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 36
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 36
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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
Anything that concerns the public welfare is a matter of con- cern to William Martin. Politically his affiliations have been with the democratic party. Six years ago he was a candidate for the office of county commissioner on that ticket but suffered defeat. In igt4 his fellow citizens in Jefferson Township elected him trustee, and he has that office for the regular term of four years. He is giving a careful and conscientious administration of the office, par- ticularly in its connection with the schools. Mr. Martin has taken his first degrees in Masonry, is a member of the Knights of Pythias, of Kentland, Indiana, belongs to the Christian Church and is serv- ing on the library board.
On April 13, 1904, he married Maude M. Milten. Mrs. Martin's people were English and her father was for many years in the mer- cantile business at Madona, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have two children: Ruby V., born April 6, 1905, who died in infancy, and Alice Belle, born September 12, 1909.
WILLIAM B. ANDERSON. A representative of one of the old and honored families of Newton County, Mr. Anderson is well uphold- ing the prestige of the name which he bears and is one of the most substantial farmers and public spirited citizens of Jefferson Town- ship.
Ile is one of the few men now past sixty years of age who can claim Newton County as their birthplace. His birth occurred April 23, 1855, in Jefferson Township. That date itself indicates that his parents were among the very early settlers here. In fact his father came to the county when it was still a part of Jasper County. His parents were Joel and Matilda ( Montgomery) Anderson. Ilis father, a native of Kentucky, was a farmer by occupation, and came to Newton County when almost the entire country was an unsettled wilderness. He entered a quarter section of Government land and spent twenty-five years in improving and cultivating it. He died at the old home in 1876. Politically he was a democrat. Joel Anderson and his wife were married July 14, 1850, and they had a family of five children. The mother of these died in 1862, when William, who was the third in age, was seven years.
After the death of his mother William and his brother John, who is now deceased, lived in the home of Benjamin Timmons in Benton County, later with Henry Steermans, following which they were again at the old home farm, and then lived at the liome of John Roberts and with James Martin's family. After the death of his brother William B. Anderson acquired some 380 acres of land in Newton County, and has for years been successfully engaged in farming and stock raising on a large scale. Besides his property in Newton County he owned a section and a half of land in Texas, and has a substantial residence in Brook.
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His home is on the old homestead and under his direction many substantial improvements have been added, including residence, barn, outhutildlings, and a complete equipment of machinery for thor- ough and systematic farming. As a stock raiser he fancies the Hereford cattle, has some very fine Poland China hogs and keeps the better grade of horses.
In 1884 Mr. Anderson married Miss Nancy Shoaf. Into their home have been born three children: Gladys, Lola and Connie. Mr. Anderson is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Kentland, while in politics he is a republican. His public spirit has always led him to enlist his efforts and sympathies in connection with any movement for the public benefit.
CHARLES WIUITE, now living practically retired at Kentland, won his prosperity as a Newton County farmer. Hard work and perseverance had their reward in his case and he has also shown a great deal of accurate judgment in placing his investments and in handling his various affairs to a fortunate issue. He is both well and favorably known.
He is all but a native son of Newton County. His birth occurred May 15, 1856, in Hamilton County, Ohio. When he was about six months of age his parents George W. and Jane (Myers) White moved to Indiana and arrived in Newton County November 21, 1856. All this county was then sparsely settled and little developed. George White pre-empted land on soldier's claims and in that way acquired about 240 acres, all located in Jefferson Township. He was not only one of the early settlers, but also one of the ablest of those who laid the foundation for this county's great prosperity. Much of the development work over many tracts of land was per- formed by him or under his supervision. He invested in lands extensively, and at the time of his death owned an estate of some 800 acres. George WV. White was born in Ohio and died in 1906, while his wife passed away in 1903. He was active in republican politics, was a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge and people knew and respected him for his integrity of character, his public spirited endeavor and also for his material success. In his time and generation he was one of the leading stock raisers of Jefferson Township. He seldom kept less than thirty head of good horses, and also a large number of cattle and hogs.
In a family of three sons and three daughters Charles White was the oldest. Reared in Newton County in the early days, when school facilities were few and far between, he received such advan- tages as could be afforded and was well trained in the virtues of industry and straightforward living. He spent the first twenty-five years of his life at home and he then married Martha A. Pierce, whose people came from New Jersey and were also numbered among the early settlers of Newton County. Mr. and Mrs. White have four children: John D .. Edgar C., Harry H., and Flossy J. Vol. II-20
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After his marriage Mr. White began as a renter and rented land for some ten years. In the meantime he began his invest- ments and has since acquired a large amount of valuable real estate both in the country and in the town. Most of his property is in Jefferson Township, and he has also sold part of his land to his children. In 1905 he moved to Kentland, in which city he has some valuable property and in 1909 he erected a beautiful residence in the edge of town, where he and his wife now reside surrounded with every comfort and convenience. A fine orchard which he set out in 1911 is now in full bearing. Politically Mr. White is a republican.
SAMUEL A. MEANS is one of the oldest residents of Newton County, particularly of Jefferson Township. Sixty years ago he acquired his first foothold in the county. He did not make a per- manent settlement at that time, but came back and endured all the hardships and vicissitudes of pioneering. The years had their reward. His success is represented by one of the finest farms of the county and he has long since been able to pass his years in comparative case, though he still gives an active supervision to his farm.
He was born November 20, 1837, in Mifflin County, Pennsyl- vania, a son of Robert A. and Elizabeth ( McMitt) Means. His father was a native of Pennsylvania while the grandfather came from County Derry, Ireland.
The second in a family of seven children, Samuel A. Means grew up in the family household back in Pennsylvania. His father was a thrifty farmer and a member of the Presbyterian Church. Under such influences Samuel A. Means spent his boyhood and lived at home until he was twenty-eight. Under the Emergency Act in Pennsylvania he enlisted in 1863 to repel the army of invasion under General Lee and served six months in Company H of the Thirty-sixth Pennsylvania Infantry.
Mr. Means first came to Newton County in 1856. He located a tract of land in Grant Township, but soon afterwards returned to Pennsylvania, where he married Priscilla P. Laird. After returning to this country he and his wife located on the land in Grant Town- ship and lived there eight years. In that time he plowed some of the prairies which had never borne anything but the virginal fruit of the wilderness and he and his wife led the necessarily restricted and lonely career of the early settlers. It was a life of hardship sweetened with the pleasures of home and the anticipations of future years. It was an earnest and determined struggle, and Mr. Means long since had the satisfaction of seeing that his efforts were rewarded.
In his experience there has been a great increase in land values in Newton County. The land he now owns and on which he resides in Jefferson Township he bought at $8 an acre. Only recently he
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bought some adjoining land from C. C. Kent and paid for it $200. an acre. His farm now contains 200 acres and is regarded as one of the most fertile and productive tracts of agricultural land in the county. For many years grain growing has been a special industry of the Means farm.
Mr. Means and family reside in a beautiful residence which he erected in 1875. It is located about two and a half miles from Kentland, and it is well provided with all the conveniences and comforts as well as with facilities for the profitable direction of the farm. There Mr. Means is spending his declining years. Though seventy-eight, he is still hale and hearty and enjoys the esteem of a host of friends all over the county. As a young man he cast his first ballot for Abraham Lincoln for president, and since then has been a steadfast republican, although his father was an equally ardent democrat. He is a Presbyterian and has contributed liberally to church affairs.
Mrs. Means died in 1913. There were eight children : James A., now deceased; Anna K., Elizabeth B., Francis A., Bertha, J. R., Ada L., Janette T. The daughter Anna K. graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio and continued her higher studies in Berlin, Germany, and for a number of years has been a very successful teacher, having heid responsible positions in various schools in Indiana and also for a time taught at Honolulu in the Hawaiian Islands. The other children also had the advantages of a liberal education.
ASBERRY STROLE. Prominent among the agriculturists in Jeffer- son Township of Newton County who are carrying on farming operations of the most approved methods is Asberry Strole. Mr. Strole has relied upon hard work, good judgment, and abundant energy to carry him forward in the race of life. He has been prospered, has reared a family of children to do him honor, and enjoys the respect and admiration of an entire community.
A native of Virginia, he was born in that old commonwealth March 13, 1848, a son of William A. and Sarah ( Kibler ) Strole. His father was also a native of Virginia, and when Asberry was a boy came West and located first in Illinois, where he was engaged in farming for five years. The Strole family is among the pioneers in Newton County, where they established their home in 1859. William A. Strole was actively engaged in farming in Washington Township, where he owned a farm of eighty acres, and he also had a farm of 122 acres in Jefferson township. He located on the Jefferson Township farm in 1865 and lived there until his death in 1874: His widow survived him many years and passed away in 1894. William Strole was a man of great energy and was unusually successful in the raising of cattle and hogs. At the time of his death he owned 400 acres. By trade, he was a miller, an occupation he had learned when young, and a considerable part of his life was devoted to that calling.
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The second of his parents' children, Asberry Strole, secured his education from some of the early schools of Newton County. 1Ie lived in the home of his father until he was twenty-three, and then started out as a renter. In that way he laid the foundation for a larger success and has now for many years carried on independent operations on his own farm, and has secured an ample competence for all his future needs.
In March, 1876, he married Miss Jassie Robbins, a daughter of Harry Robbins. To their marriage were born four children : Grace E., Oscar J., Sarah A. and Francis L. These children all had excellent home advantages and were given ample training for their respective careers in the local schools.
JEPTHA B. STATON. The business of farming is at once one of the oldest and most honorable occupations of men. It is to that business that Jeptha B. Staton has given the best years of his life. He is still a young man and has already won what most people would regard as a competence.
On the farm where he now resides with his widowed mother, he was born in Jefferson township of Newton County, October 23, 1875. His parents were Joseph and Sarah J. (White) Staton. The father, who died twenty-two years ago, was a native of Boone County, Indiana, and was one of the pioneers of Newton County. He bought a tract of wild land there, improved it from the wilder- ness, and lived on it until the time of his death. He also made an honorable record as a soldier in the Civil war, going out with an Indiana regiment and giving a faithful service until the time of his discharge. After leaving the army he married Miss Sarah J. White. Her father, Amos White, was one of the pioneer characters of Newton County. He built the house which for many years has been a landmark and which is still occupied by a distant relative, John White. Amos White became one of the best known early stock dealers in this part of Indiana, and owned an extensive amount of farm land and other real estate. After his marriage Joseph Staton devoted his time to his farm and was noted for his success as a horse raiser. He was widely known, popular, honorable and upright, and his name is one that is still spoken with the respect it deserves in Newton County. He was an active republican, and voted that ticket from his carly years until the end. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, three of whom are still living.
Fourth in age in the family. Jeptha B. Staton has spent prac- tically all his years on the old homestead where he was born. The common schools of the county gave him an education and he learned farming by practical experience. He was about seventeen when his father died and he then took charge of the homestead and settled up the estate. His mother still holds the title to the old farm, and Mr Staton while living there and actively managing it, is also an
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individual land owner. His first purchase was eighty acres of the Littlejohn estate, and later he bought the Jacob Shiltz farm of 120 acres. With these holdings he is in a position to carry on his favorite occupation on a large scale, and is one of the prosperous men of Newton County.
Since he arrived at voting age he has been interested in politics, and is one of the leading republicans of the county. Two years ago he was defeated in the campaign for township trustee and is now a candidate for the office of county commissioner. He is a member of the Christian Church and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mr. Staton married for his first wife Miss Eva Mellwain. She died in 1906, leaving two children, Lloyd K., born February 8, 1903, and Virginia May, horn October 13, 1901. In 1913 Mr. Staton married Miss Eva J. Stocksledger, a daughter of David Stock- sledger of Iroquois Township, Newton County. Mr. and Mrs. Staton have one daughter, Janice J.
PAUL SCHVETTE. By reason of his extensive management of a splendid farming property in Iroquois Township, and by his ability as an upright and progressive citizen, Paul Schuette deserves special mention among the citizens of that part of Newton County.
This family has been actively identified with Newton County agricultural affairs more than a quarter of a century. Mr. Paul Schuette was born December 24. 1872, in La Salle County, Illinois, a son of Henry and Henrietta (Meittie) Schuette. The mother was of German ancestry. Henry Schuette was born in Germany, a son of Henry Sr., who came to America in 1865, locating in Ottawa, Illinois. Grandfather Henry subsequently moved to Mar- seilles, Illinois, where he lived until his death in 1881. Henry Schuette Jr. was for twenty-one years a resident of Ottawa, Illinois, and then came to Iroquois Township in Newton County, where he was a successful general farmer until his death in 1905. He was a member of the German Lutheran Church. Of his family of two sons and two daughters three are now living, Paul being the oldest.
Since his father's death Paul Schuette has been active manager of the family estate, comprising one of the very valuable farms of Iroquois Township located cast of Brook. The estate has not been divided, and Mr. Paul Schuette has had the chief responsibilities of the management for the past .ten years. He and his family are active members of the Lutheran Church at Goodland, and politically he is a republican, a political faith which both his father and grand- father held.
On August 1, 1910, Mr. Schuette married Miss Clara Schultz. They are people entitled to the nimost respect and have made every sacrifice in behalf of their children. They are the parents of three : Herman, born in 1911; Clarence, born in 1912, and Earl, born in 1915.
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WILLIAM S. CUNNINGHAM has been a resident of Newton County the greater part of half a century. He has been one of the live and energetic business men of this community, and his name is especially associated with the grain and coal trade. Successful in business, he has not neglected the public welfare, and is a man who can be depended upon for helpful support wherever the best interests of his home town are concerned.
HIe was born in Sheldon, Illinois, June 23, 1865, a son of Terrence and Oregon (Branible) Cunningham. His father was born in Ireland and was brought to America by the grandfather, Terrence Cunningham Sr., who located in Lafayette, Indiana, and moved from there to Logansport, which was his home until his death. Terrence Jr. first came to Kentland in Newton County in 1861, soon after the first railroad had reached that place, and he was prominently identified with the pioneer life of the village and surrounding country. His name should be closely associated with those who laid the foundations of modern prosperity therc. Further details concerning this pioneer citizen will be found on other pages of this publication. Terrence Cunningham was the father of a family of seven children, six of whom are still living.
William S. Cunningham grew up largely in Newton County, attended the public schools, and at the beginning of his business career entered the grain trade at Brook, Indiana, under the firm name of T. Cunningham & Son. That firm had a prosperous existence from 1888 to 1905, when the business was sold.
'Since 1905 Mr. Cunningham has been in business under his indi- vidual name as a wholesale and retail coal merchant of Brook.
On December 17, 1890, at Kentland he married Miss Clara Thompson, daughter of Mr. James Thompson. Mrs. Cunningham's people came to Indiana from Illinois. Fraternally Mr. Cunningham is affiliated with Brook Lodge No. 670, Free and Accepted Masons, which he has served as secretary for three years, and he also belongs to the Knights of Pythias. Politically he is an independent voter.
EDGAR STEWARD. One of the comfortable country homes of Jackson Township in Newton County, a place adding to the dis- tinctive character of prosperity and well ordered enterprise in that section, is the Steward place, now owned and occupied by Edgar Steward, who acquired it from his father, the late Sidney Steward. This is one of the oldest families in Jasper and Newton counties, having been established here long before the era of railroads. The various members did their full share in the strenuous toil of the pioneers.
It was in Jackson Township of Newton County that Mr. Edgar Steward was born February 24. 1868. His parents were Sidney and Mary ( Ham) Steward. The grandfather was William Steward. who about 1840 brought his family from Ohio and settled at Rensselaer, Jasper County. There he helped establish the early
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industrial character of the village, being engaged for five years in the manufacture of brick. Much of the product of his old kilns went into the construction of some of the earliest homes and business places of Jasper County. From Jasper County William Steward moved in 1845 to Jackson Township of Newton County, and there- after was a practical farmer until 1853, when he went to Iowa and died. lJe reared a family of three sons and two daughters.
The late Sidney Steward was twice married. His first wife, Louisa, had four sons and three daughters. In 1804 he married for his second wife Mrs. Mary ( Ham) Reid. She became the mother of two children, the older being Mr. Edgar Steward. For eight years the late Sidney Steward was a resident of Iowa, but then returned to Newton County and bought the farm of cighty acres in Jackson Township, where he lived from 1878 until his death in 1907. He was a stanch republican, for many years a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, served as supervisor of Jackson Township, and was in every way a most creditable and highly honored citizen. His wife, the mother of Edgar Steward, died in 1896.
Mr. Edgar Steward grew up on the home farm in Jackson Town- ship, gained his education by attending the local schools, and was well prepared to assume the duties and responsibilities of life by the time he came to manhood. After the death of his father he bought the old home, and now has a choice place of seventy acres given over to the growing of the staple crops of Newton County. He has also manifested a public spirited interest in local affairs, and for several years was supervisor and is now assessor of Jackson Township. In political affiliation he is a stanch republican.
W. A. HARRINGTON. For upwards of forty years W. A. Har- rington has lived in Newton County. Those have been years of productive labor, of public spirited enterprise, and few men have left a stronger impress upon their home locality than Mr. Harring- ton. He was not a wealthy man when he came to this county, and his prosperity has been the fruit of long continued work, good management, and an unselfish interest in the life and affairs of his community.
His birth occurred April 27, 1837, in Summit County, Ohio. His parents were Job and Susan ( Harper) Harrington. His father was born in Vermont, representing rugged New England ancestry, and afterwards moved out to Ohio, where he spent his years as a substantial farmer.
Next to the youngest in a family of nine children, W. A. Har- rington spent the first twenty-one years of his life under the parental roof. In that time he attended such schools as existed in his part of Ohio, learned to be honest, thrifty and industrious, and was thus well equipped for the battle of life. On leaving home he bought a farm of eighty acres in Northampton, Summit County,
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Ohio, and was engaged in its management until 1879. He was then engaged in buying and selling farms, and was also engaged in buying and selling dairy cows for fifteen years, having bought hundreds of cows every spring and sold them to castern buyers by car load lots. In 1886 he leased of Coln A. D. Straight his farm 5/2 miles northeast of Goodland, Indiana, containing 2,000 acres. They owned all stock jointly. After Mr. Straight's death Mr. Har- rington leased the farm for cash rent.
At the age of twenty-three Mr. Harrington married Miss Patty Carter, whose people were also of Summit County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Harrington lived together for fifty-four years as man and wife, shared each other's joys and sorrows, and carefully reared and trained a household of children. Mrs. Harrington died July 25, 1914. The eight children of their union were named : May, Floyd, Arthur, Ford and Forest (twins), Clyde, Maud, and Ella J., but the last named died in infancy.
Fraternally Mr. Harrington is affiliated with Goodwin Lodge No. 346, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and has passed all . the chairs in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. After coming to Newton County he bought forty acres of land, and farm that modest beginning developed into one of the leading land owners and real estate dealers in this section of Indiana. Nearly all of his transactions in the real estate field have been for himself and with his own capital. He gradually increased his holding until they amounted to 2,000 acres of land in Laporte County. He lived on this land and personally supervised its cultivation and management until his removal to Goodland, where he now resides. From Good- land he has extended his operations in the buying of land to various parts of Indiana and other states. lle has handled a large amount of city property as well as farm lands. For twelve years Mr. Harrington operated livery stables at Goodland and Wanatah, and that business may be said to have been the foundation of his successful career as a real estate dealer. He is one of the leading stock raisers of Newton County or of Northern Indiana. Mr. Harrington is that type of citizen who has done most for building up his home town of Goodland by his active support of business interests and by using his own means to benefit the locality.
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