USA > Indiana > Newton County > A standard history of Jasper and Newton counties, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and country, Volume II > Part 12
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > A standard history of Jasper and Newton counties, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and country, Volume II > Part 12
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
Charles W. Bussell was born July 10, 1858, in section 32, range 5 west, township 29 north, and in that one locality his years have been successively spent with credit to himself and with many varied services to the community. On February 13, 1879, Mr. Bussell married Lucy J. Whitaker, a daughter of Lytle A. and Nancy (Logan) Whitaker of Gillam Township, but both of them were natives of Surrey County, North Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Bussell have three children: Nellie L. is the wife of John Lefler and lives at Packard, Wisconsin; William W. is now deceased; and Royal L. lives in McCoysburg and married Verne E. Parker. The mother of these children died April 22, 1890, and was laid to rest in Gillam Township. On October 29, 1892, Mr. Bussell married Rosa J. Long, daughter of Valentine and Lydia (Swisher) Long, both of whom were natives of Jasper County and their respective families were among the earliest settlers there. To the second marriage have been born four children: Charles W. Jr., who lives in Rensselaer and married Ethel Miller; Elvin L., Cora Florence and Ella M., all of whom are at home.
One distinction which Mr. Bussell's activities have won him Vol. 11-7
518
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
is to be known as the champion wolf killer of the state of Indiana. Ilis father also exhibited considerable prowess and skill in the same direction. Charles W. Bussell has killed fully seventy wolves. Some of these are magnificent specimens, and have been stuffed and preserved. Two specimens may be found in the Smithsonian Institute at Washington, one is in the Indiana State House Museum and two others are in the Rensselaer High School. Mr. Bussell is a skilled taxidermist and has given a great deal of care and thought to the problems connected with the preservation of wild game, and is an authority on the habits of wild geese and ducks and deer.
In the way of public service it is interesting to note that Mr. Bussell has held some sort of office since he was twenty-one years of age. He has been a republican and one of the most loyal mem- bers that party has in all the state. For sixteen years he served as supervisor, spent many years as a director of the local schools, is now and has been for a long time a republican precinct committee- man and has filled the office of justice of the peace twelve years, being still incumbent of that position. He has also been superintend- ent of ditches and roads in his part of the county, and is now superintendent of the Royal L. Bussell Road. He is also a sub- stitute mail carrier, and in 1910 took the United States census in Marion Township. These various activities have been combined with the intelligent and successful management of his home farm, and he is more than a representative citizen of Jasper County. In church affairs he is a member of the Christian denomination, while his wife is a Methodist.
WARREN E. POOLE. When Warren E. Poole was elected town- ship trustee of Hanging Grove Township in 1914, it was a case of the office seeking the man rather than the man the office. How- ever, perhaps no local citizen has better qualifications for this im- portant position of trust. Mr. Poole has been well known in Jasper County for twenty yearstas an energetic farmer, business man, and public spirited citizen. The care and management of school prop- erty and other affairs which go with the office of township trustee are in excellent hands.
Like a number of other enterprising agriculturists in this sec- tion of Indiana, Mr. Poole is an Illinois man by birth. He was born near Streeter in LaSalle County April 15, 1873, a son of John and Mary I. (Mitchell) Poole, who were also natives of LaSalle County, Illinois, but since the spring of 1895 have lived in Jasper County, first in Hanging Grove Township, and are now retired at Rensselaer. The Pooles are Scotch-Irish in descent, and Warren E. is the oldest of his parents' five children. The second was Clara, now deceased; Everett H. died at ten years; Willis lives in Rensselaer and married Miss Palmer; and Bradford II. is a resi- dent of Barkley Township and married Ruth Makeever.
519
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
When Warren E. Poole was two years of age the family moved from LaSalle to Livingston County, Illinois, and in that locality he grew up, received his education, gained a discipline as a farm boy, and at the age of twenty-two, two years before the removal of the rest of the family, came to Jasper County.
At Cullom, Illinois, December 20, 1894, he married Katie Kopp, a daughter of Adam and Henrietta (Soupa) Kopp, both of whom were born in Illinois but were of German families. Mr. and Mrs. Poole have three children, all of them at home, named Myrtle 11., Ruth I. and Iva.
Though Mr. Poole's success has come from farming, and that has been practically his life vocation, he also spent four years in the brick business at Muncie, Indiana, and was connected with the grain business for two years at McCoysburg in Jasper County. McCoysburg is still his postoffice and market town. In politics he is a republican and it was on the ticket of that party that he was elected township trustee in the fall of 1914. He and his wife are members of the Christian Church, and he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America at Rensselaer. The Poole home- stead, which is a valuable place with many improvements, is lo- cated eight miles northeast of Rensselaer.
CHARLES R. WEISS. In Charles R. Weiss, a prosperous farmer and stockraiser of Newton Township, Jasper County, Indiana, is found a man who may justly be called self made because, beginning life as a youth without capital, through industry, honesty and good management, has risen to be one of the most substantial residents of his county, owning many acres of valuable land and enjoying the esteem and friendship of neighbors and other ac- quaintances. This achievement is something to be proud of. For- tunes sometimes come through doubtful channels, but when a man earns one through honest work, he is apt to know its source. This is the case with Charles R. Weiss.
Charles R. Weiss was lforn in LaSalle County, Illinois, March 24, 1870, and is one of a family of three sons and one daughter born to his parents, John and Augusta (Rendt) Weiss. Both parents were born in Germany and came unmarried to the United States, the father arriving about the close of the Civil war. He subsequently was married and in 1877 removed from LaSalle County, Illinois, to Newton County, Indiana, locating south of Kentland. John Weiss followed farming all through his active years. He is now a resident of Goodland, Indiana.
On his father's farm in Newton County, Charles R. Weiss grew to manhood, attending the district schools and giving help in carry- ing on the home farm work. Later he took a commercial course in the Ottawa Business College, Ottawa, Illinois.
On February 7, 1894, Mr. Weiss was united in marriage with Miss Gert Shde Dewey, who is a daughter of Morgan A. Dewcy, of
520
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
Jasper County, Indiana. To this marriage seven children have been born : John R., who was born and died in Pocahontas County, Iowa ; Oscar, Leona, Harold and Alva, living; and two who died in in- fancy, unnamed.
Following his marriage Mr. Weiss followed farming for two years in Pocahontas County, lowa, then returned to the old Weiss homestead and continued there until 1902, when he moved to his present home farm in Newton Township, which comprises 300 acres. In addition to this fine property he owns eighty acres in Walker Township, Jasper County, and also eighty acres in Wheat- field. Mr. Weiss is a careful farmer and all his operations are well planned and thus his farm industries mainly prove profitable.
Mr. Weiss is a republican in his political views but is one of the men who believe that in attending to one's own business affairs and leaving office-seeking to others, is the hest method of getting on in the world. However he never fails to cast his vote and, whenever necessary he is ready to put his shoulder to the wheel to aid in the development of his section. He is an honest, plain, out-spoken man. He was reared in the Lutheran faith and continues his member- ship in that church, his wife, in the same way, being a devoted Methodist. They are among the best people of Jasper County and worthy in every way of the great respect in which they are held.
STEPHEN T. COMER. To the individual whose life began on the prairies of the Central West more than sixty-seven years ago there has been given a wealth and diversity of experience in comparison with which that of those active in the beginning of the present cen- tury pales into insignificance. Such a career has been vouchsafed to Stephen T. Comer, one of the oldest living native sons of Jasper County, who has watched and participated in the wonderful advance- ment of this part of the state, and who is now one of the leading and highly respected citizens of Union Township.
The progenitor of the Comer family in America was Jesse Comer, a Hessian Gernfan, who came to America with the Hessian troops during the Revolutionary war. He soon became convinced of the justice of the Colonists' cause, and, like many of his fellow- soldiers, deserted from the army of King George and subsequently became a loyal American citizen. The particular manner in which he accomplished his desertion is interesting. He had long had in mind the idea of the step he was to take, and in order to carry out his plan practiced imitating the grunt of a hog, in the meantime stirring the leaves and grass with a stick to represent the noise made by that animal in going about. When he felt that he had his imitation to perfection, and at a time when the troops were en- camped upon the bank of a river, probably the Brandywine, he put his plan into execution. At the challenge of the sentinel: "Who goes there?" his answer was a grunt, accompanied by the stirring of the leaves and grass, which completely deceived the sentinel, who
521
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
ejaculated : "It's only a hog." When Mr. Comer rolled over into the river, the sentinel realized another soldier was endeavoring to desert, and he and his comrades all along the bank began firing at every suspicious sound, but by diving and swimming Mr. Comer eventually succeeded in reaching the opposite bank where he found friends and safety.
Mr. Comer subsequently located in North Carolina, where he married Nancy Ellis, and in that state his death occurred. He was the great-grandfather of William Ellis Comer and the great-great- grandfather of Stephen T. Comer, of this review. Among the sons of Jesse Comer was Josephus Comer, whose son, Jesse Comer, like his grandfather, married a lady named Ellis. This second Jesse Comer moved from North Carolina to near Zanesville, Ohio, then to Wayne County, Indiana, later to Carroll County, Indiana, and finally to Jasper County, Indiana, at a time when the county was still a wilderness practically undisturbed by the hand of man. Here he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives and passed away, being buried in Jasper County. Mrs. Comer was a member of a rich North Carolina family. When the war between the states broke out her people wrote her, in effect, that she could return and live with her people or remain with her married relations, "the Yankees," but that in the latter event she would never again be recog- nized as a member of the rich, slave-holding, aristocratic Ellis family of North Carolina. Mrs. Ellis, notwithstanding her grief at the separation, decided to remain with her husband. Among their children are mentioned John ; William ; Nancy, who married Malachi P. Prevo; Rachel, who married Greenberry Hobbs; Josiah and Thomas. Mr. and Mrs. Comer were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
William Comer was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, and was about twelve years of age when brought to Wayne County, Indiana. With his parents he came to Carroll County, where he was married to Phoebe Dewi't, a descendant of General Dewitt of Revolutionary war fame, and as a young married couple they came to Jasper County at the time of the advent of Jesse Comer. Locating in Gillam Township, they became widely known for their many acts of kindness. Mrs. Comer was a devout Christian and an able assist- ant to her husband, whose life work was as a minister of the Meth- odist Episcopal faith. She devoted her life to deeds of Christian kindness, and no one ever came to her for spiritual or material comfort without being benefited. In her later years she was almost universally known as "Grandmother" Comer. William and Phoebe Comer were the parents of ten children : Elizabeth M., who married Elijalı Nelson; John E., deceased, Malachi P., who is a farmer of Barkley Township, Jasper County; William F., who is deceased ; Martin, deceased, who served in the Civil war as a member of the Eighty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry ; Stephen T .;
522
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
James 11. ; Silas F., who died in infancy ; Barney D., and Jennie, who married Andrew Boston.
Stephen T. Comer was born February 14, 1848, in Gillam Township, Jasper County, and his boyhood was passed much in the same manner as other youths of his day. He received a limited education in the district schools which he attended during the short winter terms, and during the rest of the year helped in the work of the home farm, his training being such that at the age of fourteen years he capably handled a herd of 300 head of cattle. He hunted and trapped extensively and his first forty acres of land were pur- chased from the proceeds of furs which he sold. In the meantime he endeavored to better his education, assisted by his loving mother, and learned fractions at a night school which he organized after becoming a man. Mr. Comer recalls many interesting experiences of the carly days. He remembers seeing seventy-three deer in one drove passing his home, and he has seen his dog. drag down one of these noble animals, the Comer table frequently including venison as a part of the Christmas dinner. Wild geese and duck were so numerous that they were a nuisance to the early settlers, while muskrats were found in great abundance, Mr. Comer and his brother Barney catching as many as seventy-five in one day. Mr. Comer on one occasion sold twenty mink skins for $7.75 cach, and with the proceeds of this sale purchased an ox-team. His entire life has been passed in Jasper County, where at one time he owned vast tracts of land, but in his later life has sold off the greater part of this property to engage in the cattle business, and now has but 220 acres. In his long extended career in Jasper County, Mr. Comer has discharged his duties as an individual and as a citizen with unvarying fidelity. He has been identified with all movements tending to promote the best interests of his locality, and has made an irreproachable record as a man of strict probity and pure motives. A republican in his political views, he has served two terms as trustee of Union Township, and at the present time is a member of the county council of Jasper County. His fraternal connection is with Parr Lodge No. 789, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has numerous friends. By his old neighbors and his fellow-townsmen in Union Township, he is held in the utmost respect and esteem.
On November 23, 1871, Mr. Comer was married to Miss Mary E. Daniels, whose death occurred after three years of married life. They became the parents of one son: Shelby, who married Miss Maude ,Lakin and has four children, Mary Ellen, Mildred Pauline, Ruth Ione and Max Edison.
BARNEY D. COMER was born in Jasper County, on the old Comer homestead, July 12, 1860, and he passed away on the 23d of May, 1916. Ile was a son of William and Phoebe (Dewitt) Comer.
BARNEY D. COMER FAMILY GROUP
ـد عـ
ت يتكب ــ
523
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
Extended mention of the Comer family will be found in the sketch of Stephen Comer, in this volume. During boyhood, up to the age of thirteen years, Barney D. Comer found life very satisfactory, fishing and hunting assisting him to pass the time pleasantly, no compulsion being exercised to make him attend school, and, in fact, until he was twenty-four years old, he had never passed a single day in school. He knew quite a good deal about farming, however, and concerning cattle and was associated with his brother Stephen in the cattle business and proved industrious and judicious. As Mr. Comer told the story himself, the commentator, may assert that about this time a young lady's refining influence had the effect of aronsing his ambition and he resolved to go to school, which resolve he carried out, entering the third grade in the neighboring public school. That he was in earnest about repairing past negli- gence was proved before the winter was over by his becoming proficient enough to enter the seventh grade. Mr. Comer was always noted for resolution when convinced he was moving in the right direction, and he kept diligently at his books and subsequently attended two terms at the Normal School at Valparaiso, and not only that but secured a license to teach school. Following this he taught seven terms in Union Township and one in Barkley Town- ship, proving thoroughly efficient and enjoying the experience.
On July 13, 1890, Mr. Comer was united in marriage with Miss Addie C. Bruce, the estimable young lady above referred to, and they had three children : Ernest L., who married Pearl Lilves and they have two children, Vivian and Geneve; Georgia, who died young ; and Marie Annette, who was educated at Valparaiso and resides with her parents. Mrs. Comer is a daughter of Henry C. and Harriet (Babcock) Bruce and her ancestry can be traced definitely to the immortal Robert Bruce of Scotland.
In 1894 Mr. Comer embarked in farming on his home place of 100 acres and made all the substantial improvements now in evi- dence. From time to time as circumstances adjusted themselves and made action possible and desirable, he added to his original farm and owned about 400 acres which he devoted to diversified farming according to modern methods, raised good stock and the registered stock of the Valley L. Farms is widely and favorably known.
Mr. Comer was a member of the Methodist Protestant Church, as is also his family, although Mrs. Comer was reared a Baptist, that being the religious faith of her people. Her father was born in Vermont and her mother in New York. They were married in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and came to Jasper County seventy years ago. Both parents of Mrs. Comer are deceased, their burial being in the Crockett Cemetery. The father was a farmer and stockraiser and at one time was a man of prominence and of large estate in Jasper County. He was a republican in politics as was Mr. Comer. . The latter was always busy with his own affairs and
.
524
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
not anxious to accept public office, but he twice served as township trustee, once by appointment and once by election. For many years he was a member of the lodge of Odd Fellows at Rensselaer.
Mr. Comer was a very entertaining talker and would relate many interesting stories of early days here, not of his own experience but as he heard them told by his father and other old settlers. Listen- ing to some of them and comparing old stories with those of the present day, one is impressed with the fact that rough, irresponsible disturbers of the peace live and exercise their cruel natures in every age when opportunity arises. He related one occasion when but for the influence of his father and five sons, the Village of Rensselaer would probably have been destroyed by fire and the home guard, as it was during the Civil war, been killed. The occasion was when an intemperate speech was made by a sympa- thizer with secession, resulting in the loyal men of the town putting him into prison. His friends determined to rescue him, kill the guard and burn the town but the plot was discovered by William Comer who hastened to inform his father and the five sons were sent out to warn the people. Two small armies gathered at Rensse- laer and for a time things looked very serious but before any real damage was done, the prisoner was freed to never return and the malcontents were subdued by the authorities. Illustrative of the wild, rough element that had to be contended with in early days, Mr. Comer told of cruelties wrought on young people by horse thieves in the Kankakee River region. Those days have long since passed but the Comer and Bruce families, as pioneers, lived through deeply exciting times.
In conclusion excerpts from a local publication are here given in commemoration of the life work and death of Barney D. Comer.
"The funeral of Barney D. Comer was held Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Rose Bud church near his home. It was one of the largest funerals ever held in the county, and only a small part of those present were able to get into the church. Mr. Comer was a widely known man and his friends came not only from all over the county but from many other places to pay tribute to his active fruitful life. Almost a hundred automobiles and many horse- drawn vehicles gathered at the church and followed the cortege to Weston cemetery in Rensselaer where the burial took place. The service at the church was conducted by Revs. R. W. Conn and Forest Crider, the former from Hatfield and the latter from Moores- ville. Both have performed spiritual labors in this county and were close friends of the deceased. The I. O. O. F., of which he had long been a member, performed its ritualistic service at the grave.
"Mr. Comer was the typical self-made man. Born at a time when the northern part of Jasper county was little better than a swamp, it seemed to offer little encouragement in the way of finan- cial success. Yet, when a mere boy, Barney determined to overcome obstacles and to become a man of means and of influence in his
525
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
community. That he succeeded we all know. His parents were poor in worldly goods, but rich in the things that are worth while. Honest, industrious and God-fearing, they instilled in their son these qualities.
"IJe was a member of the Odd Fellows lodge of Rensselaer and a disciple of Friendship, Love and Truth as laid down in that order. A year before his marriage he was converted and joined the Rose Bud church and for many years had remained a loyal and active member. He was a great believer in Sunday school work and was always in his place. For many years he was chairman of the local Sunday school convention work.
"Activity was the keynote of his life. Whatever he did, he did with a purpose and an intensity that carried the work to com- pletion and success. He was one of the men who do things. Whether as trustee of his township, advocate of good roads, teacher in the public schools, at the head of the anti-saloon movement, chair- man of the Sunday school organization, he was a persistent and tireless worker.
"Although he spent most of his life within sight of his birthplace, he had the vision and broad mindedness of a man who has trav- eled much. He was interested in the affairs of his country, was an ardent newspaper reader and a lover of good books. He was public-spirited, broadminded, generous-hearted, a true friend, a loving husband and kind father. No worthy person ever appealed to Mr. Comer in vain. His name was on the list for every good movement and at the head of every subscription for help to those needing it. His strong personality was felt in every public gather- ing. In the future where men meet at public sales, political meet- ings, conventions and church gatherings this helpful man's pres- ence will be greatly missed. His place will not soon be filled and his memory will not be forgotten.
"The last few weeks of his life he had been crippled by an acci- dent and, although he had to go on crutches, he was out working hard for the proposed new stone road system through Union town- ship. For the past two weeks his life had been filled with pain and suffering. His desire to get well was great, as he felt he had much to accomplish and many things that had been pushed aside in the stress of business, he felt he wanted time to do. However, he ex- pressed himself many times as to his faith in Christ as his Saviour, and his readiness to go. Throughout his life he had a great rev- erence for the memory of his sainted mother. His friends have often heard him express his belief that he would see her as he passed to the Great Beyond. Less than an hour before he passed away he looked upward and said: 'Mother, Mother.' These were his last audible words.
"Thus has passed away one of Jasper county's good men and 'After life's fitful fever he sleeps well.'"
.
526
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
BENJAMIN NEWELL, who is now living at Brook, is one of the old and well known citizens of this section of Northwestern In- diana. In fact he was born in Tippecanoe County when that was still a frontier close to the verge of white settlement. Ilis has been a long and useful career, spent chiefly as a farmer, but in his time he has influenced and benefitted the various communities in which he has lived in behalf of progress and the upbuilding and mainte- nance of institutions.
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.