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 35
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
who was born December 3, 1798, a daughter of George and Rachel Buzzard, and whose death occurred September 6, 1878. Mrs. Rachel (Shaum) Letherman, mother of him whose name intro- duces this article, was summoned to eternal rest on the 6th of May, 1889, both she and her husband having been earnest Christian folk who commanded the high regard of all who came within the sphere of their kindly influence. They became the parents of eleven chil- dren, whose names are here indicated in respective order of birth : Sarah Ann, Esther, Benjamin Franklin, Samantha, Annis, Henry L., Irving J., Harvey, Lewis, Maggie and Dora.
Henry L. Letherman early learned in connection with the work of the home farm the valuable lessons of consecutive industry, and in the meanwhile he attended the local schools whenever opportun- ity presented. At the age of twenty-two years he initiated his career as an independent farmer, and after having conducted his opera- tions on rented land for a period of two years he engaged in the butchering business for a meat market at Elkhart. After two years of activity along this line he opened a meat market in the Village of Wakarusa, but after conducting the same one year he resumed his association with agricultural pursuits. He purchased a farm in Locke Township, and two years later he sold this property. pre- paratory to assuming charge of his father's old homestead farm, to the operation of which he continued to give his attention until 1908. when he purchased his present well improved farm in section 35, Olive Township, one and one-half miles southwest of Wakarusa. where he has since continued to maintain definite precedence as one of the progressive and successful agriculturists and stock-growers of his native county. This homestead farm comprises eighty acres, and in addition to the same he is the owner of the excellent farm of 180 acres that is under the supervision of his only son, and in the same Township of Madison, that county, he owns another tract, of twenty acres. Mr. Letherman has achieved independence and pros- perity through his own ability and well ordered endeavors, and is one of the upright and representative citizens to whom it is a pleas- ure to accord recognition in this publication, both he and his wife being zealous members of the Mennonite Church, as was also his first wife, and his political allegiance being given to the republican party.
At the age of twenty-two years Mr. Letherman wedded Miss Minerva Ehret, who was likewise born and reared in Olive Town- ship, and who proved a most devoted wife and mother until her death, which occurred February 10, 1901. Her paternal grand- mother was a native of Germany and came to America when a
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young woman, the payment for her passage across the Atlantic hav- ing been paid by indenture service after she had arrived in the New World. Her husband was one of the early settlers of Olive Town- ship, Elkhart County, and as a skilled shoemaker he here found much requisition for his service in the manufacturing of boots and shoes at a time when all such work was done entirely by hand. Here he passed the residue of his life and his widow attained to the ad- vanced age of ninety years. The father of Mrs. Letherman learned the carpenter's trade in his youth and was one of the first under- takers in Elkhart County, where for many years he manufactured coffins. After residing for a number of years at a place about 21/2 miles northwest of Wakarusa he removed with his family to that village, and after the death of his wife he made his home with his children. His wife, whose maiden name was May Morris, preceded him to eternal rest by several years. The names of the six children of Henry L. and Minerva ( Ehret ) Lether- man are here noted in order of respective birth and with brief inci- dental data : Grace is the wife of Joseph Fisher, and they have three children-Donald, Viola and Ruby. Nelson, who resides upon and operates his father's farm in St. Joseph County, married Miss Jennie Mesner, no children having been born of this union. Elsie is the wife of George Fisher and their two children are Kenneth and Carl. Ethel, Ruby and Hazel still remain at the paternal home.
On the ist of June, 1905. was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Letherman to Mrs. Annie (Smeltzer) Lehman, widow of Jacob Lehman, who was a prosperous farmer of Olive Township at the time of his death and whose father. Jesse Lehman, was one of the sterling pioneers of Elkhart County. Mrs. Letherman has six children by her first marriage, namely: Lloyd, Oscar, Homer, Elmer, Grace and Nora. Lloyd married Miss Zola Truex and they have two children-Donald and Gerald. Homer married Miss Grace Frederick, and they have one child, Russell. Mrs. Lether- man was born and reared in Olive Township, this county, and is a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth ( Yader) Smeltzer. Her father was a son of Michael and Susan ( Rhodes) Smeltzer, who were early settlers in Ashland County, Ohio, where they continued to reside on their homestead farm until their death. Henry Smeltzer was reared and educated in the old Buckeye State and in 1842 he came with his young wife to Elkhart County, Indiana, and became one of the pioneer settlers in Olive Township, where he reclaimed a farm from the wilderness and where his death occurred when he was sixty-eight years of age. His venerable widow passed to the life eternal in 1914. at the age of eighty-four years. They reared a
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family of eight children, namely: Jacob, Samuel, Annie, David, Solomon, Aaron and Ella.
CHARLES L. AMICK, B. S., PH. G., M. D. He whose name initi- ates this paragraph is with all consistency to be designated as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of the younger genera- tion in Elkhart County, with admirable technical equipment and with a buoyant and sincere personality that gains him staunch friends among all classes. He is engaged in the successful practice of his profession in the Village of Wakarusa, and the scope and importance of his professional business attest alike to his ability and personal popularity.
Doctor Amick was born at Scottsburg, the judicial center of Scott County, Indiana, on the 23d of May, 1885, and is a son of William H. and Alice Ellen (Cranford) Amick, both likewise natives of Scott County, where the former still maintains his home at Scotts- burg, the devoted wife and mother having been summoned to the life eternal in 1892 and being survived by seven children,-Georgia, Mabel, Dr. Charles L., Harry C., Grace, Wilbur and Roy.
William H. Amick's paternal grandfather was a native of Ger- many and upon coming to America numbered himself among the pioneers of Scott County, Indiana, where he died when compara- tively a young man. William H. Amick was an infant at the time of his father's death, was reared and educated in Scott County, and for many years he gave effective service as a commercial traveler, in which field of enterprise he made a high reputation. He is now living virtually retired at Scottsburg. His wife was a daughter of Edward and Ellen (St. Clair) Cranford, and the former's father, Charles Cranford, was born in England, as a member of the patri- cian and distinguished family of which the Earl of Cranford is the head, the founders of the American branch of the family having settled in Virginia. In the history of Scott County written by the late Hon. William H. English, of Indianapolis, that distinguished Indianian spoke of Charles Cranford as having been one of the honored and influential pioneers of this county. Edward Cranford was one of the substantial agriculturists and representative citizens of Scott County at the time of his death.
Doctor Amick acquired his early education in the public schools of Scottsburg and thereafter pursued a higher course of academic study in Moore's Hill College, which institution he attended for one year. He then entered Valparaiso University, in the scientific and pharmacy departments of which he was graduated as a mem- ber of the classes of 1906, receiving the degrees of B. S. and Ph. G.
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After his graduation he taught school for one term and then fol- lowed the course of his ambition by entering the medical department of the University of Louisville, in the metropolis of Kentucky, in which institution he was graduated in 1911 and from which he received his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. He initiated the practice of his profession at Fillmore, Putnam County, Indiana, where he remained until the fall of 1914, when he came to Elkhart County and established his residence at Wakarusa, where he has built up a substantial and representative general practice and become one of the popular and progressive citizens of this thriving village. He is a close and appreciative student of the best standard and periodical literature of his profession, with the advances of which he further keeps in touch by means of his active affiliation with the Indiana State Medical Society and the Elkhart County Medical Society. His political allegiance is given to the independent party but his devotion to his profession is such that he subordinates all else to its demands and has had no inclination to enter the arena of practical politics.
In the year 1911 was solemnized the marriage of Doctor Amick to Miss Aloah Eby, who was born and reared in St. Joseph County. this state, where her parents, Cyrus and Anna (Wenger) Eby, still maintain their home. Doctor and Mrs. Amick have no children.
SCOTT W. THOMAS. Since assuming the duties of his office, January 1, 1915, Scott W. Thomas has established a record for courage, efficiency and fidelity in the discharge of his responsibili- ties, and if past performances may be taken as a criterion, bids fair to be one of the best sheriffs Elkhart County has known. For four years previous to his election to the shrievalty he had been connected with the office in the capacity of deputy, and comported himself so well that he won the confidence of the people, a confidence which he has not lost as the head of this important branch of the county government.
Sheriff Thomas was born on a farm in Cleveland Township, Elk- hart County, Indiana, March 9, 1875, and is the youngest son in a family of twelve children born to Levi L. and Susan ( Shuman) Thomas. His father, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Elkhart County in 1843, as a young man, and here engaged in agricultural pursuits until the time of his retirement. From modest beginnings he developed a large, handsome and valuable property, comprising 230 acres of some of the best land in Cleveland Township, which he cultivated thoroughly and improved with modern and substantial buildings and modern equipment. He took a great deal of interest
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in the breeding of fine live stock and was known as one of the most progressive agriculturists of his day, having introduced the first steam threshing machine in Elkhart County. At the time of his retirement he moved to Elkhart and from there to his home at Goshen, where his death occurred in 1910, Mrs. Thomas having passed away on the farm in 1901.
Scott W. Thomas was educated in the public schools of Cleve- land Township and at Elkhart High School. For three years he served as a clerk in a general store at Elkhart, but was not satisfied with so quiet an occupation, and in April, 1896, became a member of the First Regiment, of United States Artillery. He subsequently with others organized two new regiments of artillery, the Sixth and Seventh, and when the war came on accompanied the troops to Porto Rico. He received his honorable discharge April 19, 1899, and re- turned to Indiana, where he worked in different factories at Elk- hart. Then for four years he was on the police force and during the following two years was in charge of the new Elks Temple there. In 1910 Mr. Thomas accepted a position as deputy sheriff under B. Frank Leader, under whom he served for four years, and in 1914 was nominated by the democratic party as its candidate for sheriff of Elkhart County, to which office he was duly elected, being high man on his ticket, and assumed the duties of office January 1. 1915. In March. 1916, he was again nominated by the democratic party as a candidate for sheriff. Mr. Thomas is a member of Lodge No. 425, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and also a member of the orders of the Moose and Redmen.
In October, 1901, Sheriff Thomas was married to Miss Pauline Roth, of Elkhart County, daughter of Frank X. Roth, who for many years has been a resident of this locality and is well known and highly esteemed.
JACOB B. WALTER. At this juncture is accorded recognition to a sterling citizen who has been a resident of Elkhart County since his childhood and who now holds distinctive precedence as one of the prominent and influential citizens of the Village of Wakarusa, where he is successfully established in the lumber business, in con- nection with which he handles general lines of building material, coal, lime, cement, etc.
Mr. Walter was born in Waterloo County, Province of Ontario, Canada, on the 12th of September, 1864, and is a son of John August Walter and Esther ( Bachert) Walter, the former of whom was born in Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, on the 7th of January, 1837, and the latter of whom was born in the County of Waterloo, On-
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tario, Canada, on the 7th of April, 1843, their marriage having been solemnized in that county, on the 15th of November, 1863. Justus Walter, grandfather of him whose name initiates this article, was born and reared in Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, and there learned the weaver's trade, at a time when all work was still done on hand looms. In 1846 he immigrated with his family to America, the voyage being made on a sailing vessel of the type common to that period. He established his residence in Columbiana County, Ohio. where he was engaged in the work of his trade for the ensuing seven years, at the expiration of which he came with his family to Elk- hart County, Indiana, and located less than a mile north of the pres- ent fine little city of Nappanee, where he purchased eighty acres of timber land, upon which he erected a log house as a typical pioneer home for his family. Here he continued his activities as a weaver on one of the old-time hand looms, as he found a ready and profit- able demand for the products which his skill enabled him to turn out and was thus able to hire men to do the clearing of his land. On this pioneer farmstead he continued to reside until his death, at the age of fifty-six years, and his widow, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Hartman, was in her eightieth year at the time of her death. They became the parents of six children, namely : Elizabeth, John August, George, William Henry, Jacob and Lydia Ann.
John A. Walter, father of the subject of this review, was a lad of eight years at the time of the family immigration to America, and he was enabled to attend the common schools of the day both in Ohio and after the removal to Elkhart County. He assisted in the clearing of his father's farm and also learned in his youth the trade of carpenter. In 1862 he went to Waterloo County, Prov- ince of Ontario, Canada, where he engaged in the manufacturing of hay rakes-the first man in the Dominion to manufacture steel- tooth hay rakes. After his marriage he continued his residence in that county until November, 1864, when he returned to Elkhart County, accompanied by his wifie and their infant son, Jacob B., who is the subject of this sketch and who was at the time about one month old. John A. Walter purchased after this return a tract of land in Union Township, and the major part of the same is now included in the city of Nappanee, the site of this thriving place hav- ing then been little more than a wilderness, with part of the land a wet and unprepossessing marsh or swamp, the same being covered with water throughout the entire year. On his land Mr. Walter built a primitive log house and barn, and though he gave personal supervision to the reclaiming of his land he devoted the greater
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part of his time and attention to the work of the carpenter's trade in those early years. After the lapse of three years he sold the property mentioned and purchased land in the north part of Baugo Township. Four years later he sold this land and then engaged in the drug business in the Village of Locke. Four years later he sold his store and business and purchased a farm of 160 acres one mile east of the Oak Grove school house. There he continued his successful activities as an agriculturist and stock-grower until 1886, when he sold the farm and removed to Wakarusa, where he was for several years engaged in the hardware business. He passed the closing period of his life in well earned retirement and continued his residence at Wakarusa until his death, which occurred on the 19th of March, 1913. He was a man of impregnable integrity and honor, a loyal citizen and a staunch friend,-one who commanded the high regard of all who knew him and was one of the revered pioneer citizens of Elkhart County at the time of his death. His widow still resides at Wakarusa, a woman of gracious personality and one who is held in affectionate regard by all who have come within the compass of her influence. As previously stated, she was born in Canada and came with her husband to Elkhart County about two years after their marriage. She is a daughter of Martin Bach- ert, who was born in the Kingdom of Baden, Germany, where he learned in his young manhood the trade of miller. Mr. Bachert came to America about the year 1834, in company with his wife and their one son, and the voyage across the Atlantic consumed fifty-eight days. The family landed in the port of New York City and thence proceeded to Waterloo County, Ontario, Canada, where Mr. Bachert obtained a tract of wild land and instituted the reclama- tion of a farm, that section of the province was then but little more than a wilderness, with deer, bear, wolves and other wild animals much in evidence. It was in the rude log house which Mr. Bachert erected on his pioneer farm that his daughter Esther. mother of the subject of this sketch, was born, the devoted wife and mother having clothed the family in the homespun cloth which she spun and wove herself, from flax and wool raised on the farm. All towels, sheets and other supplies of the kind were made at home from the flax raised on the farm, and the old homestead was situ- ated six miles distant from the present flourishing Town of Berlin, the parents of Mrs. Walter having there continued to reside until their death, her father having passed away at the age of seventy- five years and her mother at the age of seventy-eight. The names of their children are here entered in respective order of birth: Se- bastion, Catherine, Rosa, Samuel, Jacob, Esther and Magdalene.
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John A. and Esther (Bachert) Walter became the parents of eleven children, and the firstborn is he whose name initiates this article, all of the others having been born after the removal from Ontario to Elkhart County and their names being as follows: Mary, Henry, Samuel, Alice, Esther, Lizzie, Susan, Charles, Agnes and Belle. All are still living except Henry, who died at the age of forty-two years. Jacob B. Walter is indebted to the district schools of Elkhart County for his early educational training, and he soon began to assist in the work of the home farm. As a youth he served a practical apprenticeship to the mason's trade, and in 1887 he established his residence in Wakarusa, where he was engaged in the work of his trade for the ensuing four years. Thereafter he was here a successful and enterprising representative of the real estate business until 1903, when he established his present large and prosperous business, in the handling of lumber, building supplies, etc. He is one of the progressive business men and honored and influential citizens of Wakarusa, is a democrat in his political alle- giance, and is affiliated with Wakarusa Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
At the age of twenty-four years Mr. Walter was united in marriage to Miss Susanne Smeltzer, who was born in the State of Ohio, a daughter of Henry and Barbara Smeltzer, who came io Elk- hart County when she was a child. Mrs. Walter passed to the life eternal in 1903, and is survived by three children,-Ralph, Floyd and Flossie. In 1907 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Walter to Miss Annie Holdeman, who was born and reared in this county and who is a daughter of John and Barbara Holdeman. Of this second marriage no children have been born.
CORNELIUS L. DAVIDHIZAR. That farming can be conducted as a successful business in the same class as store or factory needs no other proof than a visit to the farm of Cornelius L. Davidhizar in Union Township. He has a number of acres under cultivation, a group of well arranged, substantially built and well painted build- ings which are the first point of attraction to the visitor, and on every other hand are evidences of good management and efficiency.
Not only has he succeeded as a farmer but also in those other accomplishments by which success in life is measured. He was born in Madison Township of St. Joseph County May 7, 1858. His grandparents were Jacob and Elizabeth (Stauffer) Davidhizar of Butler County, Pennsylvania, where John S. Davidhizar, father of Cornelius L., was born February 14, 1820. John was reared on a farm, came to Indiana when a young man, and was one of the early
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settlers in Madison Township, St. Joseph County, where he secured a tract of 160 acres of land direct from the government. His first home there was a log cabin and it was in that humble abode that Cornelius L. Davidhizar was born. Thus the family in the early days bore their share in clearing up this part of Indiana and in redeeming it from the forces of the wilderness. John Davidhizar devoted his best years to clearing his land and cultivating it, and lived in St. Joseph County until his death on July 10, 1901. He married Barbara Landis, who was born in Lancaster County, Penn- sylvania, August 7, 1823, and was a small child when her parents moved to Indiana and located in St. Joseph County where she grew up amid pioneer scenes. Her death occurred in 1898. She rearetd eight children, named Jacob, Samuel, William, Cornelius L., Sarah, Catherine, Enos L. and Henry.
Cornelius L. Davidhizar had a district school education in St. Joseph County. He learned all the arts and practices of farming and lived with his parents until he was twenty-one. He then started his career as a farm laborer at monthly wages, and by that route arrived at his first important accomplishment and laid the founda- tion of his later success. After his marriage he lived on the farm of his father-in-law for three years, and he then bought the farm which he now owns and occupies in section 28 of Union Township, Elkhart County. Here for thirty years he has had his home and has prospered in proportion to his best and intelligent management of his estate. However, for four years he and his family lived at Nappanee.
On October 12, 1882, Mr. Davidhizar married Miss Catherine Bare. She was born in Union Township, a daughter of Noah Bare and a granddaughter of John Bare, who was a native of Virginia and moved from that state to Ohio, becoming an early settler in Columbiana County, where he spent the rest of his days as a farmer. John Bare married Miss Wenger. Noah Bare, who was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, March 18, 1836, grew up in Eastern Ohio, and in 1864 started from Columbiana County to Elkhart County, Indiana, locating in Union Township where he bought eighty acres, the west half of the southwest quarter of section 15. All that land at that time was covered with a heavy growth of tim- ber. In a small clearing he erected a log house, and it was in that home that Mrs. Davidhizar was born, and thus both she and her husband are products of the old and familiar type of pioneer home- stead. Later Noah Bare bought a small frame house which he moved onto his land, and by additions and remodeling he made it a very comfortable habitation. He also erected a frame barn, and
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in the meantime the greater part of his land having been cleared he was on a fair way to prosperity. With all this substantial achievement to his credit he spent his last years in comfort and peace and died January 31, 1913. Noah Bare married Hannah Nold, who was born in Mahoning County, Ohio, December 4, 1841, a daughter of John Nold, a native of Pennsylvania and a grand- daughter of Jacob Nold, who was also a native of Pennsylvania and was not only a farmer but also a preacher in the Mennonite Church. Mr. Nold moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio and spent his last years in Mahoning County. John Nold grew up on a farm, and on moving to Ohio settled near the line between Mahoning and Columbiana counties, and followed farming on his own land there until his death when about seventy-four years of age. John Nold married Hannah Wisler, who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Christian and Susan ( Holdeman) Wisler, natives of Pennsyl- vania and of German ancestry. Mrs. John Nold died at the age of seventy years, having reared six children, named Susanne, Jacob, Catherine, Henry, Elizabeth and Hannah.
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