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 24
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Mr. and Mrs. Scott had the following children: Cora A., widow of William H. Funk; Mary C., wife of Irvin Sheely, of Montana; Musetta B., wife of William F. Hetzler, of New Mexico; Walter S., who married Mattie Bogg and lives in Monroe Township; Elden D., who married Elizabeth. Rock and lives at Lake Charles, Louisiana ; Freddie, who died in childhood; Vernice O., wife of Sherman Fike of Wayne Township; and Joseph R., who married Gusta M. Harley and lives on the old homestead farm. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have eighteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Scott is a devout member of the United Brethren Church. Mr. Scott was long affiliated with Kosciusko Post No. 14 of the Grand Army of the Republic, and Mrs. Scott is a member of the Woman's Relief Corps. In politics he simply voted the republican ticket with- out seeking any of the honors of office. Mr. Scott died July 3, 1918.
ANDREW JACKSON LOGAN. Now giving all his time to his duties as county treasurer of Kosciusko County, with home at Warsaw, Mr. Logan has had a long and successful career both in teaching and as a farmer in this county. His family has been identified with Kosci- nsko County since pioneer times and fully three generations have done their part and contributed their lives in whole or in part to the improvement of material and social conditions in this locality. Mr. Logan's record as an official has been characterized by such efficient performance and obliging courtesy to all who use his office that he is one of the most popular men in the courthouse at Warsaw.
He is probably the only one of the present set of county officials to claim a log cabin as his birthplace. It was in such a home, then the prevailing type of residence in this section of Indiana, that he was born on a farm in Washington Township of Koscinsko County, June 10, 1856. Out of a family of eleven children he is one of the four survivors. Their parents, Thomas W. and Chloe (Marquis) Logan, were natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively. Thomas W. Logan was a carpenter by trade, and part of his skill was required in the early days in making coffins when some member of the com- munity passed away. He had migrated to Kosciusko County during the decade of the '40s and he found here a wild and practically untamed wilderness, and his own industry and good citizenship were not unimportant factors in the progress of the community where he lived so long. Both he and his wife died in Kosciusko County. They were members of the Presbyterian Church and were charter members of the church of that denomination at Warsaw. His father is remem- bered for his strictly temperate character, and though he lived in a time when such habits were more practiced than at present he never used either tobacco or liquor. He reared his children to the same wholesome principles and ideals.
Though the present connty treasurer was named for one of the greatest leaders of the early democracy in America, he has belied his name to the extent that he is a republican. As a boy he lived on the home farm, attended the district schools and the public schools
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at Warsaw, and when only nineteen was qualified with a certificate as a teacher and began a work for which he is best remembered among a large number of people. For seventeen terms he taught in different districts, all in Kosciusko County, and combined that profession with his work as a farmer. He continued farming until called away from the country to assume his present office as treasurer of the county. to which he was elected in 1914. He still owns the beautiful and highly improved farm of 217 acres in Washington Township. He has long been a member of the Patrons of Husbandry in this county. On March 22, 1881, Mr. Logan married Miss Elizabeth Dunham. They have one son, Ward T.
JOHN C. MEREDITH is a native of Franklin Township, has lived there nearly all his life, and has accumulated many interests and associations to identify himself prominently with that community. Mr. Meredith's business town is Akron in Fulton County, and he divides his time between the management of his large stock farm in Franklin Township and his varied interests in Akron. Mr. Meredith is one of the leading stock buyers of this section of Indiana. His large and valuable farm is a half mile east and seven miles south of Mentone.
He was born in Franklin Township, September 20, 1852, a son of Simon C. and Mary A. (Middleton) Meredith. His father was a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of New Jersey. The respec- tive families moved to Mahoning County, Ohio, where Simon Mere- dith and his wife grew up and married. In the spring of 1852 they arrived in the southwestern part of Kosciusko County, bought a tract of land that was completely covered with woods, and made their first home in a log cabin. Simon Meredith was a very industrions and capable farmer, cleared away the woods and made room for his crops, and lived there in comfort and growing prosperity the rest of his life. He and his wife were both birthright Quakers and were always faithful to that religion. In politics he was a republican. Simon Meredith had ten children by his first wife and three by his second marriage.
John C. Meredith grew to manhood in Franklin Township, attended the district schools there, and since the age of fourteen has been making his own way in the world. He worked out at day wages, also by the month, and was willing to take any employment that offered an opportunity to earn an honest living. He established a reputation for faithful performance and good honest work, and that reputation was his chief asset when he married and started to make a home of his own.
October 12, 1873, he married Miss Mary Burkett, a native of Franklin Township, where she was born December 20, 1849. Mr. and Mrs. Meredith had about five hundred dollars when they married and they used it to buy some equipment and located on a rented farm. The land was for the most part in the woods, and Mr. Meredith cleared up a number of acres and got his real start by clearing land. Later
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he bought stock and has been a stock dealer for thirty-five years. The Meredith farm comprises 300 acres, and in the past Mr. Meredith has owned much other land in this and adjoining counties.
Six children were born to their marriage, and the four now living are: Frank, of Deming, New Mexico; Elmore E., a farmer in Frank- lin Township; Zora, wife of Ora McFarland of Franklin Township; and Martha, who is a graduate of the common schools and the wife of Alvin Clinker of Fulton County.
Mrs. Meredith is a member of the Beaver Dam United Brethren Church. Mr. Meredith has long been an interested participant in local politics and is one of the republican leaders in the southwest quarter of Kosciusko County. A number of years ago when the Leg- islature passed a law establishing county councils to maintain general supervision over the finances of the county, Mr. Meredith was selected as a member of the first council and served continuously in that capacity for fourteen years. He is a member of the County Central Committee from Franklin Township and a member of the Township Advisory Board.
Of his interests at Akron Mr. Meredith is a director in the Akron State Bank, a stockholder in the Grist Mill and Lumber Company, and also owns a large barn used in connection with his stock buying and stock feeding enterprise. The Akron State Bank has as its officers : V. J. Lidecker, president; J. J. King. vice president ; John McCullough, cashier ; and John C. Meredith, Merl Whittenberger, E. O. Strong and Wade Arnold, directors.
DAVID J. UTTER. Some of the best farms and some of the most capable farmers of Kosciusko County are found in Franklin Town- ship. One of them is David J. Utter, who has spent all his life on the farm where he was born and has given a good account of his ener- gies and his time in the capable manner in which he has conducted his affairs. He gives much attention to stock raising, and conducts one of the well ordered and profitable places in the southwestern corner of the county.
Mr. Utter was born November 15, 1854, son of Edwin A. and Elizabeth (Byers) Utter. His father was a native of Fayette County, Indiana, but was reared and married in Johnson County and from there came in October, 1851,. and located on the tract of land in Franklin Township which with its many improvements is now the home of his son David. The farm today bears little resemblance to the tract of wild land which Edwin Utter acquired. He first intro- duced his family to a log cabin home. He lived there many years but in 1882 went to Akron, Indiana, later lived with his son David, but his death occurred in Fulton County. He was a man of unim- peachable integrity and it was said that his word was as good as his note. He served as supervisor of the township and as school director, and was a republican in his political proclivities. He constituted an exception to his family in the matter of politics. He had seven broth-
Vol. II-13
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ers and two half-brothers, and all of them were democrats. Edwin Utter and wife had ten children, and those living today are: Milton H., of Claypool; David J .; Jacob B., of Fulton County ; Luella, wife of Irvin Friend.
David J. Utter had his earliest recollections in the same environ- ment where he is today busily engaged with farming. While a bov he attended the schools in winter sessions, and worked with his father in the summer. On March 23, 1882, he married Miss Eliza Landis, who was born in Fulton County.
After their marriage Mr. Utter and his oldest brother bought the 160 acres of the old homestead and conducted it in partnership for twenty years. He then bought his brother's interest and is now sole owner and proprietor. He breeds good grades of live stock, and his principal annual income comes from stock raised and fed on the farm.
Mr. and Mrs. Utter have six children: Cora is the wife of John Eber of Fulton County; Clarence is a farmer in Franklin Town- ship; Frank married Ida Beeler, of Fulton County, and is now with the National Army at Camp Custer; Tressie is the wife of Henry D. Smith and they live on the home farm of Mr. Utter; Arthur mar- ried Bertha Baker, of Fulton County; James married Fern Gall and lives in Fulton County. Mr. Utter and family are members of the United Brethren Church at Beaver Dam. He is a republican and has served as supervisor.
GEORGE W. GROVES, representing some of the oldest names in Kosciusko County history, is one of the prominent farmers and land owners of Wayne Township. His farm is known as Grovesland Farm, located four miles northeast of Warsaw. He has lived here nearly all his life and since acquiring the old homestead has developed it to the purposes of general farming and stock raising. It comprises 240 acres.
Mr. Groves was born on the farm where he resides, a son of Daniel and Amanda (Lightfoot) Groves. His father was born in Jackson, Ohio, in 1812, and his mother in Springfield, Ohio, September 2, 1815. The Groves family arrived in Kosciusko County about 1837, a year after the county was organized. They entered land in Wayne Town- ship. The Lightfoots were also early arrivals, and Christopher Light- foot, maternal grandfather of George W. Groves, was a surveyor by profession and laid out the Village of Leesburg. Daniel Groves and wife were married at Leesburg, and they then lived in that town for a time and from there moved to the farm owned by their son George. They were very liberal and active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and attended worship at Warsaw and at Morris Chapel. Daniel Groves was a leading republican of his day and a man who always kept himself well posted on current affairs. He died in 1875 and his widow passed away in 1895. They had four children: Mary E., wife of H. H. Conrad, of Anderson, Indiana; Catherine L., de- ceased, was the wife of Garrett W. Brown; W. A. Groves, who mar- ried Mary Selser, of Fayette County, Ohio; and George W
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George W. Groves grew up on the old farm, and was educated in the country schools and the high school at Warsaw. He has always lived at home and looked after his parents during their lives and since then has been busily engaged in farming the old place. He is one of the prominent and sustaining members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Warsaw, and has served the church as trustee. He is affiliated with Warsaw Lodge No. 46, Knights of Pythias, the Im- proved Order of Red Men, and is a member of the Horse Thief Detec- tive Association of the county. Politically he is a republican.
JOSEPH S. METZGER. The Metzgers are one of the oldest and most substantial families in the eastern part of Lake Township. They cleared much of that region from the wilderness, and as extensive land owners, farmers and citizens have used their resources to the gen- eral good and advancement of the community. One of the character- istics of the topography of that township is Metzger Ditch, which drains and has served to reclaim many valuable acres, and the Metzgers as a family bore a large share of the assessments required for the con- struction of this drainage outlet.
Mr. Joseph S. Metzger is one of the most successful members of this family. He has a large farm four miles east of Silver Lake, and in this community he was born August 24, 1865, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Studabaker) Metzger. His parents were both natives of Ohio, were married there and were early day comers to Kosciusko County. The country was then all in woods and swamps, and Joseph Metzger, Sr., had to clear out a space before he could erect his log cabin home. He was industrious, a man of exceptional judgment, and his prosperity was measured by the ownership of about a thousand acres of land. He was also one of the early leaders in the German Baptist Church. His large family consisted of six sons and six daughters, and those still living are Abe, Phoebe, Rebecca, Lydia, Isaac, Joseph S. and John S.
Joseph S. Metzger grew up on the home farm, was educated in the district schools, and carried an increasing burden of responsibil- ities on the home place until he was twenty-four.
February 27, 1890, he married Sarah G. Garber. They have three daughters: Alma, wife of Mark Miller; Elva, wife of Roy Cline; and Dorothea, unmarried. The two married daughters are both gradu- ates of the common schools. The family are members of the Brethren Church at West Eel River. Mr. Metzger votes as a democrat. His farm comprises 342 acres, all in Lake Township, in sections 1 and 2, and it is one of the important units in the volume of production of grain and live stock by which Kosciusko County makes its showing in agricultural statistics of Indiana.
HON. FRANCIS E. BOWSER. With thirty years of continuous mem- bership in the Kosciusko County Bar, Judge Bowser has won all the better distinctions and successes of the able lawyer, and to his present office as judge of the Fifty-Fourth Judicial Circuit he brought
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all the experience, technical and temperamental qualifications which insure the impartial and thorough administration of justice.
A son of William H. Bowser, a prominent Kosciusko County citi- zen and old timer, Judge Francis E. was born in Kosciusko County, February 1, 1861. On the old homestead farm he spent his youth in the usual manner of country boys, attending local school and work- ing as strength permitted. When he was about sixteen his parents moved into Warsaw, and in 1881 he graduated from the Warsaw High School. Then for two years he was a student in the University of Indiana at Bloomington, and also studied law with W. S. Marshall at Warsaw. His law studies covered altogether a period of about five years, and he was admitted to the bar in 1885. In the meantime he had also taught school, and taught his last term after his admission to practice.
Judge Bowser became an active member of the Warsaw bar in the fall of 1885 as a partner of A. G. Wood. This relationship was continued altogether for about twenty-three years, and there are few partnerships that endured longer and more snecessfully in the annals of the Kosciusko County Bar. In 1908 Francis E. Bowser was elected judge of the Fifty-fourth Indiana Judicial Circuit, and in 1914 he was re-elected for another term of six years. As a judge he has the confidence of both the bar and the general public, and he is regarded as one of the most competent men who have ever sat on the Circuit Court Bench in this district.
In politics Judge Bowser is a democrat. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar Mason and a Knight of Pythias. On June 20, 1894, he married Miss Regina Bitner. Her father, Daniel S. Bitner, was a well known citizen of Kosciusko County, and Mrs. Bowser is a grand- daughter of George Moon, one of the early pioneers of this county. Judge Bowser and wife have two sons: Francis K. and George M. Francis K. is now a first lieutenant and adjutant with the Five Hundred and Thirty-ninth Engineers in France. George M. is in high school.
BENJAMIN F. RICHARDSON. A great many people recognize in Benjamin F. Richardson the strongest individual force for general civic improvement and development in the City of Warsaw. In fact it would not be too much to credit him with Warsaw's present condition of prosperity. Mr. Richardson is a man who came up through struggle and adversity to a position as one of the foremost merchants in Northern Indiana, and the ability which enabled him to win business success also gained for him the confidence of his fel- low citizens, who as frequently as he would consent has sought his leadership in public affairs. Mr. Richardson has been a resident of Kosciusko County for the past thirty-five years.
His birth occurred on a farm in Monroe County, Michigan, in Ida Township, August 9, 1851. The family were early settlers in Southern Michigan, and originated in England, where his paternal grandfather, Joseph Richardson, was born. He became a weaver
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by trade and reached the foremanship in shops at Halifax, York- shire. As a young man he had also served with the British Army, and while stationed in Ireland wooed and won his bride. In 1848, with his wife and three married children, he came to America, settling in Monroe County, where he turned his attention to farming. There he and his wife spent the rest of their days. James Richardson, father of the Warsaw citizen and merchant, was born, reared and educated in England, and married there Mary Bradley. They were both quite young when they came with other members of the family to the United States in 1848. James Richardson in a few years had become a prominent factor in the life and affairs of Monroe County, Michigan. While living in England he had served a seven years' apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade in Manchester, but after coming to America farming was his principal work. He was a man of high general intelligence and sound practical sense, and these qual- ities led to his election as a member of the Michigan State Legislature. He was a loyal and patriotic citizen and during the Civil war one of his sons, Bradley Richardson, served as a private in the Federal army, became corporal of his company, and was severely wounded on the battlefield of Bull Run. When James Richardson died at his old home in Monroe County his passing was the occasion for many sincere tributes to his honorable and self-respecting career.
It was on the old home farm in Michigan that Benjamin F. Rich- ardson had his youthful training and experience. A great deal of hard work was his portion in those days, and it was a steadfast ambi- tion to amount to something in the world that enabled him to make better nse of his limited advantages than would otherwise have been true. He attended the neighboring schools, taught in a log cabin, and early made up his mind to get into a broader field of activities than was bounded by the horizon of the farm on which he was reared. Before reaching his majority he left home and started the battle of life for himself by clerking in a feed store and driving a dray in Toledo, Ohio. Toledo was the training ground for his business career. He worked as clerk in a grocery store, and with experience in that occupation and with a capital, very slowly and gradually realized, he finally was able to embark in the grocery trade for himself.
It was in 1883 that Mr. Richardson came to Warsaw, Indiana, and still with very limited capital established a retail dry goods busi- ness. He encountered many adversities, but determination to suc- ceed coupled with hard work finally had its just rewards, and he is now undoubtedly one of the foremost merchants of the city. While he. has had a man's work in looking after his own store and enterprise, public spirit has been one of the dominating qualities of his char- acter. For years he has advocated a better and greater Warsaw. It was largely his views and vigorous opinions on municipal affairs that led to his election to the City Council. While a member of that body, and under his energetic and shrewd leadership, the city acquired those substantial municipal improvements represented by sewerage, sidewalks, waterworks and other facilities. In 1901 he was elected
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mayor of the city to fill out an unexpired term, and this was followed by a full term, at the end of which it was his hope and expectation to retire from public affairs. However, in 1912, the citizens of Warsaw again required the leadership of such a man as Mr. Rich- ardson, and he again consented reluctantly to acceptance of the office. He has been a wise and painstaking, capable and thoroughly able public official. In fraternal affairs he is a Knight Templar and thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, and while a member of no religious organization has been an active supporter of religious work and charity.
In 1887 Mr. Richardson married Miss Julia E. Moran, of Toledo. Their two children are both deceased.
JACOB B. NEFF is one of the best known residents of Kosciusko and Elkhart Counties. He is a man who has made his success in life by a tremendous exertion of energy and natural ability. When he married he had little or no property, but at the present time is owner of one of the best farms in Van Buren Township of this county, is also president of the Farmers State Bank of Milford, and is in a position to influence much of the business and community life.
Mr. Neff was born on a farm in Elkhart County, Indiana, Decem- ber 29, 1859, son of Daniel and Lydia (Brown) Neff. His father was a native of Virginia and his mother was born near Toronto, Canada. Their respective families settled in Elkhart County in pio- neer times, and Daniel Neff and wife were married there and be- came farmers in Jackson Township, where they spent the rest of their years. Daniel Neff was a man of more than ordinary local prominence, was known for his upright and honest character, and for a number of years was a minister in the Church of the Brethren. He and his wife had ten children: William B., now living in Michigan; James, who died in Kosciusko County ; Jacob B .; Lydia, widow of Jacob R. Symensma, living in Elkhart County; Daniel, of Milford; Henry, of Elkhart County; Jesse and Omar F., both of Milford; Frances M., of Van Buren Township; and Susie, wife of Charles Snyder, living in Jackson Township of Elkhart County.
Jacob B. Neff taught school for eight years continuously before his marriage. At the age of twenty-eight he married Chloe Dubbs. She was born in Elkhart County. ' After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Neff moved to a farm southeast of Milford, and resided there for seventeen years. Since then they have made their home in Mil- ford, but Mr. Neff still owns a fine estate of 270 acres. He was one of the organizers and charter members of the Farmers State Bank of Milford, which was established in 1915. He has been its president from the beginning, and is associated with some of the best known citizens in this part of the state on the board of directors. Mr. Neff is also president of the Royal Telephone Company. He is a demo- crat in politics, has taken quite an active part in local affairs, and is one of the deacons of the Church of the Brethren at Milford. He was nominated for the office of Trustee of Van Buren Township in 1918 by the democrats of the township.
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob B. Neff
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He and his wife have two living children: Gladys is a graduate of the Milford High School and of Goshen College, and is now the wife of Lawrence Dewart, and they live in Van Buren Township. Bertha M. is a graduate of the Milford High School, finished a music course in the North Manchester College, and was also a student in the American Conservatory of Music at Chicago.
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