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 29
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 29
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Tunis Snip grew up in the southern district of the City of Chicago, was educated in the public schools, and at the age of twenty-one started out to make his own fortune. For four years he conducted a business at Pullman, handling hay, coal, grain, and feed. It was in 1894 that he came to Jasper County and settled on his present farm near Thayer, and his daily mail delivery by rural ronte, from the postoffice of that village. He has used both energy and intelligence in getting the most out of his land and making it a valuable property, and now has nearly all his acreage under culti- vation and productive of some of the best crops grown in the northern part of Jasper County. He follows general farming and stock raising.
On April 15, 1878, Mr. Snip married Miss Mary Pool, daughter of Cornelius Pool, and also of Holland descent. Eleven children were born to their union, namely: Nellie, who died in infancy ; Nellie, now Mrs. Ed Gilbert of Lafayette; Cornelius, unmarried; John, who married Gussie Von Weinen; Elizabeth, M:s. Cornelia Evers; Mary, Mrs. John Hampster; Lena, Mrs. Lewis Plotzina; Tunis, unmarried ; William, Gerrit, and Kate, all of whom are still single and at home.
As a republican in politics, but chiefly as a good citizen, Mr. Snip has made his work and influence count for a great deal in the devel- opment of his home township. For nine years he served as road supervisor, and was township trustee for six years, from 1909 to 1915. It was during his administration as trustee that the handsome schoolhouse was constructed at DeMotte. Mrs. Snip is a member of the Dutch Reformed Church. Early in the 'gos, before coming to Jasper County, Mr. Snip spent 472 months in Europe, most of the time in Holland and England, visiting the scenes where his parents and ancestors had lived for generations.
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JOSEPH N. SALRIN. By his long continued business relations as a stock raiser and dealer in Walker Township, Joseph N. Salrin has become known to people all over Jasper and Newton counties. Wherever he is known he is esteemed for his genial goodfellowship, his thorough integrity, and his ability to get ahead in the world and make the best of circumstances and conditions.
He has spent most of his life in Jasper County, and the family name will at once be recognized as one of the older ones in this section of Indiana. He was born August 30, 1866, in Coshocton County, Ohio, a son of Christopher and Margaret ( Nichols) Salrin. His parents were married in 1861 in Ohio, and a few years later they came with their children to Jasper County, locating on 160 acres in Walker Township. There the children were reared and they attended school, at first in the old Hershman schoolhouse when the teacher was Miss Melissa McDonald, afterwards they were in the new Hershman school for three years, and finished their educa- tion in the Zick schoolhouse. Christopher Salrin is now one of the honored pioneers and old timers of Jasper County. Farming has been his occupation, and when in his prime he did a considerable business in the raising of stock. His industry has enabled him to accumulate quite a large holding of land and he frequently set standard or progressiveness in his farm work which many others strove to follow. He is a democrat in politics, and he and his wife are members of the Catholic Church. One of the cardinal principles of his influence in public matters has been the building up and sup- port of good institutions of education. His wife was laid to rest September 6, 1903, being survived by her husband and six children. Altogether there were eight children in the family, namely : Mary V., deceased; Margaret and Joseph N., both of whom are married ; Agnes, deceased ; Stephen, Perry W., George and Anna, all of whom are married and have homes of their own.
In the schools and schoolhouses already mentioned Joseph N. Salrin acquired his early education and was trained for a practical career. While his schooling was limited, he has always been a great reader and student, and is one of the well informed citizens of Jasper County. When only fifteen years of age he started out to make his own way, and there is an interesting account to be told of his first ventures. The first $to he earned came from a hard trap- ping experience. He worked and exposed himself for several weeks in catching muskrats, selling their hides at 10 cents apiece, until he had accumulated the sum of $io. He promptly invested this little capital in a calf. He had some dreams of fine profit over that calf, but in a few weeks it laid down and died, and the investment would have been a total loss had he not skinned the carcass and sold the pelt for $1.50. He then invested this in six new steel traps, and began another campaign in trapping muskrats. During the follow- ing winter he trapped enough to buy two calves, and this time his enterprise was better rewarded, and he finally sold them for $40.
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That was the way he got his start in the stock raising business. He has had other vicissitudes and ups and downs since then, but as in the first instance he has never allowed discouragement to overwhelm him, and on the whole has been steadily prospering and now enjoys the income and fruitage of a good farm and a good business in the live stock trade.
By the time he was twenty-five he had gathered together a con- siderable number of live stock, and was then ready to start a home of his own. He married Bertha F. Pettet, a daughter of Jacob P. and Sarah Ann (Stuts) Pettet. Into their home have been born eight children, namely: Orvis is still unmarried; Perry, who was bitten by a rattlesnake while in Gillam Township, and died twenty- four hours later; Eva, John, Ferry, Pet, Martha, and Lilly, all of whom are living and still single.
In politics Mr. Joseph Salrin is a democrat and has done much in a public spirited manner to advance the interests of his home com- munity. He held the office of township trustee for one term, in which time he advanced the local school system, and as township supervisor built the first six miles of stone road in Walker Town- ship. He has steadily and consistently been a good road advocate for many years. He is also the principal petitioner and supporter of the largest drainage ditch ever built in Jasper County.
JOSEPH A. SMITH is one of the progressive farmers of Walker Township whose practical example has meant much to that com- munity as it would have meant to any community, and since he is still a young man there is promise of many years of useful labor both for himself and family and for the entire community. What he has accomplished has been self-reliance and industry, without fear or favor, and there is something stimulating and encouraging in such a career for every younger man.
Born January 28, 1879, in Walker Township of Jasper County, he is a son of Grover and Lottie (Ferrel) Smith. The six children among whom he was one were: Joseph; Mary, now deceased; Mattie, who is married; Grover, Jr., who is married and has a home of his own; Bessie, deceased; and Francis. The Father of these children spent practically all his life in planting an : some commer- cial work and was a republican in politics.
As a boy Joseph A. Smith attended such local chools as were in his vicinity, but supplemented these advantages by study at home. He is a student, a keen observer, and has never failed to take advantage of his own experiences and lessons which ne could learn from his neighbors and from any other available source. When he started out in life at the age of twenty-one he had nothing in the way of capital though he possessed more than an o linary equip- ment of ambition, sturdy industry, and good habits. It is not strange that he is now numbered among the most progressive farmers and business men of Jasper County, though only thirty-six years of age.
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In politics he is a republican. He supports every public enter- prise which he believes will bring benefit not only to himself but to his neighbors, and has been especially interested in the schools which will educate the future generation. For the past four years he has occupied the old Ferrel homestead in Walker Township, and in that time has carried out many of his cherished plans and ideals in order to make it a farm equal to the best found in that section of the county.
On January 29, 1900, at Wheatfield he married Miss Lena Yeiter, a daughter of Frederick and Eureka (Hulsworth) Yeiter. The eight children in the Veiter family are as follows : Christina, Enima, Fred, Rosa, William, Georgia, Louisa, and Lena. Of these Georgia is now deceased, while all the others are married and have homes of their own. They were all born in Tippecanoe County, and gained part of their education there, though the youngest finished in Jasper County.
FRANK E. LEWIS. One of the best known figures in railroad circles of Northern Indiana is Frank E. Lewis, general manager of the Chicago & Wabash Valley Railroad, a line which is at present a fceder of the Monon Railway and which was originally built by B. J. Gifford. The career of Mr. Lewis illustrates forcibly the awards to be gained in railroading by men of energy and perse- verance, for he started in the lowly capacity of section hand and has worked his way steadily upward until he is now the incumbent of a position of large responsibility.
Mr. Lewis is a native of Erie County, New York, and was born December 2, 1875, one of the four children (all living) of William and Elizabeth (Law) Lewis, natives respectively of Her- kimer County, New York, and the Dominion of Canada. William Lewis, who is a farmer and still resides in the Empire State, is a son of James Lewis, a native of Wales, who came unmarried to America in 1836 and was an employe of the old New York Central System, in which capacity he helped to build the first railroad in New York.
Frank E. Lewis passed his early days on the farm of his parents, attending the public schools and consequently taking a commercial course in a business college at Clarence, New York. He early showed a predilection for railroading, his first work in that line being as a section hand on the New York Central Railroad, a posi- tion which he held for about one year. In 1894 he came to Jasper County, Indiana, as an employe of B. J. Gifford, who had just entered upon his great work of improvement in reclaiming the lands of the northern part of the county, and here his first work consisted of helping in the dredge work as common laborer. llis faithfulness and industry soon attracted attention and after about one year he was given a position as clerk and bookkeeper by Mr. Gifford, in which position he took care of much detail work, such as keeping
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the time of the employes, making up pay rolls, buying supplies, etc. Two years later he returned to the dredge work to more thoroughly master that end of the business, it being his objective aim to become a "runner," or engineer. In August, 1898, when Mr. Gifford began the building of the railroad, Mr. Lewis was transferred to the engi- neering corps of that work and continued to be so employed until January, 1899, when the road was put in operation. At that time he was made superintendent of the road, continuing as such until October, 1906, when he was made general superintendent, general freight agent and general passenger agent, and as such practically had full charge of the railroad's affairs. In connection with dis- charging the duties of these offices he also assisted Mr. Gifford in the general management of his farm lands and his large local interests. In 1912, when Mr. Gifford's health began to fail, Mr. Lewis received the title of general manager, and in March, 1914, when the road was sold to the Monon Railway, that corporation retained him in that position. He continues in that responsible office, with headquarters at Kersey.
Mr. Lewis is a republican in politics and for two years was a member of the Jasper County Council. He is well known in Masonry, having been a charter member of Wheatfield Lodge No. 6.12, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he was master three terms, and is a member of Rensselaer Chapter No. 130, Royal Arch Masons, and North Judson Council No. 78. He holds membership also in the Knights of J'ythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, and has numerous friends in fraternal circles. Mr. Lewis is a member of the Christian Church.
In 1899 Mr. Lewis was married to Miss Jennie Strebelow, of Hersher, Illinois, who died in January, 1901. In 1903 Mr. Lewis was again married, being united with Mrs. Queen Engler, of Monon, Indiana, daughter of Perry Ward, and widow of David Engler. By her marriage with Mr. Engler Mrs. Lewis is the mother of one daughter, Pauline. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have one son and one daughter : Dorothy and Francis William. Mrs. Lewis is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
MISS CATHERINE WENRICK. One of the most interesting women of Jasper County is Miss Catherine Wenrick of Walker Township. She has lived in this county since pioneer times, has witnessed all the changes, and has a record on her own mind of the life and activities of the county and its people covering more than half a century. Under difficulties she has accomplished a great deal in the world, not only in a material way, since for many years she has prosperously conducted some extensive farming opera- tions, but also in deeds of personal charity and kindness to her neighborhood.
She was born March 13, 1848, in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, a daughter of John and Mary A. (Bumgardner) Wenrick. Her
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grandparents were John and Catherine Wenrick, who were married in Center County, Pennsylvania, about 1821, and were the parents of seven children, namely : George, deceased; John ; Peter, deceased ; Polly ; Hannah M., Daniel and William, all deceased. Grandfather John Wenrick followed farming practically all his life. He was a member and active worker in the German Reformed Church.
John Wenrick, Jr., a man of venerable years, still living in Jas- per County, was married in Pennsylvania in May, 1847, and in April, 1855, moved to Miami County, Ohio, where he reared his family of nine children. These children were: Catherine; Elizabeth M., and John H., deceased; Noah MI., who is married and has a home of his own; Rachel L., deceased; William J., Nancy E., Jacob F., and James W., all of whom are still living and married.
From Ohio John Wenrick moved his family to Jasper County, Indiana, where he arrived December 5, 1868. Thus for nearly half a century this name has been associated with the best interests of the farming and civic community of Walker Township. At that time some of his children were still young and they attended school at the old Hershman school, which was conducted in a log cabin and represented only the simplest requirements of the educational system of that state. John Wenrick followed farming here the rest of his active career, and has always been a man alert to the advantages of public improvements and a liberal supporter of every- thing which he believed would be for the benefit of the community at the present and for the future. He became a republican about the time that party came into existence, and was one of its active workers in Jasper County until advanced age. He was formerly affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has long been identified with the United Brethren Church.
When thirteen years of age Miss Catherine Wenrick suffered injuries which made her a cripple. In her case handicap proved only a spur to increased simple activity and an ambition to do good in the world. Though unable to attend school with other children, she managed to acquire a liberal education by extensive reading and she has never given up study in all her days. She has proved a keen and able business woman, and for a number of years has owned and operated a tract of eighty acres of land in Walker. Township, and looks after its management and crops with all the alertness of former years. She has an interesting fund of rem- iniscences concerning the early times in Walker Township, and has lived to witness practically every phase of its development since pioneer conditions.
MARTIN V. SANDS. This honored old soldier is one of the early settlers of Kankakee Township, where he has had his home on a constantly improving and more valuable farm for more than forty years. He has done his full share toward the development of Jasper County and when it is recalled that he served faithfuly as a
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soldier for three years during the dark days of the Civil war, his patriotism and public spirit are beyond all question.
Born March 30. 1842, in Harrison County, Indiana, Martin V. Sands is a son of Dallas and Elizabeth ( Musselbaum) Sands. Alto- gether there were twelve children in his parents' family, namely : Mary, Daniel, Sarah, Maria, Tiny, Isaac, William, Martin, Martha, James, John, and Rebecca. The only ones still living are Maria, Martin, John, and Rebecca. Dallas Sands, the father, was a good type of the rugged and wholesome pioneer of early Indiana days. He was a farmer and gave to that vocation his best years. In politics he was a whig and was a member of the Baptist Church. He died and was laid to rest on the old homestead in Harrison Township in 1855.
In the meantime Martin V. Sauds had passed the period of childhood and early youth, had attended such schools as were avail- able in his time and section of Indiana, and was a little past nineteen when in August, 1861, he enlisted in Company B of the Forty-fifth Regiment of Indiana Cavalry. He saw three years of arduous service. He was in the battle of Antietam, fought during those campaigns which resulted in so many reverses to the Union troops up to and including Fredericksburg, and then became a unit in the great army which was revitalized and made efficient by the great soldier, Grant. He fought in the battle of the Wilderness at Gettys- burg, and in the battles before Petersburg. About that time he was mustered out of service at Indianapolis, in 1864.
Following his record as a soldier Mr. Sands returned to the old homestead in Harrison County, and while living there, on March 30. 1866, he married Miss Lydia Miller. They began their married life in Southern Illinois, where they lived for six years, but in 1872 established their home in Jasper County. Mr. Sands bought eighty acres in Kankakee Township, and with that as a nucleus he has continued his residence and his farming activities there ever since. In politics he has followed the natural course of a soldier who fought for the preservation of the Union, and has always been a republican. His name has been identified with local politics for a number of years, and for eight years he served as township supervisor. His own success as a farmer has commended him to the confidence of his fellow citizens, and he has made his influence count in many ways for better schools, better roads and all improvements.
While in many other ways his life has been so satisfactory, Mr. Sands also finds pleasure in the fact that his family line is established for succeeding generations. lle and his wife reared a family of nine children: Hattie, deceased; Addie, who is married; Alice, deceased; Clarence and Marion, both of whom are married; Lydia, still single ; Charles and George, both married; and Edward, who is still single.
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ISAAC DUNN. It is well for every community to preserve a record of its active and useful citizens, for it gives character to a place and affords example for desirable emulation. In this connection is brought forward the name, life and services of the late Isaac Dunn, one of Jasper County's best known men who, for many years was deeply interested in promoting public improvements and in furthering moial movements. With honest efficiency he served in public office, and the massive iron bridge that spans the Kankakee River is one of the monuments testifying to his public spirit and wise judgment. Largely self educated, for he had but meager oppor- tunities in carly youth, he became widely informed through his natural ability, and Jasper County profited by having later so broad- minded a man representing it in the State Legislature and in other public offices.
Isaac Dunn was born about 1823, in Maine, and from there in 1854 came first to Richmond, Indiana, and then to Jasper County. His parents were William and Nancy Dunn and they had twelve children, Isaac being the ninth in order of birth. The full record is as follows: Martha, born July 10, 1806, died in 1816; Harriet, born January 19, 1808; John Wesley, born June 20, 1810; Hannah Freeman, born August 16, 1812; Elvin, born October 17, 1814. died in 1834: Sarah Anu, born February 21, 1837; William Milton, born February 21, 1819, died in 1827; Martha (2), born February 13, 1821 ; Isaac, born July 4, 1843: Gilbert M., born March 26, 1825; William Milton (2), born October 12, 1827 ; and Lucius Clark, born June 8, 1820. Of this large family there are but few survivors.
In 1854. in Maine, Isaac Dunn was united in marriage with Miss Nancy B. Coffin, who was born November 15, 1833. Her parents were John and Henrietta ( Ballise) Coffin. Immediately after mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. Dunn came to Indiana and their children, four in number, were born in Jasper County. They had three sons and one daughter: Gilbert, who is deceased; and John, Carrie D., and George, all three of whom now have home circles of their own. They were reared in Jasper County and attended the subscription schools, later the Oak Grove School, and their first teacher was Mrs. Jonathan Winter.
Isaac Dunn was a man of much enterprise and from the time he came to Indiana until his death, in December, 1912, was active in promoting measures that would be of permanent good to his county. He had far more foresight than many of his neighbors and could recognize the value of permanent improvements and progressive legislation when others, of duller intellect, often opposed change. His energy, enterprise and public spirit made him a politician, not for his own advantage but in order that he might be able to wield a wider influence for those things that meant true citizenship to him. He early identified himself with the republican party and by that party was elected county commissioner, in which office he served two terms and during this period was the prime mover in having
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two necessary bridges built across the Kankakee River in Kankakee Township, first a wooden structure and later the present fine iron bridge. Still later Mr. Dunn was elected from Jasper County to the State Legislature and served honorably for two terms.
Mr. Dunn was reared in the Methodist faith and throughout his long life was consistent in his religious life. He gave liberally to all benevolent causes and practically built two of the Methodist Episcopal Church edifices in his county. He died at Wheatfield and was laid to rest in the Wheatfield Cemetery, December 8, 1912.
OSCAR BOYNTON ROCKWELL. The Rockwells were among the oldest settlers in this section of Indiana, and the name has been familiarly associated with pioncer labors, with good citizenship, with official work, with military service, with farming and many lines of business in Jasper and Newton and Starke counties for several generations.
The Rockwells are of very old American stock. John Rockwell, founder of the family, came from the vicinity of Dorchester, Eng- land, where for many previous generations the name had been well known, and on coming to America settled in Stamford, Connecticut, about 1640. The first recorded date of him in this country is Decem- ber 7, 1641, when he is named as one of the first settlers and received for his home lot two acres and a parcel of woodland. The next record date of him is 1659, when he sold his land there in Stamford and removed to Westchester County, New York, where his death occurred in 1676. This John Rockwell married Elizabeth Weed, of Stamford, Connecticut. Their three children were John Rockwell, Jr., Sarah, and Mehitabel. Thomas Rockwell, who was a son of John Rockwell, Jr., married on December 19, 1703, Sarah Resco. Their three children were named Sarah, Thomas, and Jabez. Thomas Rockwell died in June, 1712, in Norwalk, New York.
Jabez Rockwell married Elizabeth Sperry. On May 9, 1775, Jabez Rockwell enlisted in the Seventh Company of the Sixth Regi- ment under Col. Samuel H. Parsons, and served as a soldier during most of the years of the War of the American Revolution. He and his wife had the following children : Benjamin, Levi, Betsey, and Eli.
In a later generation, the seventh after the founding of the family in America, is Levi Clark Rockwell. Levi Clark Rockwell was born in New York State August 1, 1809. He married Ruth Pamelia Knapp on December 29, 1835. She was born November 18, 1816. This family moved from New York to Montgomery County, Indiana, in the spring of 1854, but in the fall of the same year Levi C. Rockwell bought a 160-acre tract of land in Jasper County, Indiana, in Kankakee Township. He acquired this land direct from the Government, and on March 10, 1855, the family moved to Jasper County and established their home on the recently acquired quarter-section. This land, which has undergone many changes and improvements, is still owned by members of the Rock-
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