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 41
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Township, erected good frame buildings, and remained an honored resident there until his death in 1900 in his sixty-eighth year. His wife was Rachel Hall, who was born in Knox County, Ohio, a daughter of John and Harriet (Anderson) Hall, her grandfather Hall having been a carpenter and cabinetmaker in Knox County, where her grandfather Anderson was a Virginian by birth and at one time occupied a farm from which the capitol at Washington could be seen. Mrs. Geiselman's mother died in 1905, having reared six children, named Ann, Mary, Harriet, George W., John and Amanda.
Mrs. Geiselman married for her first husband William Pittman, who was born in Ohio, a son of Josiah and Charity Pittman, who afterwards became pioneer settlers in Marshall County, Indiana. Mr. Pittman was a teacher and farmer and for seven years served as clerk of Olive Township.
ELIAS FISIIER. In the affairs of Locke Township one of the most prominent figures for many years has been Elias Fisher, who has resided in the southwest part of Elkhart County since early boyhood, has been a farmer, a mill operator, and in various capaci- ties has served the public welfare.
Brought to Elkhart County by his parents when he was nine years of age, he was born in Morrow County, Ohio, March 3. 1842. His remote ancestry is German and his great-grandfather was a native of Germany and on coming to America settled in Virginia. Grandfather John Fisher was born in Virginia and spent his life there as a farmer. He married Caroline Hess, who survived him and became the wife of a Mr. Evans and spent the rest of her years in Virginia.
.Absalom Fisher, father of Elias Fisher, was born in Virginia, grew up in that state, and when quite young moved to Monroe County, Ohio, and after a time to Morrow County in the same state. In 1851 he started with his family for Indiana, and they all settled in Locke Township, which was then an almost uncleared wilderness. He bought the southeast quarter of section 14. A very small tract had been cleared up, and an uncompleted log cabin constituted the only other improvement. The log cabin had no windows or doors, and until a door could be built they hung a blanket in the open space to keep out the weather. In this locality the Fisher family had all the experiences typical of pioneer times. Wolves howled around the cabin at night, deer could be shot in the woods only a short distance away, and most of the meat on the table was supplied by wild game. Absalom Fisher was a sturdy
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and industrious settler and gave the remaining years of his life to the clearing and improvement of his land. He passed away August 8, 1866. By a first marriage he had two children named Emily and Isaac. The mother of Elias Fisher was Charity Rush, who was born in Monroe County, Ohio, a daughter of Elias and Mrs. (Pitt- man) Rush. She survived her husband and died in December, 1885. She reared four children named Elias, John, Permelia and Caroline.
Elias Fisher began his education in his native county in Ohio and continued to attend the rural schools of Elkhart County as opportunity offered. However, his services were required on the farm in proportion to his strength, and having a taste for tools he applied himself to the trade of carpenter. After three years of carpenter work he bought a steam sawmill, which he established 212 miles northwest of the present City of Nappanee, operated it there eighteen months, and then removed it to the southwest quarter of section 10 in Locke Township. Three years later he sold his mill, after it had cut up many of the splendid specimens of native timber found in these parts, and his next investment was eighty acres of land in section 14. Many years he spent there in practical farming and stock raising, and his good judgment and industry enabled him to accumulate a substantial fortune. He bought other land, until he is now owner of 220 acres, all in section 14.
On September 30, 1865, Mr. Fisher married Matilda A. Fergu- son. She was born in Lake County, Indiana, a daughter of George and Mary (Salusbury ) Ferguson, who were born in Vermont and were among the pioneers of Lake County, Indiana. Mrs. Fisher died July 4, 1909, after nearly forty-four years of wedded compan- ionship. She reared six children named Elias Edward, John L., Joseph B., Mary Viola, George A., and Harley R.
The son, Elias Edward, is now a member of the board of com- missioners of Elkhart County, and he married Alvaettire Lockwood. She was born in Locke Township, a daughter of Asher and Marelda (Ritzman) Lockwood, and a granddaughter of Samuel Lockwood, in whose honor this township was named. Mr. and Mrs. Elias E. Fisher have one son named Orville J. The son, John L., married Cora Snyder, and their three children are Ruth, Harry and Gerald. Joseph married Grace Leatherman and has three children, named Donald, Viola and Ruby. Mary Viola married William E. Over- holser and her three children are Floyd, Lucile and Evelyn. George married Elsie Leatherman and has two children, Kenneth and Carl. Harley married Flossie Young.
Elias Fisher has been a steadfast democrat ever since early
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youth. He cast his first presidential ballot for General George B. McClellan in 1864, and has never wavered in his support of the party and its principles. While always a busy man, the success of his private life has caused him to be called to various positions of honor and trust. He has served as supervisor, assessor and justice of the peace in Locke Township, and for one term filled the position of county commissioner, but refused to accept the nomina- tion for a second term.
ELDER DAVID BURKHOLDER. In 1915 Elder David Burkholder completed his life's journey up to the eightieth milestone. These have been fruitful, useful and active years. Much of the time he has spent in the service of the Mennonite Church, and for twelve years has been a bishop of the church. His experience also in- cludes work as a pioneer farmer in Elkhart County, and his presence has always been for good in any community with which he has been identified.
He was born on a farm in Beaver Township of Mahoning County, Ohio, September 21, 1835. His father, Abraham Burk- holder, was born near Harrisonburg, Rockingham County, Vir- ginia, March 4, 1805. The grandfather, David Burkholder, was a native of Pennsylvania, and the great-grandfather, Peter Burk- holder, was born in Germany, being brought to America at the age of eleven years by his widowed mother. He spent his life in Pennsylvania. Grandfather David Burkholder grew up and re- ceived his education in Pennsylvania, then removed to Rockingham County, Virginia, buying a farm near Harrisonburg. When quite young he joined the Mennonite Church, became one of its preach- ers in the Virginia Conference, and continued in the ministry until his death. He was stricken with typhoid fever and passed away at the early age of fifty-four. David Burkholder married a Miss Blosser, who survived him several years, and died in Virginia. Her two sons were Abraham and Peter, and she also reared four or five daughters.
Abraham Burkholder grew up in Virginia, but in 1835 moved to Mahoning County, Ohio, where he bought a tract of partly improved land in Beaver Township. That remained his home until his death in 1868. He married Barbara Shank, who was born in Staunton, Augusta County, Virginia, in December, 1810. Virginia was also probably the birthplace of her father, John Shank, who was a farmer and a preacher in the Mennonite Church, moving from Virginia to Mahoning County, where he spent his last days. Mrs. Abraham Burkholder was reared, educated and married in Vol. II-27
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Virginia, and she possessed all the training and accomplishments of the old fashioned housewife. Her husband kept a flock of sheep and raised flax, and she carded, spun and wove the cloth, and was both tailor and dressmaker for her family. She survived her hus- band many years, and eventually saw all her children settled in comfortable homes of their own. For a time she lived in Elkhart County, but afterwards went to South Carolina and spent her last days in the home of her daughter in that state. She was eighty- eight when she passed away. Her five sons and one daughter were Joseph, David, John, Samuel, Abraham and Magdalene.
It was in the thrifty and well ordered home of his parents that Elder David Burkholder spent his youth in Mahoning County, Ohio. He attended the local schools, and made good use of all his oppor- tunities. At the age of twenty he was employed in a grist mill, When there was sufficient water to turn the wheel he worked inside the mill, and at other times he operated the engine. Mahoning County was his home until 1863, when he married and moved to Elkhart County, settling on section 25 of Locke Township. A few years before in 1857 his father had bought 200 acres there, paying $1,000 for it, and David Burkholder, with the ambition and courage of youth and stimulated by the presence of his young wife started in to make a farm. The land was heavily timbered, and his first home was a log house near the north line of the southwest quarter of the section. When the home was completed he turned his axe to the trees of the forest and soon had a small clearing for his first crop. During his second winter of residence in Elkhart County he taught school in Union Township. He and his little family oc- cupied the log house for eight years, and they then built a commo- dious frame house and a large barn. In 1896 Mr. Burkholder moved to Nappanee, and was a resident of that city for eighteen years. Since then he has reoccupied the old home farm in the north- east quarter of section 25.
At the age of forty-five Mr. Burkholder was ordained as a min- ister and joined the Indiana-Michigan Conference. He was made secretary of the conference in 1892, filled that position for eight years, and resigned to become bishop of the Indiana-Michigan Church in 1904. For years he has been one of the leading men of the church.
In September, 1863, Mr. Burkholder married Mary Bucher, who was born in Beaver Township of Mahoning County, Ohio. January 10, 1838. Her father, Henry Bucher, was born in Hanover, Penn- sylvania, and her grandfather Adam Bucher moved from Pennsyl- vania to Ohio and was an early settler in Columbiana County, where
F. A. BLESSING AND HIS EFFICIENT SALES FORCE
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he spent the rest of his days. Henry Bucher accompanied his father to Ohio, and followed agriculture in Mahoning County until his death in 1852. His first wife, the mother of Mrs. Burkholder, was Magdalene Culp, who was born in Virginia and died during the in- fancy of Mrs. Burkholder. For his second wife Henry Bucher mar- ried Elizabeth Bixler, and they had two sons who grew to manhood. Henry and Samuel.
Mr. and Mrs. Burkholder have reared one daughter, who is now the wife of Nelson Maust. Mr. and Mrs. Maust have three children, Henry Howard, Ralph and Mary Martha.
FREDERICK A. BLESSING. One of the young men in commercial affairs at Elkhart, Mr. Blessing is proprietor of a splendid boot and shoe store, located at 217 South Main Street, which for several years has been regarded as the headquarters for artistic footwear in the City of Elkhart. This store has maintained a repu- tation for the excellence of its goods, and has a high class patronage that has continued dealing with this merchant year after year. Mr. Blessing is a real business builder, having begun his career in Elkhart as a poor boy and in a very subordinate capacity, and advancing from one stage to another until for the past twelve years he has been regarded as one of the independent and successful merchants of the city.
Though a resident of Elkhart County since early boyhood, Fred- erick A. Blessing was born in Oppelsbohm in the Kingdom of Wurttemberg. Germany, October 19, 1878. His parents were Frederick and Fredericka (Sigel ) Blessing. His father was born in Schlechtbach, Wurttemberg, in 1851, and his mother was born in Rudersberg in 1856. They were married in Germany and a large family of thirteen children were born to them, nine of whom are still living. Frederick A. was the second child. His father grew up and was educated in Germany, and became a locksmith, but in 1914 retired from business and in July of that year came to this country on a visit. Soon after leaving the old country the present European war broke out, and though he still owns property in Germany he will remain in America until the close of the pres- ent conflict. Coming to Elkhart City, he bought a home there, and is now living with his youngest daughter Anna.
The first fourteen years of his life Frederick A. Blessing spent in his native Village of Oppelsbohm, where he attended the local schools. Coming to America in 1892, he did his first work and gained his first experience in American customs at Nappanee in Elkhart County. In 1893 he came to the City of Elkhart, and
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there became a printer's apprentice with the Mennonite Publish- ing House, now the Bell Publishing Company. For six years he was connected with the publishing business, but then took up an entirely new line, the shoe business. For some time he was a member of the staff in Elkhart's oldest shoe store, the J. L. Wolf establishment, and gained a thorough knowledge of the shoe busi- ness which has proved the foundation for his present successful career. From Elkhart he went to Chicago, was a salesman in sev- eral of that city's largest shoe stores, and for a time was manager of the women's shoe department in the Fair department store.
Returning to Elkhart, on October 19, 1903, Mr. Blessing engaged in the retail shoe business for himself, purchasing the stock of the Francis Shafer store, then located at 211 South Main Street. The subsequent growth of the business made larger quarters necessary, and he secured the lease on the building at 213 South Main Street, which he fitted up with the most modern fixtures. Again outgrow- ing the capacity of this store, he rented the old Wolf shoe store building, where he learned the business and which has been known as the Clouse shoe store for the last ten years. Continuing both places for a year the two stocks were concentrated November I, 1915, at the present location and the largest stock of high-grade foot- wear in Northern Indiana can be found at the new store, 217 South Main Street. It has a frontage of twenty-five feet and a depth of 150 feet. Mr. Blessing has made a special study of shoe merchan- dising, always aims to keep the finest lines of footwear in stock, and his service can be depended upon by patrons of the most exact- ing tastes.
The same qualities which have made him a successful merchant have also gone into his public spirited relationship with his home city, and he is always ready to give every movement the benefit of his support. Mr. Blessing is affiliated with Elkhart Lodge No. 425. Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics is a republican. On October 19. 1904, he married Miss Beulah Blain Schlotterbach, a daughter of Dr. E. L. Schlotterbach of Ligonier, this state. They are the parents of three sons: Theodore Frederick, Stanton Albert and Carroll Francis.
CALVIN WERNER. A representative of the third generation of the Werner family in Elkhart County, he whose name introduces this article has here maintained his home from the time of his birth and has here found ample scope and opportunity for effective achievement in connection with normal lines of business enterprise.
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He is at the present time the owner and operator of the excellent equipped sawmill in the Village of Wakarusa, where he has de- veloped a substantial and profitable enterprise and gained precedence as one of the influential and representative business men of his native county, his personal' hold upon popular confidence and good will having contributed its distinct quota to his success.
Mr. Werner was born in Union Township, this county, on the 14th of September, 1880, and is a grandson of Christian Werner, who was born and reared in Germany and who came with his fam- ily to the United States in 1851. He remained six months in the State of New York and then came to Elkhart, Indiana, where he purchased a home in which he and his wife passed the residue of their lives, both having been well advanced in years at the time of their immigration to America. They reared three sons-William, Martin and Lewis.
Martin Werner was born in Germany, where he acquired his rudimentary education, and he was ten years of age at the time of the family immigration to the United States, his birth having oc- curred on the 26th of February, 1841. He was reared to manhood in Union Township, this county, and his alert mind enabled him to profit greatly by the advantages afforded in the local schools, he having eventually become a man of broad mental ken and mature judgment, the while his sterling integrity gave him inviolable place in popular confidence and esteem. At the age of nineteen years he began working in a sawmill, and after gaming thorough knowledge of this phase of the lumber business he finally, when still a young man, purchased a sawmill in the southwestern part of Union Town- ship, in section 9. His mill was later destroyed by fire, as was also a second one which he erected in the same locality, and finally he removed to the northwestern part of section 12, Union Township, where he conducted a successful business as a manufacturer of lum- ber until he was succeeded by his sons. He continued his residence in this township until his death, which occurred in 1902, and his name is held in lasting honor in the county that represented his home during the major part of his long and useful life. In 1878 was solemnized the marriage of Martin Werner to Mrs. Martha (Wagner) Werner, widow of Lewis Werner, younger brother of her second husband, the three children of her first marriage being Cath- erine, Albert and Lucy, and those of the second marriage being seven in number-Lizzie, Calvin (subject of this review), George, Emma, Milton, Josephine and Martha. Mrs. Martha ( Wagner) Werner was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, on the 22d of March, 1851, a daughter of George Wagner, who was born in Germany
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and who came with his father, Jacob Wagner to the United States about the year 1850, settlement being first made in Columbiana County, Ohio, and later in Mahoning County, that state. After the death of his wife Jacob Wagner came to Elkhart County, In- diana, and he here passed the gracious evening of his life in Harri- son Township, where he died at a venerable age. George Wagner was reared and educated in his native land and there was solemnized his marriage to Miss Catherine Walters. With their one child they came to America the same time as did Mr. Wagner's parents, and two months passed ere the sailing vessel on which they took pas- sage completed the voyage across the Atlantic. George Wagner resided in turn in Columbiana and Mahoning counties, Ohio, from the latter of which he came to Elkhart County, Indiana, in 1865. Here he purchased a tract of land in Harrison Township, and he reclaimed the most of the same to cultivation, nearly all having been covered with heavy timber when the property came into his possession. There he died when about seventy years of age, his widow surviving him by about five years, and the names of their children being here entered in respective order of birth: Elizabeth. Martha, Christian, John and Catherine. Mrs. Martin Werner still survives her honored husband and now maintains her home in Union Township, Elkhart County.
Calvin Werner is indebted to the district schools of Elkhart County for his early educational discipline, and when still a mere boy he began to assist in his father's sawmill, his association with which continued until he had gained thorough knowledge of all de- tails of the lumber business. In 1903 he assumed charge of the mill and he continued the business of the same successfully until 1908, when he purchased his present modern sawmill and planing mill at Wakarusa, the plant having been erected by Jacob H. Dell and having later been operated for several years by Mr. Dell. Here Mr. Werner has continued his energetic and successful activities, in connection with which he has control of a large and substantial busi- ness which contributes materially to the industrial prosperity of Wakarusa, his mill being modern in equipment, operated by steam power and with a capacity for the output of 14,000 feet of lumber a day. He is a progressive and public-spirited citizen but has had no desire to enter the domain of practical politics, in connection with which he maintains a position independent of partisan lines and gives support to the men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment.
In 1903 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Werner to Miss Bertha Belle Young, who was born in Jackson Township, this
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county, and who is a daughter of Marion Washington Young and Caroline (Shaum) Young, the former of whom is deceased and the latter of whom still resides at New Paris, this county, she being a daughter of the late John and Elizabeth (Smeltzer) Shaum, honored pioneer citizens of Olive Township, this county. Marion W. Young was born in Pennsylvania and was a child at the time of his mother's death. As a youth he left the paternal home and came to Indiana, where he learned the carpenter's trade. He continued to devote considerable attention to the work of his trade for a number of years, but his primary vocation became farming, as he purchased land in Jackson Township, Elkhart County, where he developed one of the fine farms of the county and where he continued his residence many years, though he passed the closing period of his life in the Village of New Paris, this county, where he lived in well earned retirement and in the enjoyment of the rewards of former years of earnest toil and endeavor. Mr. and Mrs. Werner have two chil- dren-Harvey Washington, and Beulah.
ALBERT B. TINSTMAN. With the lengthening perspective of years, more and more honor is paid to the old soldiers who fought for the preservation of the Union during the dark days of the '60s. One of these veterans still surviving and honored for that service and his long and interesting carcer in Elkhart County is Albert B. Tinstman, of Nappanee.
Though now past the age of seventy-four he is still a worker, and would never be content without some task of usefulness before him. Mr. Tinstman was born in Shanesville, Holmes County, Ohio, February 17, 1842. His father Mark Tinstman was probably born in Pennsylvania, but came early to Ohio, where for a number of years he operated a flour mill at Shanesville. About 1847 he bought a farm near Wooster, Ohio, but after a year set out for Indiana, accompanied by his mother, his wife and three children. It required nearly three weeks to reach their destination. His first location was about 31/2 miles west and two miles north of the present site of Nappanee. There he secured a tract of 150 acres of Government land, and his first habitation was a log cabin. Being a practical mill man, he soon secured a place in the Hawkes mill at Waterford, and about a year later sold his land and bought another tract in what is now Locke Township. He kept his place in the mill at Waterford while his sons cleared the land and tilled it, but during the period of the Civil war he sold that farm and located in the com- munity known as South West in Harrison Township. Later he bought forty acres at the Village of Locke, where his family lived
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and where he found employment in the grist mill. His last days were spent among his children, and he lived to be eighty-two. Mark Tinstman married Susanne Bowers, who was born in Pennsylvania and died also at the age of eighty-two. Her eight children were: Barbara, Samuel, Henry, Catherine, Polly, John, Joseph and Albert. The oldest son Samuel was a soldier in the Mexican war, lost his health, and died three months after his honorable discharge. There was a land warrant granted by the Government for this service and Mark Tinstman used this warrant in securing the Government land in Elkhart County above mentioned. Three other sons, John, Joseph and Albert were all soldiers in the Civil war, and Joseph died while still in the army at New Orleans.
Albert B. Tinstman was about six years old when brought to Indiana. In the localities where his parents resided he came into close touch with pioneer conditions. The first school he attended was kept in a cabin built of poles, with a mud and stick chimney, and with an open fireplace. When he had reached the age of six- teen he began working out and earning wages by the day or the month, and found plenty to do in that line until he was about nine- teen.
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