. Martin.
Henry C. Martin was born in New York City, January 12, 1865, and is a son of J. H. and Christiana ( Hohl ) Martin. His father. born in Saxony, Germany, in 1835, came to the United States in
586
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
1857 and located in New York, where he met and married his wife who had been born in 1836, in Wurttemburg, Germany. In April, 1865, with their three children, they went to Chicago, where the father, who had learned the business of manufacturing band instru- ments, established himself as the proprietor of a modest establish- ment, which had grown to very satisfying proportions, when, Octo- ber 9, 1871, the great Chicago fire destroyed his plant, in which all his resources were invested and the modest means which he had laboriously accumulated were swept away within several hours. A less sturdy or courageous man would have been beaten, but Mr. Mar- tin was made of sterner stuff and he at once set about to rehabilitate his fortunes, although he was forced to take up his trade instead of conducting an establishment of his own. Working as a journey- man for several years, February 26, 1878, he first came to Elkhart, and here was employed by C. G. Conn, a manufacturer, with whom he remained until 1885. At that time he identified himself with the Michigan Musical Manufacturing Company, at Detroit, Mich- igan, and later worked in New York City, Philadelphia, Williams- port, and finally in Chicago. In 1904 he again came to Elkhart, this time to remain, and in that year was founded again the old busi- ness of J. H. Martin Band Instrument Company. Thus were his ambitions finally realized, although he did not live long to enjoy his prosperity, dying in 1910. Mr. Martin was independent in his political views, but owing to the fact that he cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln was inclined to favor the republican party where all else was even. Mrs. Martin died in 1908, having been the mother of nine children, of whom seven are living, Henry C. being the third child in order of birth.
Henry C. Martin was a babe in arms when the family went to Chicago, and a lad of six years when the family experienced the dangers incident to living in a city destroyed by the flames. Until he was twelve years of age he attended the Newbury School, a public graded school of the Illinois metropolis, and his education was com- pleted at the Central School, Elkhart. He was but fifteen years of age when he began to learn the business of manufacturing band instruments, and when he had mastered the trade worked as a jour- neyman at various places, including Detroit, Cleveland and Elkhart, at which latter place he was in the employ of C. G. Conn, for whom his father also worked. Mr. Martin then accepted a posi- tion as superintendent for the firm of J. W. York & Son, at Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he remained from 1900 until 1903, and in that year returned to Elkhart to identify himself with the Buescher Band Instrument Company. In 1004 he became associated with his
587
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
father in the reestablishment of the J. H. Martin Band Instrument Company, and in 1905 this was again reorganized, under the name of The Martin Band Instrument Company, of which he is now president.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.