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 37
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 37
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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
HARRY RUSHWORTH KURRIE. As president of the great Monon Railway System, Harry Rushworth Kurrie occupies a position of importance and influence. He was born at Paoli, Orange County,' Indiana, April 26, 1875, and is a son of Sebastian and Susan Eliza- beth (Walls) Kurrie. The family is of German descent. The family home was at Paoli for many years and there both parents died:
Harry R. Kurrie attended school at Paoli during boyhood and remained in his native place until he was about twenty years of age. In 1902 he became connected with the Monon Railroad as
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assistant general solicitor, and on January 1, 1910, he was appointed general attorney of the Monon System, continuing in that position until September 1, 1914, when he was elected president of the same.
Mr. Kurrie has had other important interests, is a well known member of the Jasper County bar, and from 1895 until 1903 prac- ticed law at Rensselaer, Indiana, being a member of the law firm of Foltz, Spitler & Kurrie. Although not personally connected with their operation, Mr. Kurrie owns farming lands and city. business properties.
On October 10, 1900, Mr. Kurrie was married to Miss Grace Thompson, who died without issue, February 10, 1907. Mr. Kurrie was married on December 5, 1909, to his sister-in-law, Miss Edna Thompson, and they have two sons: Harry R., who was born October 27, 1910, and Thompson, born July 14, 1913.
In politics Mr. Kurrie has always been a republican, and on that ticket he was elected city attorney of Rensselaer, but otherwise has accepted no public office. He is identified with the Masonic fra- ternity, a member of the Blue Lodge at Rensselaer.
NOAH E. SHRIVER. In the farming district of Newton County are many prosperous and progressive men who believe that the happiest life as well as the most independent is to be lived on the farm. Prominent among these is Mr. Noah E. Shriver, of Jackson Township. Mr. Shriver has spent most of his years in this section of Indiana, and is known all over Newton County as an excellent farmer and a man who can be depended upon in matters of local moment.
He was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, August 13, 1837, a son of Jacob and Dimeus (Buchanan) Shriver. His father was of Pennsylvania German stock, was born in Ohio, and in 1849 settled in Jasper County, Indiana. He was one of the first to improve and cultivate the lands of that county, and went through all the hard- ships of pioneering. He gained more than a local reputation as a successful grower of grain and livestock in that early day, and his ability and industry enabled him to accumulate a well improved estate of 360 acres. He died in 1866. He was an active member of the Baptist Church, and a citizen whose name was always spoken with the respect which his life had well deserved. Of his nine children, four are now living.
Noah E. Shriver was reared partly in Ohio and partly in Jasper County, Indiana; gained an education in the local schools, and at the age of twenty-six was attracted to the far west and the adven- tures and excitement of the mining fields. He went to Montana in 1864, with an ox team, the trip having been of four months duration. He was engaged in gold mining in that state for 21/2 years. From there he returned to Newton County, Indiana, going down the Yellowstone River and the Missouri River in flat boats to Omaha.
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He subsequently bought the interests of the other heirs in the old homestead. He and another brother are still living there, and they have made it one of the best farms in Jackson Township. Mr. Noah Shriver has also acquired 200 acres of land of his own, and has introduced improvements and methods of cultivation which rank this as one of the fine country estates in Newton County.
July 14, 1867, Mr. Shriver married Miss Ellen B. Bonestecl. They are the parents of two children, Charles and Lewis. Charles Shriver is an agriculturist and stockman, and resides with his father. IIe is a democrat and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Lewis Shriver is also a substantial farmer. He wedded Minnie Romine and they have three children, two daughters and one son, Ruth, Esther and Paul. Mr. Lewis Shriver is a democrat, and he and his wife are Methodists. Their home is in Jackson Township.
Mr. Shriver is a staunch member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and has been a class leader forty-four years at the North Star Church. He is a Jeffersonian democrat, and cast his first vote for Stephen A. Douglas. lie has purchased 520 acres in Newton County and now, after dividing with his sons, he has about 200 acres. Their estate is known as "High View Stock Farm." Mr. Shriver held the office of township assessor of Jackson Township for five years.
THOMAS LACY DAVIS. Few among the business citizens of Newton County have won more deserved success than that which has rewarded the earnest and well directed efforts of Thomas L. Davis of Brook. Mr. Davis has had a varied and active career, not only in this section of Northwestern Indiana but in other states. He has been known as a farmer, a merchant, a real estate dealer, and is now one of the proprietors of a splendidly, equipped garage and automobile repair industry at Brook.
He was born August 4, 1867, in Hamilton County, Indiana, a son of Eleby and Mary (Pool) Davis. His father, who was a native of North Carolina, came to Indiana in 1856 with a family of two children. He first located at Fortville in Hancock County, afterwards moved to Laclede County, Missouri, returned to Hamil- ton County in 1860, and after a residence there of a number of years moved in 1873 to Clinton County .: In 1897 he took up his residence in Terhune, Boone County, Indiana, where he lived until his death in 1901. He was a man of fine character, active in com- munity affairs, and a devout member of the Quaker Church, doing all he could to support religious activities in the various com- munities where he lived. He was the father of a family of five sons and three daughters. Four of his sons and two of his daughters are still living.
Next to the youngest in the family, T. L. Davis grew up on his father's farm, and had a common school education. Ile first came to Newton County in 1884. For four years he was employed .
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as a laborer on a farm. He then determined to establish a home of his own, and on December 20, 1888, married Miss Marietta Moffett. To their marriage were born four children. Two are still living : Ruby E. and Malcolm W. Ruby E. graduated from the Brook High School with the class of 1908 and entered the Chicago Musical Institute where she spent one year and took dramatic art. She wedded D. P. Dickinson, and they are in the dramatic business. Malcolm W. completed the public school course and is now a mem- ber of the class of 1917 of the Brook High School. These chil- dren have received the best advantages at home and in the local schools and Mr. and Mrs. Davis are people who do the best for their own children and lend their helpfulness to neighbors and the community at large.
In 1893 Mr. Davis moved from Newton County to Northwestern lowa where he was a resident until 1897. Returning to Newton County he bought a farm, but in 1903 moved to Momence, Illinois, and for a year was a merchant. In 190.4 he bought his present home in Brook, Indiana, and was actively engaged in the real estate busi- ness until 1908. In that year he turned his attention to the auto- mobile business. In February, 1913, he formed a partnership with Howard Myers under the firm name of Davis & Myers. They operate one of the largest garages in Northwestern Indiana. For the accommodation of their business they erected a brick building 60 by 100 feet, large enough to furnish storage for fifty automobiles, and they also have a repair shop with competent mechanics in charge and a large share of the automobile repairing in this section of the state is done in their quarters. They carry a full line of automobile accessories and they have succeeded in making the word service mean something in their business. Mr. Davis is actively affiliated with Brook Lodge No. 670, Free and Accepted Masons, and also with the Knights of Pythias Castle Hall No. 77, at Brook, Indiana, and the Modern Woodmen of America, Camp No. 538, at Laurens, łowa.
MARTIN G. BARKER. That farming can be conducted as a suc- cessful business in the same class as a store or factory needs no other proof than a visit to the farm of Martin G. Barker in Jackson Township of Newton County. He has a number of acres under cul- tivation, a group of well arranged, substantially built house and farm buildings which are the chief point of attractions to the visitor, and on every hand are evidences of good management and efficiency.
Not only has he succeeded as a farmer, but also in those other accomplishments of which success in life is measured. Though he comes of a family that has been identified with this section of Indiana since pioneer times, Mr. Barker was born in Nebraska, January 15, 1869. His parents were John and Josephine ( Matson ) Barker, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Maryland. The Barker family originally came from England. His grandfather,
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Thomas R. Barker, came to Indiana in the early days and located along the banks of the Tippecanoe River in White County. He was a farmer and cattle trader. Later he moved to Jackson Township in Newton County, and lived there until his death, being known as a successful farmer and an upright citizen. It was in Newton County that John Banker was born. He was a soldier of the great war between the states, enlisting at the beginning, and being in service until the close of hostilities. After the war he returned home and took up farming, married, and moved out to Nebraska, where he engaged in farming.
Martin G. Barker was the eldest of three children, two now living. When he was four years of age his father died, and after that he lived with his grandmother in Nebraska for some years, and finally returned to Newton County, where he spent ten years as a farm laborer and three years as a renter. He then went to live on his grandfather's farm in Jackson Township. This place comprised 140 acres, and it has been under the active proprietorship of Mr. Barker for a number of years.
On January 2, 1902, he married Miss Aletha Deardurff, a daugh- ter of George Deardurff, who was one of the early settlers of Newton County. Mr. and Mrs. Barker are the parents of two children : Orphia and Bertha.
As to political affiliations Mr. Barker has always been a demo- crat, and his sterling qualities of character and absolute rectitude have been recognized by his promotion to various positions of trust and responsibility. For seven years he served as supervisor of Jackson Township, was township assessor four years, and on Jan- uary 1, 1916, retired from the faithful administration of the office of county commissioner.
MRS. ELLA HUNTINGTON of Mount Ayr in Newton County is one of the gracious personalities in that social community, and has spent the greater part of her life in this section of Indiana. She is the mother of a splendid household of children, presides with dignity over her home, and is widely known for her generosity and help- fulness.
She was born in Grant County, Indiana, September 10, 1859, but when a small girl was brought to Newton County by her parents Mr. and Mrs. George Broderick. That was some time in the fifties, and the Brodericks were among the pioneers of Iroquois Township, where they developed some of the land from a wilderness condition. After about five years her father removed to Arkansas, in which state he died. Her mother passed away not long afterwards, and Mrs. Huntington was left a child and was reared and brought up in the home of Mr. Deardurff at East Park in Benton County, Indiana.
She gained her education in the local schools and remained in the Deardurff home until June 30, 1880, when she married Mr.
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Franklin Pierce Huntington. Into their home have come the fol- lowing children : Abner P., Earnest F., Heury J., Chauncey A., Martha F., Edwin B., Florence L., Adam E., and Ira L. The younger of these children are still attending school, and all of them have been given the best possible advantages both at home and in institutions of learning. Earnest F. graduated from the Danville Normal School, and Abner P. took the scientific and classical course in Valparaiso University.
After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Huntington in Benton County, Indiana, they lived on a farin there twenty-two years, Mr. Huntington having bought 320 acres north of Earl Park. From Earl Park they moved to Gilbow Township and purchased 400 acres of land and resided there four years. In 1906 they came to Jackson Township and they now have 518 acres of land, 318 acres in Jasper and Newton counties and 200 acres in Michigan. They have a beautiful home and it is the abode of hospitality and good cheer. Mrs. Huntington is a member of the Presbyterian Church as are also some of her children, and she is a member of the Mutual Service Club. Their home is known as "Pleasant View."
KING J. CHAMBERLAIN of Jackson Township has surrounded himself with all the evidences of prosperity and enterprise as a farmer and stockman. Ife is the owner of 346 acres of land, all of it under improvement, and has for years been a successful raiser and breeder of Hereford cattle and keeps about thirty head of those fine animals. He also keeps other stock, and he is one of the indi- vidual shippers to the markets from this county.
Mr. Chamberlain was born April 25. 1867, in Will County, Illi- nois, a son of William and Jane (Shutlar) Chamberlain. His father, who was born in England, came to America sixty-seven years ago. He had saved money to come to the United States, as had also a young friend of his, and in company with a third young man, they pooled their money and started on their journey. On arriving at New Buffalo they had but 25 cents altogether, and to add to their troubles they were shipwrecked off the coast of Ireland and there delayed one month and four days. Locating in Kendall County, Illinois, William Chamberlain was a farmer there, spend- ing the first eight years as a farm laborer. He rented land, and afterwards bought a farm of eighty acres in Will County, on which he lived until his removal to Newton County twenty-nine years ago. He died in Newton County in 1902. He was a very successful farmer, and at the time of his death owned 300 acres of well improved Newton County soil. His revenues came from the raising of grain and he also established a nucleus of a herd of Hereford cattle, and did much to popularize that stock in this county. His wife died one year after his death. The father was a Presbyterian until he removed to Indiana, and afterwards he and
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his wife were active members of the Methodist Church. Politically he was a republican.
King J. Chamberlain was one of two children. He grew up on a farmi, learned the business of farming under his father, and after his father's death took the active management of the home place. On May 27, 1894, he married Miss Emma Grish and they are the parents of the following children : Jennie L., Jessie L .. John W., Percy L., Henrietta, Susie and Ruby. Jennie graduated from high school in 1912 and Jessie from the high school at Brook in 1913. The family are members of the United Brethren Church at Brook, Indiana. Their homestead is known as the Maple Brook Stock Farm.
LEWIS KENOYER. Success consists in a steady betterment of one's material conditions and an increase of one's ability to render service to others. Measured by this standard, one of the exception- ally successful men of Newton County is Lewis Kenoyer, proprietor of a very large stock and grain farm in Jefferson Township and a sturdy, upright and vigorous citizen who has never failed to perform his duty in all the varied relations of his career.
That his family was among the very first settlers of this section of Indiana is indicated by the fact that Mr. Kenoyer was born in Newton County January 4, 1850. His parents were Reuben and Sarah Ann ( Timmons) Kenoyer. His father, a native of Pennsyl- vania, came West. in the early '4os and was one of the first to locate in the country north of Kentland in Jefferson Township. He had just begun to prosper as a farmer there when death took him away at the age of twenty-seven. He left a family of three children, all of whom are still living. Reuben Kenoyer was not only a farmer but also a minister of the Christian or Campbellite Church. He was exceedingly devout and pious and a man of most upright principles and character.
Lewis Kenoyer grew up in Newton County, had the advantages of some of the pioneer schools, and has found ample employment for his energies in farming. He now owns 588 acres of land, and his specialty as a stockman is hogs and cattle. Ilis farm is thor- oughly equipped with all appliances and machinery necessary for systematic and efficient management. The home is in the extreme northwest corner of Jefferson Township.
Mr. Kenoyer has never neglected the public welfare even at the expense of some personal inconvenience. For several years he served as township supervisor, and in politics is an active republican.
He has been twice married. His first wife was Melissa West, and the two children of that marriage are Frank R. and Frederick. Their mother died three years after her marriage, and Mr. Kenoyer married for his present wife Miss Alissa Webber, who was born in Miami County, Indiana, October 10, 1864, the second of the seven children, three sons and four daughters, of George R. and Amanda
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Jane (Long) Webber. Five of these children are living and reside in Indiana. Mr. Webber, the father, was a native of Pennsylvania, received his educational training in its schools and became a brick and stone mason. He served as a valiant soklier during the Civil war, and he now resides in Morocco. Mrs. Webber was born in Kosciusko County, Indiana. Her death occurred in about the year 1911, and she lies buried in Morocco. Into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kenoyer have been born six children : Cleo, Delbert, Vernissa, Otha. Dorothy and Doris, the last two being twins. Cleo is the wife of Merble Chapman, and their home is in Morocco. Their two children are Estil Otho and Lewis Monroe. The son Delbert is a graduate with the class of 1910 of the Kentland High School. He married Miss Maude Cross, and is engaged in farming. Otha graduated from the grades and will enter the high school at Kent- land. Mr. Kenoyer has taken special pains with the rearing and training of his children, and has given them all such education as they require for life's purposes. Mr. and Mrs. Kenoyer and their children are members of the United Brethren Church, known as Mount Zion Church. The homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Kenoyer is known as Pleasant View Stock Farm.
NEELY WILSON. The Wilson family has been one of special prominence in Brook and other sections of Newton County for many years. In fact a large part of the present City of Brook was originally owned as farm land by the Wilson family. Mr. Neely Wilson has made a successful record not only as a farmer but as a business man, and is now in the real estate and insurance business at Brook.
He was born October 15, 1868, in Kosciusko County, Indiana, a son of Samuel and Marilla (Neely ) Wilson. His father, who was a native of Ohio, came to Indiana and lived in Kosciusko County several years, and then in 1879 brought his family, consisting of his wife and nine children, to Newton County. In this county he bought a farm of 160 acres in Iroquois Township and also 40 acres within the present corporation limits of Brook. Thereafter he made his home at Brook and lived in a house occupying the site of the pres- ent postoffice. He was born in 1826 and died in 1893, while his wife was born in 1838 and died in 1911. Samuel Wilson was a farmer most of his life, but from the time he came to Brook was very closely identified with its growth and upbuilding. He laid out and platted into streets the northern part of the present city, and did a great deal to keep up the standards of improvement in his part of the town as well as liberally supporting everything that would make Brook a comfortable home town. He was an active republican and a member of the Masonic order.
Neely Wilson is one of ten children, all of whom are still living. The sixth in order of birth, he grew up partly on his father's farm and partly in the home of his parents at Brook, and received his
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education in the local schools. On June 10, 1890, at Brook hc married Miss Cora Soul of Kankakce, Illinois. She died in 1901. Several years later he married Miss Elizabeth Gunyan of Goodland, Indiana. The two children of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are La Verne and Florence Josephine. La Verne Wilson finished the public schools and spent three years in the Brook High School. He then took the full business course at the La Fayette Business College, La Fayette, Indiana, and is now associated with his father in business. Mr. Wilson is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias of Brook, Indiana. Castle Tall No. 277. Politically he is a republican. As a young man he started his career as a farmer, and followed that occupation successfully until he moved to Brook in 1904 and has since been one of the reliable men in that community handling real estate, fire insurance and farm loans.
LAWRENCE E. LYONs, a son of John B. Lyons, whose record as one of the foremost business nien and citizens of Newton County is given on other pages, has proved himself worthy of the name which he bears and for many years has been a successful farmer and business man of this county.
He was born February 7, 1869, on a farm near Brook, was reared in a home of substantial comforts, acquired a good educa- tion, and for a number of years turned his attention to farming. After the death of Mr. Haynes, who had been manager of Brook Terra Cotta Manufacturing Company, Lawrence E. Lyons suc- ceeded to that office, and has given his chief attention ever since 10 the making of this one of the prominent industries of Newton County. The company manufactures all kinds of Terra Cotta tiling and brick, and as the product is of the highest class it finds a ready market all over the country.
On December 9, 1903, Mr. Lyons was married in Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana, to Miss Katherine Robertson, who was born in Monroe County, Indiana, November 23, 1877, a daughter of James and Rachel ( Prather) Robertson, both of whom are now deceased. Of their children three sons and two daughters are yet living. Mrs. Lyons is a member of the Christian Church in'Brook, and is a member of many of the religious and social organizations of her home town. Mr. and Mrs. Lyons have one child, Lawrence, Jr., who was born October 14, 1906, and he is in the fourth grade of the public schools of Brook.
Mr. Lyons has served four years as a member of the Brook School Board, is a member of the Republican State Central Com- mittee, Tenth District, and is affiliated with Brook Lodge No. 670, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, with Castle Hall 277. Knights of Pythias, at Brook, Indiana, and the Columbia Club of Indianap- olis. He is public spirited as is his honored father, and has always been found ready to do his part in advancing the welfare of his home village and county.
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SAMUEL G. KINDIG. A student of progressive methods in agri- culture would find abundance of illustrative material in Jefferson Township of Newton County. Some of the finest farms in North- western Indiana are to be found in that locality, and that also means. that some of the ablest exponents of the art of agriculture also arc to be found there.
One of these men who have been specially successful in trans- mitting the resources of the soil into material benefit for mankind is Samuel G. Kindig. Mr. Kindig is a practical farmer of wide and successful experience. He knows stock and stock farming equally well.
Ilis home has been in Newton County for more than a quarter of a century. Ile was born February 6, 1866, in Adams County, Pennsylvania, a son of John and Susan (Baschoar) Kindig. His father died in Adams County, Pennsylvania, twenty-two years ago and his mother passed away in 1878.
Tenth in a family of thirteen children, five of whom are still living, Samuel G. Kindig grew up in his native state, and had such education as the common schools could supply. On going west he first located in Illinois, remained there a year, and in 1889 arrived in Jefferson Township of Newton County. For the next three years he worked as a farm laborer at wages of $16 a month. He showed industry and great capacity for the tasks assigned him and even at that time was recognized as a coming man.
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