USA > Indiana > Kosciusko County > A standard history of Kosciusko County, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development. A chronicle of the people with family lineage and memoirs, Volume II > Part 14
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
WILLIAM W. REED. Any city is fortunate that can claim among its assets such loyalty and progressive action as William W. Reed has given to Warsaw. Those best acquainted with his work and influence say that he has had as much to do with the prosperity of the city dnr- ing the past decade as any other one individual. In his business he may be said to occupy a key position of influence, and during the twenty-five years he has lived in Warsaw he has been continuously engaged in the hotel business and has made the house over which he presides a hotel of accommodations consistent and in keeping with the spirit of uplift and progress in the city. While he is widely known as one of the successful hotel managers of Indiana, his surplus energy has been devoted to many other enterprises, particularly to the solid welfare and advancement of Warsaw.
Born at Mansfield, Ohio. July 8. 1861, he is one of the children born to the marriage of William Wallace and Mary Ann (Bale) Reed. Two years after his birth his mother died, and by a subsequent mar -. riage to Jennie Butler his father had two other children. William Wallace Reed, Sr., was also in his time a popular landlord. He con- dneted a hotel at Mansfield, Ohio, and moving from there to Fort Wayne, Indiana, operated the old Mayer House until his death in 1880.
William W. Reed was nineteen years of age when his father died. In the meantime he had attended the grammar and high schools of his native city, and under the direction of his father had gained an exact knowledge and practice of the fundamental principles of con- ducting a first class hotel. After the death of his father he went to live with his paternal grandmother, Mrs. Permelia Reed, at Mansfield. Then in October, 1881, with his stepmother, he came to Warsaw and for two years operated the old Kirtley House, which stood on the site now occupied by the interurban railway station. Then for the follow- ing two years he conducted the Robinson House in Fort Wayne and for succeeding years was clerk in the Burnett House at Toledo, and for two years was chief clerk in the Wayne Hotel at Fort Wayne.
Mr. Reed became a permanent resident of Warsaw in 1890, in which year he leased the property and bought the furniture of the Hayes Hotel. He has been in command of this well known hostelry ever since. He has made it not only a place of public entertainment but a business enterprise that has properly rewarded his constant planning and outlay of energy. A number of years ago he bought
492
IIISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
the property outright, remodeled the hotel building, so as to give it accommodations and facilities up to the highest standard of a modern hotel, put on an annex, and also acquired a private residence property adjoining.
That civic and public spirited work for which Mr. Reed will be longest remembered in Warsaw came from his realization, early in his stay here, that Warsaw was a town practically stagnant and mak- ing no effort whatever to realize the magnificent opportunities which properly belong to its situation. It was largely through his initiative that the present Chamber of Commerce was organized, and through that very capable and enthusiastic body many factories were induced to locate in Warsaw and the city soon took on an unwonted air of vitality and progress. The industrial development was followed by municipal improvements, and Warsaw can now make just claims to association with the best towns of the state. Mr. Reed has been a director of the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce since its creation.
He has also acquired some extensive business interests. He is a stockholder in the Warsaw Overall Company, a director in the Warsaw Investment Company, and the Warsaw Building, Loan & Investment Association, and is president of the Cox-Kline Company, a local in- dustry for the manufacture of leather waterproof dressing. In poli- ties he is a republican, and has fraternal associations with the Masons and the Elks. On April 3, 1883. Mr. Reed married Miss Lillian C. Caldwell, of Warsaw. Their only daughter, Bettie, is the wife of Dr. C. C. DuBois.
LEANDER GARBER, member of an old, solid and respected family of Kosciusko County, has made his years of usefulness and service through his work as a farmer. He has one of the good farms of Tippe- canoe Township, located a mile and a half southeast of North Webster on rural route No. 1 out of Leesburg.
Mr. Garber was born in Tippecanoe Township September 2, 1875, and is a son of Samuel and Polly (White) Garber. His father was one of the early settlers and lived on his farm a mile and a half southeast of North Webster until his death. The mother was a member of the Christian Church. In the family were eleven children: Daniel M., of Tippecanoe Township; Mary, wife of Milo Strombeck, of North Webster ; Jefferson, of North Webster ; Albert, president of the Farm- ers Bank of North Webster; Clementine, wife of Meade Humble, of Washington Township; Comodore, of Washington Township; Emma, wife of Silas Cook; Jacob, of Huntington, Indiana; Barbara, wife of Charles Gandy, of the vicinity of Noblesville; Leander; and John, of Tippecanoe Township.
Leander Garber grew up on the old farm, and had a common school education. At the age of thirteen he went to live with his sister, Mrs. Strombeck, and was in her home until he reached his majority.
In 1898 Mr. Garber married Rosa Twarts. Mrs. Garber was born in Noble County, Indiana. Three children have been born to their marriage, two of whom are living: Eva Helen and Louis. Their son Ray died at the age of seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Garber are active
493
HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
members of the Christian Church and in politics he is a republican. His well cultivated and improved farm comprises eighty acres and to it he is giving the best of his energies and ability as one of the pro- dneers of this county.
HENRY KOLBERG. It is a long and hard climb to prosperity in farming by the avenue of renting land from others, and it requires a man of great industry, persistence and determined purpose to con- quer in that direction. One of the men in Koseinsko County who are now most prosperousły situated and won snecess primarily as a renter is Henry Kolberg. whose present home farm is in section 21 of Turkey Creek Township, four miles southeast of Syracuse.
Mr. Kolberg was born in Germany November 3, 1854. He attended the common schools of his native country to the age of fourteen, and at the age of twenty eame to the United States. He was a poor hoy, had no knowledge of English language or American customs. and had to struggle along as best he could for several years. In Kosciusko County he went to work on a farm and on September 13, 1877. gained one of the prizes of life when he married Mary E. Hamman. She was born in Turkey Creek Township and was educated in the common schools.
Mr. and Mrs. Kolberg were farm renters for twenty years. and while maintaining their home in comfort and rearing their children they also gradually accumulated a fund which in 1899 he used to purchase eighty aeres of land included in the present home farm. Mr. Kolberg now owns 160 acres, devoted to general farming and stock raising, and all this generous property he has made through his industry and the loyal cooperation of his good wife.
Mr. and Mrs. Kolberg have two children and three grandchildren. The daughter, Ann Eliza, married Elisha Hesh and lives at Goshen, Indiana. The son, Arthur C., married Violet Prentiss, and they are farmers in Turkey Creek Township. The family are members of the Brethren Church, of which Mr. Kolberg is a trustee. He is also con- cerned in the community affairs of his locality and is a member of the township advisory board. Politically he votes as a democrat.
C. C. DUKES. present trustee of Wavne Township, is a citizen of Warsaw whose services as a licensed embalmer and undertaker have been widely appreciated. and is one of the men looked upon for lead- ership and influence in all local affairs.
He was born on a farm near Peru. Indiana, November 27, 1879, son of Mitchell M. and Mary (Case) Dukes. His great-great-grand- father was a native of Scotland. His grandfather, Stephen Dukes. was born in Maryland and came west and settled near Richmond in Wayne County, Indiana, where he married Miss MeKim, and some years later, in 1861, moved to Miami County, Indiana, where he spent the rest of his life and died in 1881. Mitchell Dukes was a boy when taken to Miami County, grew up there and married and lived on his farm and followed farming actively until the spring of 1898. Since then he has lived somewhat retired in the Village of Denver. He and
494
HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and he is a republican. Mitchell M. Dukes and wife had six children, including : L. E. Dukes, of Denver, Indiana; Acel, of Denver; Myrtle, wife of Noble Hunt, cashier of the Denver Bank; Bertha, wife of N. Bohen, of Miami County.
C. C. Dukes grew up on his father's farm in Miami County, at- tended the district schools there and two terms in high school. At the age of nineteen he gained his first experience in the undertaking business at Peru, working there 31/2 years, and also eighteen months at Plymouth, Indiana. In February, 1903, Mr. Dukes moved to Warsaw and has since been in business on his own account and is looked upon as a man of thorough qualifications and with all the facilities and equipment for his business.
He married Miss Cora Smith, of Fulton County, Indiana, but a native of Wabash County. They have two children: Juanita, born in December, 1903; and Mary, born in January, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Dukes are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is affili- ated with the Knights of Pythias, Improved Order of Red Men and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Politically his affiliation has always been as a republican. Mr. Dukes was appointed trustee of Wayne Township in February, 1916, to fill out an nnexpired term, and in 1918 was nominated for a second term.
ITASCA J. SHARP has for a number of years been identified with the farming community of Van Buren Township, and is busily engaged in cultivating the land of his home a mile south of Milford.
He was born near Mansfield, Ohio, November 13, 1873, a son of George W. and Elizabeth (Heist) Sharp. His father was born April 5, 1850, and his mother January 24, 1843. They married in Ohio, were farmers in that state, and about 1875 settled in Van Buren Township of Kosciusko County. A year later George Sharp returned to Pennsylvania, but spent his last years in Kosciusko County, where he died May 1, 1903. He was a democrat in politics. In the family were two children, I. J. Sharp and Pearl. The latter is now the wife of John W. Homan and lives at Milford.
Itasca J. Sharp grew up on a farm and had a district school edu- cation. He has always lived at home with his parents and has never married. At present he lives with his widowed mother and has a farm of forty acres.
Mr. Sharp is affiliated with Milford Lodge No. 478, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is a past grand and member of the grand lodge. He is also past chief patriarch of Milford Encampment No. 242 .and a member of the grand encampment. Mr. Sharp is a democrat in politics and is now serving as supervisor of roads in his district.
STEPHEN FREEMAN. With one of the finest lakes in northern Indi- ana within its boundaries, Kosciusko County has long enjoyed the benefits of one of the leading summer resorts of the state. This lake and its tourist population present some unusual opportunities to men
495
HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
of enterprise, and one of those who have been attracted here as perma- nent settlers and not only home makers but providers of the supplies and facilities required by the situation is Mr. Stephen Freeman, pro- prietor of the Sunbeam Farm and of Truesdell Lodge on Lake Wa- wasee.
Mr. Freeman is a veteran of the business of paper manufacture, was identified with paper mills in his native New England and was formerly superintendent of a paper coating factory at Wabash, Indi- ana. He was born at Montpelier, Vermont, January 12, 1870, son of Stephen and Emma (Leslie) Freeman. His father was born in Barre, Vermont, in 1820, and his mother on May 7, 1836. She is still living in Vermont at the age of eighty-two. They had only two children, Stephen and Mary. Mary is a graduate of the Montpelier High School, spent two years in Wellesley College and is now the wife of Moses French of Solon, Maine.
Traditions of a good education were inherent in the family and Mr. Stephen Freeman is a man of college and university training. He attended the public schools of Vermont, graduating from high school there, and in 1894 received the bachelor of science degree from the University of Vermont. He specialized in chemistry, and his pro- ficiency in that line soon brought him into connections with the paper making industry at Nashua, New Hampshire. He especially had to do with the coating of paper, and was in that department of one firm in New Hampshire for four years. In 1901 Mr. Freeman came to Wabash, Indiana, was foreman in the factory coating room and later became coating mill superintendent. He held the position of superin- tendent about three years.
On December 26, 1902, at Wabash, Mr. Freeman married Josephine Walter. She was born at North Manchester, Indiana, grad- uated from high school at Wabash and also attended Lake Erie Semi- nary at Painesville, Ohio. For several years she was a teacher in the public schools. In 1907 Mr. and Mrs. Freeman moved to Pied- mont, West Virginia, and he was identified there with the West Vir- ginia Pulp and Paper Company until June, 1911. At that date he came to the beautiful Lake Wawasee, and has here developed an attractive summer home and a productive poultry and fruit estate of sixteen acres. He is a member of Hannah Lodge No. 61, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and in polities is a republican. At present writing he is nominee for trustee of Turkey Creek Township.
Mr. and Mrs. Freeman have a happy family of five children : Stephen, Jr. born January 7, 1904; Lucy, born December 23, 1905 : Margaret, born August 15, 1908 : Joseph W., born March 28, 1915, and James B., born December 9, 1916.
LANTA W. FORD, M. D. While a large number of families in and around Syracuse count upon the professional services of Dr. Ford for all their requirements in medicine and surgery, this profession is not the sole interest of this very capable physician and surgeon. Dr. Ford comes of a race of farmers, and with all the demands made Vol. II-8
496
HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
upon his time and energy by his regular calling he is owner of two very fine farms in Wayne and Seward townships.
There are few names that have been longer identified with the his- tory of Kosciusko County than that of this family. Eighty years ago his grandfather was struggling with the vicissitudes of pioneer condi- tions in Wayne Township, and from that day to this the Fords have pulled more than their own weight in agricultural and community affairs.
The history of the family begins when two Ford brothers came from England and one settled in New York and the other in Virginia. The Kosciusko County family is descended from the Virginia settler. A son of this colonist was George Ford, who was one of four brothers to help the colonies in their struggle for independence during the Revolution.
A son of the Revolutionary patriot was the founder of the family in Kosciusko County, Henry Ford by name, who was born in Virginia April 21, 1798. He grew up in his native state and on June 20, 1822, married Miss Phoebe Minear, who was born November 3, 1802, in Harrison County in what is now West Virginia. She was of English and German descent, daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Minear.
It was in the summer of 1836 that Henry Ford brought his family to Kosciusko County. His first location was on the southeast quarter of section 35 in Wayne Township, and his nearest neighbors of white people were three miles away. In the course of time several other families, mostly from New England, came to the same community,
and because of their origin the road upon which they lived was called Yankee Street. Henry Ford paid $1.25 an acre for a quarter section of land and was its first claimant from the Government. American families who live under the most stringent conditions of war regula- tions are luxuriously provided compared with the simplicity which marked the home life and the food and clothing of such early day families as that of Henry Ford. To his other burdens was added that of illness from fever and ague then so prevalent in Kosciusko County, and at one time he was the only member of the household able to be up and at work. But he had the qualities which enable men to live and prosper even under such conditions, and he spent his last years in comfort and took undoubted satisfaction in the remarkably capable family that grew up about him. In 1858 Henry Ford moved to section 13 of Wayne Township and lived on the farm he developed there until his death September 10, 1872. His widow passed away September 4, 1875. He served as a justice of the peace in his com- munity a number of years, and he and his wife were active pioneer members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In politics he was a democrat. Henry Ford and wife had eleven children: Lanta, Frank- lin, Elizabeth, John, Isaac, Noah. Eliza, Jacob, Shadrach, Callendar and Daniel. Of this family seven sons and daughters taught school, one of them had a classical education and three of the sons read and practiced medicine.
Daniel Ford, a son of Henry and father of Dr. Lanta W. Ford,
497
HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
was born in Wayne Township September 19, 1841. He was educated in local schools, in the Warsaw High School, and studied medicine in the University of Michigan. However, he practiced only a few years, the sustaining business interests of his life being as a farmer and stockman. He also taught a number of winter terms of school in this and in Fulton counties. He acquired a large farm of 400 acres south- west of Warsaw and was one of the citizens who could be depended upon for any progressive movement in that locality. He was a demo- erat and with his wife an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. January 1, 1873, Daniel Ford married Miss Harriet Weirick. She was born in Richland County, Ohio, August 29, 1853, and was a child when brought to Kosciusko County by her parents, Jacob and Margaret Weiriek. Daniel Ford and wife had two children: Lanta W. and Rosella. The daughter was born April 28, 1876, was educated in the public schools of Warsaw and DePauw University.
Lanta W. Ford was born on the old home farm in Wayne Township November 3, 1874. His boyhood days were spent as a farmer but his parents gave him the best of advantages in school. He attended the Warsaw High School and in 1901 graduated from the Indiana Uni- versity School of Medicine with the degree of M. D. In the fall of the same year he opened his office at Syracuse, and for over seventeen years has steadily attended to the needs of a growing practice. He is a member in good standing of the County and State Medical societies and is one of the talented professional men of the county. Dr. Ford is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Warsaw and is affiliated with Syracuse Camp of the Modern Woodmen of America and Kosciusko Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Po- litically he follows the family tradition as a democrat.
As a farmer Dr. Ford specializes in the breeding and raising of high grade livestock. He is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and of Belgian horses.
OSCAR ALFRED HARDING, a teacher and farmer, was born in Cork, Ireland, April 9, 1858. He was a son of Thomas and Mary (Lester) Harding, both of whom were born in Cork, Ireland, although his father was of English descent. The father was born September 24, 1823, the mother February 8, 1828. They were united in marriage June 14, 1846, both being devoted members of the Episcopal Church. To them were born five children who lived to maturity: George, Oscar, Robert, Minnie and Letitia. The mother died at Sturgis, Michi- gan, November 14, 1908, and the father, near Oregon City, Oregon, where he made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Letitia Allen, Decem- ber 28, 1912, being in his ninetieth year.
The subject of this sketch came to America in the spring of 1862 with his mother and youngest brother, sailing from Queenstown and landing in New York, his father and oldest brother (George) having come the year before. They located in Sturgis, Michigan. Oscar attended the Episcopal Parish School at Cork, Ireland, until he was nine years old and later attended the public school at Sturgis. IIe
498
HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
finished his education at Hillsdale College, Michigan. For nineteen years he followed the teaching profession, teaching his first school in Noble County, Indiana, and later coming to Kosciusko County, where he met and on September 2. 1884, married Miss Emeline Weirick.
Mrs. Harding is a daughter of Jacob and Margaret (Smith) Wei- rick. She was educated in the public school, attended St. Michael's Academy, Plymouth, Indiana, also the Valparaiso Normal and later she was among the ranks of educators for twelve years. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Harding located on the farm where they now live, and where he continued teaching along with farming several years.
They have one daughter, Mary Alice, born August 9, 1886. She had her preliminary education at Mentone, later graduated from the Warsaw High School and in 1908 received her A. B. degree from DePauw University. Mary A. Harding married Stanley Stephenson Boggs. They have one child. Stanley H. Boggs. Mr. Boggs is a grad- nate of the Warsaw High School, spent two years in the civil engi- neering department of Purdue University and was then employed for six years as resident and locating engineer on the Frisco Railroad in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. He is now the nominee on the republican ticket for the office of county surveyor.
All the family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Harding is a teacher of the Bible class. He is affiliated with Mentone Lodge No. 567, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, being a past master. His son-in-law, S. S. Boggs, is also a Mason.
JOSHUA ZIMMERMAN. Several of the most extensive farmers in Koscinsko County are comparative newcomers and came here from the rich and productive agricultural state of Illinois. One of them is Joshua Zimmerman, a large land owner and successful farmer in Van Buren Township. His large farm is two miles south of Milford.
Mr. Zimmerman was born in Woodford County, Illinois, April 13, 1864, a son of Michael and Kathryn (Naffzinger) Zimmerman.
Michael Zimmerman was born in Baden, Germany, September 19, 1820, a son of Andrew and Annie (Miller) Zimmerman, of Germany. He immigrated to America in 1839, with his father and family of five children, was thirty-one days on the sea and settled in Butler County, Ohio, where his father died. In 1848 Michael Zimmermau left Ohio and came to Illinois and settled in Tazwell County and later in Wood- ford County. He first purchased 100 acres of land and later owned 330 acres of fine farming ground. He married Miss Kathryn Naff- zinger, born on the Atlantic Ocean July 9, 1826. They were married in 1845, and raised a family of nine children. Mr. Zimmerman died February 7, 1913, at the age of ninety-two years, four months, eleven days. His wife still lives (July 3, 1918), and has sixty-seven grand- children and seventy-three great-grandchildren.
Michael Zimmerman served as an elder in the Apostolic Christian Church. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman are: Anna, wife of John Witzig; Barbara, wife of John Ramseyer; John, a resident
499
HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
of Illinois; Lydia, wife of Abraham Rinkenberger; Chris, who lives in Livingston County, Illinois; Hannah, wife of John Hohulin ; Joshna ; Caleb, of Illinois; and Lillie, wife of William Holliger.
Mr. Joshua Zimmerman was reared and educated in Illinois, and lived at home until he was past his majority. For several years he worked out at monthly wages and began life with very little beyond what his labor had enabled him to accumulate.
February 25, 1890, he married Miss Mary Weturich. After their marriage they rented land in Illinois and their first farm was eighty acres. Later they sold that and bought 219 acres, and on moving to Kosciusko County purchased 240 acres in Jefferson Township. Two years later they came to their present location in Van Buren Town- ship, where they acquired 160 acres. Mr. Zimmerman has 400 acres under his ownership, and several of his sons are now bearing an active part with him in managing this place. He is a general farmer and also keeps Norman horses.
Ten children were born to him and his wife, nine of whom are still living: Ernest, Catherine, Anna, Rosa, Levi (deceased), Michael, Harvey, Esther, Elmer and Ruth. The family are active members of the Apostolic Christian Church. Mr. Zimmerman is a republican in politics.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.