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 32
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 32
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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
It was in 1869 that Mr. Butler first became known to the com- munity in and about the Town of Goodland. Goodland was nothing to speak of in the way of a village at that time, and Mr. Butler's enterprise has been one of the factors in making it what it is today. As there was little opportunity for business in the community along the lines which he had previously followed, he spent three years as a farmer, and then, the town having grown somewhat, he estab- lished a meat market. It was this business which kept him em- ployed up to 1904, at which time he sold out and has since devoted his Jeisure to superintendence of his real estate accumulations. For a period of over thirty years Mr. Butler was also the principal live stock man at Goodland, and bought and sold cattle and hogs on a large scale. At the present time Mr. Butler has among his accumu- lations more than 450 acres of land. All this represents the self- denial on the part of himself and wife, the hard work and intelligent management which characterized the early years of their residence in Newton County.
In England in 1857 Mr. Butler married Sarah A. Roulston, a daughter of William and Elizabeth Roulston, who spent all their lives in their native country. Five children were born of their marriage: Henry, now deceased, married May Harrington, who lives in Noble County, Indiana, and of their three children the only one now living is Harry. West Arthur, the second son, lives in Noble County, Indiana, and by his marriage to Kate Schultz has four children named Wesley, Esther, Freda and Earl. The third son, Alfred, is deceased as is also the only daughter, Fannie. Thomas, whose home is in Whiteley County, Indiana, married Naomi Gerrich, and they have two children, Russell and Neva.
Ever since he became an American citizen Mr. Butler has been a consistent republican in voting and in principle. However he has sought no office, though he was kept on the town board of Good- land for three years. He and his wife are members of the Presby- terian Church, and for five or six years he has served as a deacon. Church affairs have had much of Mr. Butler's time and attention,
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and he was one of the building committee of the present church of his denomination at Goodland. It is doubtful if any important pub- lic improvement has been undertaken which has not had his prac- tical and earnest support in the years gone by. It was he and John Perry who deserve much credit for getting up the petition for electric lights in Goodland. He has also been connected with several local loan associations and was one of the organizers and a director of the Newton County Loan & Savings Association Ile is a charter member of Goodland Lodge of the Knights of Pythias, has served it as past chancellor, and has recently received a pleasing token of esteem from his fellow members in that lodge.
SHERMAN HESS. The Hess family is one of the oldest and most prominent in Newton County, and not one of the name has ever allowed a blot to rest upon the family record.
One of its members was the late Sherman Hess. He stood for right and justice at all times. He was a farmer, and his character and activities gained him the high esteem of the people of this county. He was born in Ross County, Ohio, August 19, 1849, the third in a family of five children, four sons and one daughter, whose parents were David and Elizabeth (Lyons) Hess. Other pages contain the record of the Hess family in other lines.
When he was a child of three years, Sherman's parents moved to Jasper County, Indiana, in 1852. He grew up there on a farm, attended the common schools, and part of the instruction he received at home was a firm insistence upon the value of honesty and integrity as essential parts of character. Mr. Hess was actively concerned ยท with the work of the home farm until his marriage on July 6, 1904, to Miss Esther J. Dain. They were married in Montgomery County, Indiana. To their marriage was born one son, Louis Dain, who is now in the second grade of the public schools and shows much inclination to studious pursuits and promises growing up to useful manhood.
Mrs. Hess is a native of Montgomery County, Indiana, where she was born January 10, 1869, the fourth in a family of seven children, three sons and four daughters. Her parents were Marion and Cynthia (Cooper) Dain. All the children are still living, except her sister Mary, who died at the age of thirty-seven, and all reside in Indiana except Neria, who is the wife of J. W. Ghere, a resident of Appleton City, Missouri.
" Marion Dain, her father, was born in Ross County, Ohio, was educated in the common schools, grew to young manhood in his native state, and became a carpenter and joiner by trade. From Ohio he came to Montgomery County, Indiana. Politically he was a republican. During the Civil war he made a record as a Union soldier, with the 11th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, being in the Army of the Tennessee under General Thomas. After some service he was discharged on account of illness caused by the hardships and
MR. AND MRS. SHERMAN HESS
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duties of military life. He was an active member of the Methodist Church. His wife was born in Indiana, and she now lives at the age of seventy-three with her daughter Mrs. lless. She is a devout member of the Methodist Church.
As a young girl Mrs. Hess attended the common schools of Mont- gomery County, and she also took a course in the normal school at Crawfordsville. For two terms she was a successful teacher in her home county. Mrs. Hess is an active member of the United Brethren Church at Brook. She resides in a comfortable and attractive residence in that town.
Sherman Hess spent his active career as a farmer. He and his brother Edward fell heir to the old homestead, and these two men together acquired large landed estates in Newton County. Sherman Hless was a republican, but never held any office, and was a mem- ber of the United Brethren Church. His death occurred March 26, 1910, and his remains were laid to rest in the Brook Cemetery. The character he formed, the activities that engaged him, and his record in all the varied circumstances and relations of life, deserve some brief memorial to his worthy name.
EDWARD W. SELL. For more than forty years Mr. Sell has been one of the factors in agricultural development in Newton County. He has been a hard worker, a good manager, and has made his example an influence for modern improvement in his locality.
A Pennsylvanian, he was born in York County of that state in 1856, a' son of Daniel W. and Susanna (Shellenbarger) Sell. His father was born near the historic City of Gettysburg, in Adams County, Pennsylvania, in 1828, while the mother was born at York, in York County, in 1836. Daniel Sell spent his active career as a farmer and in 1876 moved to Newton County, where he lived until his death in 1900.
Edward W. Sell grew up in his native county in Pennsylvania, gained a practical education, and when about eighteen years of age, in 1874, he came to Kentland, Indiana, and for two years worked for his uncle John Sell. When his father came to the county in 1876 he returned home and remained two years and then spent two years in farming for himself.
On January 6, 1881, Mr. Sell married Euphemia Myers, a daugh- ter of John F. Myers, of Newton County. Mrs. Sell was born and reared on a farm north of Kentland. To their union have been born four children : Alice, who in 1905 married George Merchant ; Ida, who married, February 24, 1915, Charles Kindig and has one child named Ralph Edward; Walter Lee, who is twenty-four years of age and unmarried; and Earl L., who was born February 13, 1895.
Ever since coming to Indiana Mr. Sell has been engaged in grain farming, and has been unusually successful. He has owned a large amount of Newton County land, and still has a fine place of 468
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acres. He and his family are members of the United Brethren Church.
ABRAM DEWEES is.one of the few native sons of Newton County who were born here more than half a century ago. Thus his people were among the pioneers and he has made his own life count for good in his community, has always favored public improvement, and is rated as a very prosperous and substantial agriculturist.
He was born in Grant Township of Newton County March 6, 1864, a son of Jesse and Margaret (Fisher) Dewees, his father a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of Ohio. Jesse Dewees moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio, and came to Indiana during the decade of the '50s. The mother's family settled on Pine Creek, in Benton County, Indiana, when she was eighteen years of age. Jesse Dewees and wife were married in 1860 and he followed farming actively until his declining years, when he made his home with his son.
Abram Dewees grew up in Newton County, attended the local schools, and made an early start in life for himself. He was mar- ried at the age of nineteen, and for more than thirty years has industriously pursued his vocation as a farmer.
On February 8, 1883, he married Ida May Mcclintock, a daughter of James and Margaret ( Evert) Mcclintock. Her father was a native of Ireland, spent a number of years as a minister of the Methodist Church but later took up farming in Newton County. He was born March 2, 1832, and died February 4, 1905, while Mrs. Dewees' mother was born October 25, 1832, and died August 12, 1913.
Mr. and Mrs. Dewees have two children: John F., born July 17, 1884, attended the country schools and the Brook High School, and is a prosperous young farmer ; on December 24, 1897. he mar- ried Flora Ricker, daughter of James and Eliza Ricker, and of this union there are two children, Fay, born in April, 1910, and Harold, born in April, 1912. Clara Effa, the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dewees, was born September 28, 1888, received her education in the country schools of Newton County and married Charles S. Bell.
Mr. Dewees is a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Brook, and he and his family worship in the Methodist Church. He filled out an unexpired term as supervisor and has always supported schools and other improvements in his community.
THEODORE E. COLLIER, M. D. In point of years of continuous service Doctor Collier is one of the oldest members of the medical profession in Jasper or Newton counties. For over twenty years he has had his home at Brook, and has looked after the needs of his patients in and around that village with a skill and fidelity which
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have brought him a fine reputation as a physician and a high standing as a citizen. Doctor Collier began practice in this section of Indiana before many of the improvements had been introduced which now make the practice of medicine comparatively easy.
It is noteworthy that he was one of the men, including Doctor Crouk, Doctor Lovett and the Hartleys of the Hartley Grain Com- pany, who installed the first telephone line in Newton County, running from Goodland to Wadena. That was in the spring of 1804, and that little telephone line was the nucleus of the present telephone system covering practically all of Newton County.
Theodore Collier was born in Greene County, Ohio, December 11, 1862, a son of Albert and Susan (DeHaven) Collier, both of whom were natives of Ohio. In the paternal line Doctor Collier is of Scotch-Irish and French, but both the DeHavens and the Colliers have been Americans since colonial times. In 1870 Albert Collier moved his family to Howard County, Indiana, locating east of Kokomo, near Greentown, and then in 1875 they all moved to Starke County, Indiana, locating three miles south of Knox, where the father followed farming.
Doctor Collier grew up on farms in Western Ohio, in Howard County, and Starke County. Indiana, and largely made his own opportunities for entering the medical profession. He attended country schools, and spent five winters in teaching in Starke County. He took one year of preparatory work at Valparaiso University, then another year in the Kentucky School of Medicine at Lonis- ville, and in 1893 graduated with the degree of M. D. from the Medical College of Indiana, at Indianapolis, now the regular medical department of the Indiana State University. Doctor Collier has always been a leader in his profession, and has taken some post- graduate work in the Chicago Eye and Ear Hospital at Chicago.
Immediately after getting his degree he began practice in Good- land in partnership with Dr. J. A. Lovett, but in May, 1894, estab- lished his office and home at Brook, where he has since ministered to the needs of his clients. Doctor Collier was for one year secre- tary of the old Newton County Medical Society, is a member of the Jasper and Newton County Medical Society, and belongs to the Indiana State Medical Association.
Fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic Lodge at Brook and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically is a republican and progressive. On October 4, 1894, he married Miss Minnie Shilling, a daughter of William F. and Lavina (Gesaman) Shilling, who were of Pennsylvania German descent, lived for a time in Stark County, Ohio, and in 1852 established a home in Starke County, Indiana. Doctor and Mrs. Collier have three children : Orpha, Mary A. and Albert W., all of whom are still at home.
ANDREW HESS. The people of Newton County still pay tribute to the memory of Andrew Hess. He was one of the vigorous Vol. HI-18
.
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upstanding figures in the life of that county for nearly forty years, and the many influences he set in motion and the vitality of his own character have since been continued in the careers of his own chil- dren, and his descendants are still numerously represented, particn- larly in the community of Brook.
He was of substantial Dutch stock, and was born in Greenbrier County, Virginia, now West Virginia, November 4, 1820. When he was four years of age his parents took him to Ross County, Ohio, and he was soon afterwards left an orphan. Industry and self- reliance were forced upon him in early youth, and he grew up strong and independent, characteristics that lie exemplified all the rest of his life. In Ross County he married Sarah Holman, who was also of Pennsylvania Dutch stock.
In October, 1855. Andrew Hess brought his family to what is now Iroquois Township in Newton County, and as a farmer he lived there until his death on November 7, 1893. His body was laid to rest in the Brook Cemetery.
Andrew Hess possessed a strong mind, was a factor in the moral life of his community, and whatever he did he did well and his relations with his fellow men were always characterized by honor and fidelity. He was a republican in politics, and from 1867 to 1873 served as county commissioner. He was a member of the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows at Brook.
The seven children of .Andrew Iless and wife were: Eliza Jane, wife of John Merchant, and they live in North Carolina; Mary C. is the wife of John B. Lyons, a well known banker and stockman at Brook; Jepthia V. lives near Humboldt, Kansas, and married Rhoda Conn; John is now deceased; David is mentioned below; Austin A. is unmarried and lives at Brook; Elma E. is a druggist at Brook and married Ida Foersman.
DAVID HESS. For more than forty years David Hess has been a factor in commercial life in Newton County, and is proprietor of one of the principal merchandise stores of Brook.
He was born September 11, 1852, in Ross County, Ohio, on a farm northeast of Chillicothe, and was three years of age when his parents moved to Newton County. He grew up on his father's farm in Iroquois Township, acquired a practical education suitable to his needs, and early turned to mercantile life.
On January 1, 1880, he married Martha Jane McWilliams, a daughter of Robert and Mary Jane (Jacoby) McWilliams, of Ida- ville, Indiana. Robert McWilliams was one of the early settlers of that community and was of Scotch Presbyterian stock. Mr. and Mrs. Hess have four children. Etta G., the oldest, lives at home with her parents; Roy E. is a resident of Brook and is married to Gertrude White and has two children, Ellsworth and Rosalind B .; Blanche V. is the wife of E. A. Gast of Warsaw, Indiana, and they
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have a child, David A .; the son Walter G. lives at home and assists his father in business.
In 1873, at the age of twenty-one, David Hess became clerk in the store of A. J. Kent, at Brook. Afterward he clerked in other places until 1879, and then went into business for himself, a line which he has followed continuously for more than thirty-five years. Besides the management of his large store in Brook, he is also a stockholder in the Brook Terra Cotta Tile & Brick Company.
For many years David Hess has been a strong republican par- tisan and has taken considerable interest in politics. For several years he filled the office of county commissioner. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge and the Knights of Pythias of Brook, and his wife belongs to the Methodist Church of that village. Mr. Iless is liberal in his religious views and always contributes his share to all charities. Mrs. Hess is also a member of the Order of Eastern Star and the Pythian Sisters at Brook.
JOHN B. FORESMAN, JR. This venerable man, now in his eighty- fourth year, who with firm step and unclouded mind still walks the streets of his home Village of Brook, and during a long and useful life in this section of Indiana witnessed almost its entire development and has borne a share in the course of its progress. His life has been replete with experience and achievement, and the persistent honor paid to a character of rigid honesty and integrity.
For more than forty years he has been a resident of Newton County. He was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, September 28, 1832, a son of Robert and Sarah (Baer) Foresman. His father was a native of Pennsylvania and of Irish descent and the mother was a native of Ohio. The latter died in Tippecanoe County, Indi- ana, while Robert Foresman died in Kansas and is buried at Mound Valley in Labette County. The mother was laid to rest at Dayton in Tippecanoe County.
In November, 1833, the Foresman family arrived in Tippecanoe County, first locating in Lafayette, but in the following year mov- ing to Wild Cat Prairie. John B. Foresman grew to manhood in Tippecanoe County and he attended some of the most primitive of the pioneer schools in that section of the state. The first notable event and achievements of his career was in 1840, when he was eight years of age. He had been given a pig by his father, and raised it carefully, and he exhibited the grown animal at the first agri- cultural show ever held in Tippecanoe County. The hog was awarded first prize and Mr. Foresman still cherishes the cup which was given as a symbol of the award.
On April 5, 1915, Mr. and Mrs. Foresman celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of their wedding. At that time they were one of the oldest married couples living in the state, and hundreds of friends and well wishers are ready to congratulate them upon their sixty- first wedding anniversary. Mr. Foresman was married at Attica,
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Indiana. to Minerva C. Davis. The Davis family came from Ver- mont. To their union were born twelve children. William D., who lives in Oklahoma, married Ella Royal, and their two sons are Ray and Ivan. The second son, Frederick R., is now deceased. Sallie, the oldest daughter, died in childhood. Alice lives at home with her parents. Ida is the wife of E. E. Hess of Brook. Mary is Mrs. John Gwaltney and lives in California. Matilda is Mrs. Clarence Sunderland. Jeanette is the wife of John O. Sunderland. Fannie M. and Jessie both died young. John B. Foresman, Jr., has for years been in active business at Foresman, and by his marriage to May Lowe has two daughters named Leona and Grace. Frank, who lives in Oklahoma, married Mabel Welden, and their son is named John B. Ill.
When Mr. and Mrs. Foresman started housekeeping they looked into the future with courage and were not daunted by their present poverty. Mr. Foresman bought everything on credit which he needed to begin housekeeping, and the subsequent accomplishment in material accumulations and in the rearing of a fine family of children entirely justifies the start he and his loyal wife made so many years ago.
In 1872 Mr. Foresman moved from Tippecanoe County to Iro- quois Township in Newton County and has since had his home in that township. In 1903 he retired from active business and he and his wife have since lived quietly retired in Brook. As a business" he followed general farming and stock raising and at one time he had about 700 acres of land, but since has sold or given to his chil- dren considerable quantities and has now about 380 acres besides some town property.
In 1880 Mr. Foresman established the first tile factory in New- ton County. The factory was on his farm, and he used most of the product at first for tiling his own land. He was a pioneer in tiling and his efforts in that line at first excited considerable ridicule. Dur- ing the years 1883 and 1885 he was unable to sell enough tile to justify the operation of his plant, and then a few years later his plant could not make enough to supply the demand. He continued manufacturing tile for some ten or twelve years.
The little Village of Foresman, a station on the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Branch Railroad to La Crosse, was named in his honor, and he gave the right of way through his land. This road was originally built under the name Chicago & Great Southern.
Mr. Foresman is one of the few original republicans still living. He cast his first presidential ballot for John C. Fremont back in 1856. His father was a whig. Mr. Foresman served as township trustee four years, from 1876 to 1880, inclusive, and during that time he made the first large levy for school purposes, the largest ever made in the county up to that time. During his term he increased the school year in his township from three to seven months, its present standard, erected three new schoollionses, and
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reseated eight others. Mr. and Mrs. Foresman are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he helped toward building the church and at one time served as steward. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Brook, is a past master, and is said to be one of the oldest Masous in Indiana, having taken his first degree in the lodge at Dayton more than half a century ago.
JOR ENGLISH. Now living retired in the Village of Brook at the patriarchal age of eighty-six Job English has filled his years with useful toil, with sturdy accomplishment, has surrounded him- self with family and friends, and certainly some memorial of him should be kept in the annals of Jasper and Newton counties.
His own career for upwards of seventy years has been wrought either in Jasper or Newton County, and it was more than half a century ago that he moved to a new farm in Jackson Township of Newton County.
His birth occurred on August 15, 1830, in Champaign County, Ohio, near Urbana. His parents were Abel and Mary (Wolfe) English, the former of English stock and the latter of Pennsylvania Dutch. In 1848 Abel English died in Ohio and in the following year his widow, with her family of children-Margaret, now de- ceased ; Job : John L. of Jasper County ; and Samuel, now deceased -came to Indiana and settled in Jasper County about seven or eight miles northeast of Rensselaer in the Fork settlement. There the mother provided for her family on rented land, and continued to live there until her death, which occurred about 1864. Her remains were laid to rest in Smith Cemetery in Jasper County.
Job English was nineteen when he came to Indiana. His edu- cation was only such as the common schools of his time could afford, and his main reliance has been on industry and his native judgment. About a year after the family came to Jasper County he and his brother John bought eighty acres of land and started out for them- selves. It was not an easy struggle for some years, but he was ambitious, worked hard, and in time was able to provide for others besides himself.
In Jasper County in 1854 Job English married Rhoda McCurtain, a daughter of John and Esther (McGill) McCurtain. John McCur- tain should be remembered as one of the very earliest settlers of Jasper County. He also came from Champaign County, Ohio, moved to Tippecanoe County, Indiana, in 1836, and in 1839 settled in Jasper County. The MeCurtains are of Scotch-Irish ancestry.
Some years after his marriage, in 1862, Job English and wife moved to the Beaver Prairie settlement in. section 29 of Jackson Township in Newton County. In that locality he made his success as a farmer, and accumulated the prosperity which enabled him in 1900 to retire from activity and move to a comfortable residence in the Village of Brook. When he came to Newton County Job Englishi paid $10 an acre, in trade, for eighty acres of land, and
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