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 27
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 27
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
When eleven years of age William Folger started out to make his own way in the world. He worked in the summer, spent the winter seasons in school, and eventually had the satisfaction of pos- Vol. IF-15
616
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
sessing an education better than the average, having attended gram- mar schools until finishing the course, and spending three years in a high school. From school work he turned his attention to the vocation of farming, and in March, 1891, moved to Pulaski County, Indiana, and after seven years there arrived in Jasper County in March, 1898. Since then his work in improving and managing his own farm lands has become a matter of note and commendation to all his friends and neighbors in Barkley Township.
On December 25, Christmas Day, 1898, William Folger married Miss Marie M. Spriggs, daughter of Joel F. and Julia A. (James) Spriggs. Her parents were married January 4, 1864, her father having come from Ohio while her mother was a native of Newton County, Indiana. Mrs. Folger was one of a large family of ten children, namely: Simon T .; James M., deceased; Haddie, de- ceased; Mary ; Edward M., deceased; Minerva, deceased: Daniel H .; Druzilla; Marie M .; Roxanna B .; and Joseph Randolph, de- ceased. Mr. Spriggs, the father of these children, served for thirty years as a justice of the peace, and was a very successful farmer. He belonged to the Church of God and in politics was a democrat. Mrs. Folger grew up and was educated in the common schools of Jasper County.
To Mr. and Mrs. Folger have been born five children: Francis, Garfield, Eva, Ivy and Ruth, all of whom are living and at home. Mr. Folger now owns a comfortable rural home in Barkley Town- ship, and has made the interests of his community his own. He was formerly a progressive in politics, and for six years served as township trustee of Barkley, and during that time succeeded in establishing four new schoolhouses, and showed himself so aggres- sive a friend of public education that his administration is recalled with pleasure by all local citizens. Another improvement which is largely credited to his efforts is the Gifford stone road. Mr. Folger is a member of the Methodist Church.
THOMAS J. JONES. Few families have been .dentified with Jasper County for a longer time than that represented by Thomas J. Jones of Kankakee Township. They came here more than half a century ago, and have always been classed as among the most enterprising farmers and public spirited citizens.
Though he has lived in Jasper County since carly boyhood, Thomas J. Jones was born in Owen County, Indiana, March 18, 1854. His parents, C. Columbus and Sarah (Brown) Jones, were married in Owen County in 1852. The father was a carpenter by trade, conducted a farm in addition to his mechanical pursuits, and in June, 1861, he left his family, as did many other patriots of that time, and enlisted in Company A of the Twenty-eighth Indiana Infantry. He went out as a private and served for three years, taking part in many of the great campaigns of the war, and being always present where duty called regardless of danger or hardship.
647
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
He was mustered out of the service at Indianapolis, and then re- joined his family. In politics he was a democrat, and a member of the Methodist Church. He is remembered by many Jasper County citizens for his public spirit and the sturdy influence which he exerted in behalf of every good cause in the community. He was laid to rest after a long and active career August 4, 1903, while his wife passed away October 3, 1895.
While the father was away fighting the battles of the Union during the Civil war, his wife and children removed to Jasper County, locating on the old William Graves place, of which they bought forty acres. The children were: Thomas; Elizabeth A., who is now married; and Isaac B., deceased. The children after coming to Jasper County were reared on the old homestead, and attended one of the primitive log cabin schools then so familiar in this section of Indiana. Thomas J. Jones has never married, and for fully forty years has been actively identified with farm enter- prise in Kankakee Township, and he has been both a witness of and a factor in the many improvements which have practically trans- formed this section of the state. He has never withheld his support from any movement which he believed would confer benefit not only upon himself but upon the community of which he was a part. Until more recent years he was one of the active men in politics.
GERRIT GREVENSTUK. In Keener Township, close to the little Village of DeMotte, is located the present homestead of Gerrit Grevenstuk who has been identified with Jasper County by resi- dence and sterling activities for nearly a quarter of a century. His own industry, combined with the good judgment and thrifty man- agement of his wife, has brought about a degree of prosperity that places him among the substantial citizens.
By nativity and early training Mr. Grevenstuk is a Holland Dutchman, and comes from a country where agriculture and stock breeding have probably reached their highest development. He was born in Friesland. whence have come some of the best breeds of dairy cattle. llis birth occurred June 9, 1844, and he is a son of Richard and Sapke ( Bousma) Grevenstuk. His father died in the old country in 1880, and two years later his widow came to America and died here in 1885. Six of her seven children are still living.
In Holland Gerrit Grevenstuk received a substantial educational training, and was thoroughly educated in farming methods of that country before coming to America in 1881. The first ten years in this country he spent in the City of Chicago, and then moved to Jasper County and bought his present farin near DeMotte, where now for many years he has been prospered through his efforts as a general farmer and stockraiser. He has all his land improved and under cultivation and is very systematic and efficient in all his de- partments of farm management. The buildings and other improve- ments were put on the farm by Mr. Grevenstuk, and he has a great
648
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
deal to show for his labors. In politics he is a republican. On May 1, 1885, he married Madge Groet, daughter of Simon and Grace Groet, who died in the old country. Of this marriage there is one child, Richard, born January 24, 1886. Both Mr. and Mrs. Greven- stuk were previously married, but had no children by those unions. They are members of the Dutch Reformed Church. Since coming to Jasper County they have witnessed a great many changes in the county, and in their own quiet and substantial way have contributed not a little to the development of Keener Township.
DAVID D. GLEASON. What is probably the best improved farm in Keener Township, Jasper County, is the 280-acre tract belonging to David D. Gleason, one of the few remaining old settlers of tlie county. When he came here, more than forty-two years ago, this property consisted principally of marshes and swamps, and gave little promise of ever becoming a fertile, productive farm. It required labor of the most prodigious kind to reclaim this land for cultiva- tion, but Mr. Gleason, accomplishing the seemingly impossible, has transformed it into one of the garden spots of the county. His career is one eminently worthy of chronicling among the records of the builders of Jasper and Newton counties.
Mr. Gleason was born in the Province of Ontario, Canada, within twenty-five miles of the City of Toronto, December 5, 1842, and is a son of Oliver Gleason, a native of New York. His mother was an Unger, of Pennsylvania, and of Dutch parentage, while his father was of Irish stock. The latter died in Canada and in 1852 David Gleason and his widowed mother came to the United States and settled in Illinois, from whence they moved to Newton County, Indiana, during the period of the Civil war, and settled in Lake Township. David Gleason endeavored to enlist for service in the latter years of the war, but the conflict was brought to a termina- tion before he was enrolled as a soldier. However, two of his brothers fought in the cause of the Union and one met a soldier's death on the battlefield.
Mr. Gleason was still a lad when he came to Indiana and his education was completed in Illinois in the primitive schools that had been established there, and is practically self-educated. The community was but sparsely settled, for at that time all of the northern portions of Jasper and Newton counties were covered with a vast swamp, in which wild game, mosquitos and malaria battled for supremacy. Amid these unpromising surroundings he grew to sturdy manhood, employing his time after the manner of the youths of his day and locality, and finally took the first step for the founding of a liome of his own when he was married to Miss Orpha Kenyon, who had been born and reared at Exeter, Rhode Island. About the year 1873 Mr. and Mrs. Gleason moved to his present farm in Keener Township, Jasper County. Here he found the property infested with the houses of innumerable muskrats, but he had previously had excellent experience in reclaiming land, and
649
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
although the greater part of the property was under water he set resolutely about to make a home for himself and his family. Under his energetic management the work progressed rapidly and as the years have passed Mr. Gleason has added from time to time to his holdings, until he now has 280 acres, all under a high state of culti- vation. The land is drained with 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 10- and 12-inch tiling, and the buildings and improvements are of the best to be found in this part of the county. Every acre of Mr. Gleason's land and every article of his holdings have been gained through his own efforts, and he is eminently entitled to be known as a self-made man, while his sound, practical sense is evidenced very strongly every- where in the management of his farm. He is a stalwart republican in his political views and has cast his every presidential vote for the candidate of his party. While he has not been desirous of holding public office, he has performed the duties of citizenship in the capacity of road supervisor and the present excellent condition of the roads of his locality testifies as to how conscientiously his work in that office has been performed. He is a member of no secret orders or societies.
Mrs. Gleason, a faithful helpmate and kind and loving mother, died in October, 1914. There are five children in the family: Mrs. Dora Olson; Everett and David B., who are engaged in agricultural pursuits in Kenner Township; and the Misses Daisy and Olive B., who reside with their father. Mr. Gleason has a modern, com- fortable home, where he dispenses hospitality with a lavish hand, and where his many friends in the township are always assured of a sincere and hearty welcome.
DANIEL HARRISON TURNER. Jasper County has no kindlier and better esteemed citizen than Daniel H. Turner, who has lived in Kankakee Township at his present home farm for so many years that the community looks upon him as an important landmark. He and other members of the Turner family have been identified with Jasper County for more than half a century. His own work has helped to turn many acres of the virgin soil, to clear and drain, to plant, cultivate and harvest, and he has now reached the harvest time in his own career, being able to look back and count more than three-quarters of a century of existence.
He was born May 21, 1838, in Putnam County, Indiana, a son of Daniel and Mildred (Asher) Turner. The parents were married in 1816, just a century ago, in Culpeper County, Virginia. A num- ber of years later, in 1837. before any railroads had reached the Middle West country, the little family started out to find a new home beyond the Alleghenies. They drove all the distance from Virginia to Kentucky, and after prospecting around different locali- ties in that state were unable to satisfy themselves with conditions, and then came on to Putnam County, Indiana. They located on a farm, and there the family of children grew up to useful manhood
650
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
and womanhood. The father was a farmer all his life, was a whig in politics until the republican party was organized, and thereafter supported that with equal loyalty and zeal. He died and was laid to rest in San Pierre, Indiana, February 10, 1862. His wife passed away in January, 1883.
It was in Putnam County, Indiana, that Daniel H. Turner and the other children were reared and educated. Altogether there were nine in the family, their names being: George, Joseph, Mary, Guy, Jane, Rebecca, William, Ann and Damel HI. Those now living are Rebecca, William, Ann and Daniel H., all of whom are married and have homes of their own. When the children went to school in Putnam County they attended one of the old-fashioned log cabin temples of learning. It was supported entirely by subscription, since the real public school system of Indiana was not inaugurated until a number of years later. The parents paid $2 for each scholar in the school for a term of three months. Daniel H. Turner recalls writing at a broad desk which was hewn from a single log, and which extended around one side of the room, being laid at an incline on pins driven into the side wall. The seats were split log benches, without backs, and the boys got very tired of sitting on those benches for hours at a time, and the younger ones had to partly stand and lean against the bench in order to rest their feet on the floor. It was strictly a common school education, based upon the fundamentals of the three R's.
In the spring of 1861 the Turner family moved to Kankakee Township in Jasper County. There they settled on a farm of fifty acres of the old Graves homestead. At that time Daniel H. Turner was twenty-three years of age, and he then started out to make his fortune on his own resources. He was soon able to buy a tract of fifty acres of unimproved land, and after a number of years of hard work he had it cleared up and in cultivation. He sold it to advantage, and then bought 120 acres of the Denny homestead. There it was that he built his permanent home, followed one season of crops after the other for many years, and finally was able to retire and enjoy the comforts of his many years of well directed industry.
On July 20. 1862, Mr. Turner married Miss Clara C. Harrington. They have had no children, and both are now quietly spending the evening of their lives on their Kankakee Township farm. In politics Mr. Turner is a democrat, and has taken quite an active interest in party affairs at different times. For six terms he held the office of township supervisor, and no public enterprise has ever gone by him without his active support and co-operation.
JOHN FINN. As the members of this well known family have been identified with Jasper County more than forty years, there is much that could be said of their praiseworthy activities in helping to develop this section of Indiana. Mr. John Finn, of Kankakee Town- ship, has his name permanently associated with one of the drainage
651
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
ditches in that part of the county, and his industry and management as a farmer and public spirit as a citizen have given him a leading place among the people of Jasper County.
His parents were both from Ireland, coming over poor and prac- tically friendless, and raising themselves by hard work and the exercise of their native intelligence to people of substantial pros- perity. John Finn's mother was Winifred Kennedy, who was born March 17, 1820, in County Clare, Ireland. She came to America in 1845, locating in Porter County, Indiana, where she was employed in the home of Sam Howells until 1860. In that year she married William Finn, who was also born in Ireland, at Dublin. Both were employed on the Howells farm, were married there, and a few months after their marriage with their combined resources bought forty acres of Government land at $1.25 per acre. It was on that little farm that their three children, John, Mary and William, were reared. Of these children the only one now living is John. William Finn, Sr., was killed by a team of horses in September, 1872, and left his widow with the three children already mentioned. In the spring of 1873 she brought her little family to Jasper County, and settled on the old Prewett homestead in Kankakee Township. Here the children attended school at the old Frog Pond School, one of the primitive schoolhouses of Jasper County.
When John Finn was quite young he had to take up the serious responsibilities of life, but has never been without plenty to do and has found opportunities to gain a well merited success. For a num- ber of years he was in the mercantile business, also conducted a livery, but finally returned to the old homestead in Kankakee Town- ship, where he now conducts his farming operations.
John Finn married Maggie Schimmel, a daughter of George and Mary (Shellhorn) Schimmel. The children in the Schimmel family. six in number, were named Mike, Eliza, George, Maggie, Philip, and Mary. Mr. and Mrs. Finn were married January 7, 1884, and they have three children : Leona, Mary, and Ina, the two older girls being married.
In the democratic party John Finn has always taken an active part, and has likewise supported earnestly every public enterprise. It was due to his interest and initiative that the Finn Ditch was constructed. He served on the township advisory board for one term of four years, and also put through the Mylius Ditch.
MRS. EMMA MARY ANDERSON. For more than twenty years Mrs. Anderson and her little family have been residents of Wheat- field in Wheatfield Township, where her husband was one of the leading merchants and citizens until his death a few years ago. This is one of the homes that maintain a high standard of living and influence in that section of Jasper County, and it is fitting that this history should make some record of them as individuals.
A daughter of Frederick and Carrie Ringel, Mrs. Anderson was
652
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
born May 2, 1865, in the Province of Posen, Germany. Altogether there were eight children in the Ringel family, namely : William and Frederick, now deceased; Gusta and Carrie, both of whom are married; Harmon, deceased; Emma and Charles, both living and married; and Tillie, deceased. In the spring of 1869 when Mrs. Anderson was four years of age the family immigrated to America and settled at Manistee, Michigan, where Frederick Ringel was employed in the saw mills, and where he lived until his death in 1900. After coming to America and gaining his citizenship he worked with the republican party, and was a man of considerable influence in that section of Northern Michigan. He was a member of the Lutheran Church and died in that faith. He was laid to rest at Manistee January 1, 1901.
Emma Mary Ringel was reared in Manistec, and was well cdu- cated and prepared for the duties which she assumed upon her marriage. On December 21, 1886, at Grand Rapids, Michigan, she married George D. Anderson, a son of George A. and Carrie Ander- son. Mr. Anderson was a railroad man, and one of the most popular freight conductors on the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad. He was in the service until 1894. and then gave up railroading and moved to Wheatfield in Wheatfield Township of Jasper County. Here he established a confectionery business, built up a good trade in the village and surrounding country, and actively looked after his business affairs until his death on February 19, 1909. The body of this honored citizen was laid to rest in the Wheatfield Cemetery. In politics he was a republican, and a man whose support could be relied upon for every public enterprise. He was a member of the Methodist Church, and was affiliated with the Knights of Pythias.
Since the death of her husband Mrs. Anderson has continued to make her home in Wheatfield, and has that comfort and solace which comes from the presence of a younger generation about her. Her three children are: Ray G. and James C., both of whom are married ; and Bessie C.
HENRY LA FAYETTE LANGDON. There are very many substan- tial old families of Indiana that can trace a southern ancestry, in that their pioneer forefathers came from North Carolina and afterward had much to do with the civilizing and building up of this great commonwealth. One of these families, bearing the name of Langdon, settled in the southern part of Owen County, Indiana, when Indians were yet numerous there, and their descendants have prospered and established themselves in other sections of the state. Henry L. Langdon, one of Jasper County's well known citizens, was born in Jackson Township, Owen County. Indiana, January 19, 1855. and is a son of William C. and Ellen Ann (Halton) Langdon, whose parents were natives of North Carolina and very carly settlers in Indiana. Henry L. Langdon passed his youth on his father's farm and up to his fifteenth year attended the district
653
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
schools in the neighborhood, mainly in the winters, gaining thereby, however, a basis of knowledge that has served him well throughout a business career covering many years. Following his marriage, in 1880, he moved to Sullivan County, Missouri, and for the next ten years was engaged in farming there and in Linn County. From Missouri, he returned to Indiana and located at Wheatfield, in Jas- per County, embarking in business. For a time he conducted a livery stable and started also a dray line, and finding the latter more profitable, after three years sold his stable and continued his dray- ing business for fourteen years and also, for four years operated a flour and feed store. As a business man Mr. Langdon has always commanded the respect of his competitors and enjoyed the confi- dence of the public.
On May 6, 1880, Mr. Langdon was united in marriage with Miss Inez Rosetta Huber, and four children were born to them: Albert Lee, who died in Missouri, when three years old; Herman R., who is a merchant at Wheatfield ; Ella B., who is the wife of Thomas Jen- sen, a merchant at Wheatfield; and Lillie M. All the children were given educational advantages and the elder daughter, now Mrs. Jensen, taught five terms of school, three terms in Jasper County, and two terms in Oklahoma. Mrs. Langdon is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Langdon is one of the influential men of his town, has served as a member of the town council and is affiliated with the democratic party. He has long been connected fraternally with the Modern Woodmen and the Knights of Pythias.
HERMAN R. LANGDON. While not a native of Jasper County, Herman R. Langdon, president of the town board of Wheatfield, was only six years old when brought here, and no citizen of the place cherishes its good name or is more interested in its substantial development. He was educated here and has here won business sticcess and public regard, but he was born in Sullivan County, Mis- souri, November 27, 1883. the second son of Henry LaFayette and Inez Rosetta ( Huber) Langdon.
Following his graduation from the Wheatfield public schools when eighteen years of age, Mr. Langdon began his business career as a clerk in the Myers Cash Store, at Wheatfield, of which, for the past five years, he has been a partner, his steady attention to business bringing its just reward. Like his father, a strong demo- crat, he has been active in political matters but has accepted few favors, but in November, 1910, he was elected, with a flattering majority, president of the town board of Wheatfield and assumed the duties of that office in the following January and has conscien- tiously performed them ever since.
On July 12, 1911, Herman R. Langdon was married to Miss Ollie White, of Tefft, Indiana, and they have one daughter, Wilma, who was born June 9, 1913. Mr. Langdon is identified with the
-
654
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, attending the lodges at Wheatfield.
ENGLEBRET JENSEN. No complete history of any section of the United States can be written without giving credit to other lands for some of its best types of people, and particularly is this true of Norway. For years on years from that far country have come willing toilers, men of brawn bred to industry, who have sought better working conditions and the possibility of a comfortable home in America, and they have been made welcome for soon they have proved worthy of the citizenship they have asked. There are few communities in the United States in which Norway's citizens by birth, can not be found among the most prosperous and most highly esteemed, and Indiana can number many such. The Jensen family of Jasper County may be mentioned in this connection.
Englebret Jensen, who, for over a quarter of a century has been in business at Wheatfield, Indiana, was born May 21, 1857, at Fredrickshald, Norway, a son of Jens Hansen. He grew to man- hood there, attended school and afterward learned the trade of blacksmith, which trade he followed in Norway for ten years. In the meanwhile he married and in 1882, with his family immigrated to America and proceeded to the great City of Chicago, where, for two years he worked as a blacksmith. In 1884 he came to Wheat- field, Indiana, and here has remained ever since with the exception of nearly two years spent at San Pierre and three at Tefft, during all this time carrying on his own business as a blacksmith. He has been honorable and upright in his business dealings and is held in such high esteem by his neighbors that all were satisfied when he was elected. on the republican ticket, president of the school board.
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.