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 28
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He was born in Coshocton County, Ohio, March 8, 1836, a son of Samuel and Patsy Jones. In 1863 he came to Indiana with his brother Samuel Jones, and from that time forward Kosciusko County was his home. His parents spent most of their lives in Ohio. His father was a native of Ohio and his mother of Maryland. His father died in 1854 and his mother in 1869.
March 16, 1865, John Jones married Miss Nancy Hire, member of one of the oldest prominent families of Kosciusko County. Her parents were Rudolph and Hannah (Linsey) Hire, the former a native of Ross County, Ohio, and the latter of Fayette County, Ohio. Rudolph Hire and wife were married in Kosciusko County, and then for a year lived in Elkhart County, after which they re- turned to a farm in Franklin Township of this county. Mrs. Jones' father died at Burket in April, 1889. Her mother died at the home of Mrs. Jones in April, 1909. There were eleven children in the Hire family, and the four now living are: Isaac B .; Lillie, wife of Charles C. Eggleston, of California; Alfred, a resident of Warsaw ; and Mrs. Jones.
Mrs. Jones was reared on her father's farm in this county and was educated in the common schools. She still lives on the old Jones farm in Seward Township.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones had eight children: Clement A., who mar- ried Mary Cook, and lives in Franklin Township; Lugarda R., un- married; Milton E., who married Jennie Wilson and lives in Harri- son Township; Charles H., who married Stella Warren, and lives at Burket; Rudolph G., who married Bessie Kesecker, and lives on the old homestead; Myrtle, wife of George W. Dickey, of Harrison Township; Vernon, who married Rohad Mollinhour of Franklin Township; and Neva G., who was born March 6, 1892, and still lives with her mother.
Mrs. Jones is a devout member of the United Brethren church at Burket. Mr. Jones was converted to that faith in early manhood, and lived an exemplary Christian life for forty-three years. He was a democrat in politics.
Besides her own children. Mrs. Jones is comforted in her declin- ing years by the presence of eighteen grandchildren and also four great-grandchildren, besides many relatives and the hosts of friends who esteem it a privilege to be accorded a place in the friendship of this kindly old lady.
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PERCY M. BERGEN. Any locality or section is benefited by the in- troduction of progressive useful enterprise from other regions. With- out such admixture of other ideas and other methods any community is bound to stand still.
One of Kosciusko County's leading stock farmers and feeders is Percy M. Bergen, who came to this county from Iowa, where his father has long been prominent in the stock feeding business and every year sends cattle to the market by the train load. His father is owner of extensive tracts of land in Iowa, and it was in that state that Percy M. Bergen acquired his practical knowledge of farming and stock husbandry.
Mr. Bergen was born in Benton County, Iowa, March 20, 1890, son of William and Blanche (Martyn) Bergen. He was reared on the home farm, educated in common schools, and in 1907, entered Winona College in Indiana, where he was graduated in 1911. Having a thirst for adventure, he then enlisted in the Coast Artillery Service of the United States Army and is now a retired army man with a creditable record of three years' service and an honorable discharge. After leav- ing the army Mr. Bergen came to Kosciusko County and bought the farm where he now lives on route No. 6 in Wayne Township. He has 109 acres, and is following the practice of buying cattle and hogs in Chicago and feeding them for market.
Mr. Bergen married Olive Mitterling, who was born in Kosciusko County and is also a graduate of Winona School. They have two children, Mary and Jeanne. Mr. and Mrs. Bergen are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
CHARLIE H. HAPNER has been a well to do citizen of Kosciusko County through his continued enterprise spread over a period of years as a farmer. The farm which he now owns and which has become so productive and profitable under his management is the place where he spent his early life, known as the old Hapner farm in section 2 of Monroe Township, a mile and a half south and three-quarters of a mile west of Pierceton, on the rural route No. 3.
Mr. Hapner was born there March 6, 1879, son of Henry C. and Janette S. (Weston) Hapner. Henry C. Hapner was born in Mont- gomery County, Ohio, October 13, 1831, and died August 11, 1915, at the advanced age of eighty-four. He was a pioneer of Kosciusko County, having located in Jackson Township in September, 1839. After coming to the county some years later he married for his first wife Sarah Zimmerman. In 1863 he moved to Monroe Township, and here his first wife died. Their children were Jacob, Anna M., George, Nancy C., Elmer, Nathan, Cyrus and Harrison. Henry C. Hapner by his second wife had just one child, Charlie H. The mother of Charlie H. Hapner was born in Monroe Township and spent all her life there. She died March 10, 1913. She was a member of the Disciples Church at Salem. Henry C. Hapner was a farmer all his life, and at the same time operated extensively as a thresherman and saw miller.
Charlie H. Hapner grew up on the old farm, and attended school in District No. 10 in Washington Township. On October 8, 1898, he
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married Miss Etta J. Clouse, who was born in Monroe Township No- vember 2, 1880, daughter of Lewis and Ann (Idle) Clouse. Her father was born in Monroe Township May 18, 1848, and died September 5, 1914. Her mother was born in Champaign County, Ohio, August 14, 1842, and died June 3, 1912, having been brought to Kosciusko County at the age of sixteen. Both Mr. and Mrs. Clouse were active in the Christian Church.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hapner located upon the farm where they have managed so industriously and have been so successful in accumulating those things which make life comfortable and happy. They have one daughter, Mildred M., born March 9, 1902. She gradu- ated from the common schools at the age of fourteen and is now a stu- dent in the Pierceton High School. The family are members of the Christian Church and have done much to sustain the various church activities. Mr. Hapner is a republican but his citizenship has been of the quiet kind, evidenced chiefly in voting and in doing his part un- officially to support wise and well considered community enterprises.
WILLIAM SHAND is a native of Scotland, has lived in America nearly half a century and has exemplified all the sturdy and keen traits of his native land. He has been a successful farmer and is rated as one of the men of achievement, intelligence and fine citizenship in Monroe Township, where for a number of years he has owned a good farm com- prising the northwest quarter of section 17.
His birth occurred in Forfarshire, Scotland, March 10, 1846, and his parents, William and Elizabeth (Smith) Shand, spent most of their lives in Scotland, but in 1872 came to the United States and lo- cated at Troy, Missouri, where the father died. The mother passed away in Indiana.
Mr. Shand grew to maturity in his native land, and attended schools to the age of fourteen. After that he worked and had a good deal of experience in making his own way in the world before he set out for America in 1869. For a number of years Mr. Shand was a resident of Missouri. He married there on October 10, 1872, Miss Narnev Pressley. She was born September 12, 1856, ten miles from Troy. Missouri, in Lincoln County, and was reared and educated there. For five years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Shand continued to live in Missouri on a rented farm. In 1877 they came to Indiana and were residents at Goodland for thirteen years. They moved in 1903 to Monroe Township of Kosciusko County and bought the fine farm of 180 acres where they now reside and where they have been prospered abundantly.
Mr. and Mrs. Shand have two sons, Frank, born March 1, 1874, lives in Montana and married Gertrude Goldsbury. William A., born June 4. 1893, is married and lives in Indiana. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church and Mr. Shand is a republican.
ORANGE H. BOWMAN. Among the substantial people of Kosciusko County with whom industry has been the keynote of their lives a fam- ily of special interest is that of Orange H. Bowman. Mr. Bowman has Vol. II-15
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spent nearly all his life in Kosciusko County, and for a number of. years was a very successful and talented teacher. He is now pro- prietor of the Stony Brook Farm in Monroe Township near Pierceton, and is performing that service which means so much in this present critical time, supplying a large quantity of pure milk to the community of Pierceton.
Mr. Bowman was born in Monroe Township of Kosciusko County December 10, 1868, a son of Thomas and Eliza (Vandegrift) Bowman. His parents were born and reared and married in Stark County, Ohio, and in 1868 moved to Kosciusko County, Indiana, where they spent the rest of their lives. They had six children.
Orange H. Bowman was reared on a farm in Monroe Township, had a common school education, and afterwards graduated from the State Normal School and has a life certificate as a teacher. He did some fine work in the schoolroom both as a teacher and school adminis- trator, and at one time was superintendent of the Mentone and South Whitley schools. While his abilities were such as to justify his re- maining in the educational profession, his hearing became impaired and he had to abandon that vocation for farming. The Stony Brook Farm comprises 133 acres a mile and a half from Pierceton in Monroe Township. It is the home of a herd of fine Jersey cattle and Mr. Bow- man has shown as much vigor and ability in managing his dairy farm as he formerly did in educational work. His farm largely supplies the town of Pierceton with pure milk.
Mr. Bowman has six children: Emily, a graduate of the Illinois University ; Thomas, a graduate of the local high school; Eva, also a high school graduate, and now in training in Chicago for a nurse ; and Agnes, Philip and David, who are still in school. Mr. Bowman is affiliated with the Masonic Lodge and the Eastern Star, and in politics is a republican.
ESTON E. MCCLINTIC has been a factor in the good citizenship of Kosciusko County for a number of years and at Syracuse his business has been as a contractor in the manufacture and handling of cement products. He has done much cement construction of all types, and his contracts cover a wide area around Syracuse. It is a very successful business and he is a man of such experience and ability as to carry out fully and in detail every contract he undertakes.
He represents a family that has been in Kosciusko County for three generations. Mr. MeClintie was born in Turkey Creek Town- ship July 12, 1875, a son of John and Lydia (Koher) McClintic. His grandfather, Eston MeClintie, came to Kosciusko County more than eighty years ago and developed a homestead from the midst of the wilderness. John McClintic was born in Turkey Creek Township February 7, 1837. Lydia Koher was born March 19, 1849. They mar- ried September 20, 1874, and then began housekeeping at the old McClintie farm and homestead. John McClintic acquired that prop- erty and he and his wife spent their years on it. He was an active member of the United Brethren Church and a democrat in politics. There were four sons in the family: Eston E .; Charles F., born Oc-
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tober 28, 1876; Martin V., born July 14, 1878, and now representing the third generation of the family to live on the old homestead; and John C., born February 22, 1885, lost his life by accident December 30, 1894.
Eston E. McClintie grew up on the home farm and attended dis- trict school until the age of fourteen. He then started to make his own way in the world and for a time was a farm laborer at wages of ten dollars a month. On February 8, 1896, he married Miss Blanch M., a daughter of Daniel and Rebecca Angel Searfoss. Mrs. McClintic was born in Turkey Creek Township November 13, 1880. Her father was born in Pennsylvania March 2, 1849, and her mother in Turkey Creek Township in 1853. Both are still living.
Mr. and Mrs. McClintie have five children: John B., born Sep- tember 6, 1896, married Velma Poppenfos; Harry D., born February 3, 1901; Elizabeth, born January 7, 1909; Charles born March 20, 1913; James W., born June 12, 1915. The family are members of the United Brethren Church and Mr. McClintic is trustee of the par- sonage. He is affiliated with Syracuse Lodge No. 454, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, and the Royal Arch Chapter No. 124. He has always taken a keen interest in local affairs, and is considered one of the men of influence in the democratic party in his section of the county.
JONAS H. ALLSBAUGH has been one of the useful citizens in Kosci- usko County for many years. The medium through which he has given his most productive service is as a farmer and stockman. Mr. Alls- baugh's home farm is in section 16 of Jackson Township, three and one half miles north of Manchester and four and one half miles south- west of Sidney. Besides his eighty acres there he has eighty acres just over the Wabash County line in Chester Township. What he has today he has made largely through his industry and thrifty energy, and has never asked for opportunities and privileges that were not open to every other man. Mr. Allsbaugh has made something of a specialty of the breeding of Duroc hogs. He was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, October 20, 1863, a son of John and Rebecca (Horning) Alls- baugh. His father was born at Berne, Switzerland, and came to the United States when about twenty-five years of age. He had worked at and learned the trade of miller in the old country, and though paid ex- ceedingly meager wages he saved enough to bring himself and a brother to the United States. He first located at Cincinnati, Ohio, and en- gaged in the dairy business, but soon lost all he had in that venture. From there he moved to Montgomery County, and found employment on a farm at eight dollars a month. A few years later his wages were raised to $100 a year, and he eventually married the daughter of his employer. She was a native of Pennsylvania. They rented a farm for a time and eventually they left Ohio, and started on a journey across country with wagons and teams bound for Kansas. The little property he had he traded for forty acres of Kansas land, but later returned to Indiana and settled three miles southeast of North Man- chester. Later he rented another farm, and finally bought eighty acres and on that homestead spent the rest of his life. He and his
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wife were members of the Progressive Dunkard Church. There are six children: Edwin, a farmer five and one half miles southeast of North Manchester; Jonas H .; Martha, wife of Elmont Kosher, of North Manchester; Emma, unmarried; Ella, wife of T. E. Reed, of Hope, Indiana ; and Della, unmarried and living at Akron, Ohio.
Jonas H. Allsbaugh grew up on his father's farm in Wabash County, attended the district schools there, and at the age of twenty started out for himself. Like his father he also worked by the month on farms, and earned his living in that way for five years.
December 28, 1887, Mr. Allsbaugh married Miss Nancy D. Scholl. She was born in LaGrange County, Indiana, June 10, 1866, and was a small girl when her parents moved to Wabash County, where she grew up and received her education in the district schools. They have two children: Verling R., a graduate of the common schools and is now running the old Allsbaugh farm in Wabash County. He married Lydia Heater. Orin K., the second son, is a graduate of the local schools, attended high school, and is now in the Great Lakes Naval Training Station at Chicago.
The Allsbaugh family are active members of the Antioch Christian Church. Politically he is a republican.
JOHN S. VANDERVEER is a sterling representative of the agricultural interests of Kosciusko County, and in his work has exemplified many of the careful, industrious and methodical traits of the people of Holland, of which country he is a native.
Mr. Vanderveer was born in Holland June 22, 1869, a son of Se- brant and Gertrude (Gilstraa) Vanderveer. These honest Dutch par- ents brought their family to America in 1871, seeking better opportuni- ties for them, and located in Elkhart County. The mother died there October 22, 1873, and the father afterwards moved to Kosciusko County and died here in 1907. They had five children, two of whom died in Holland. The two stilll living besides John S. are Richard, a lawyer and a member of the Warsaw bar, and Edith, wife of John O. Sheets of Elkhart County.
John S. Vanderveer was two years old when brought to America and he has no conscious recollections of his native land. He grew up on a farm, was educated in the common schools, and from early life has been dependent upon his own resources. The prosperity he has accumulated is the result of his energy and the effective co-operation of his good wife. His home comprises eighty acres of good land in section 2 of Jefferson Township.
Mr. Vanderveer married Elizabeth Brown, who died leaving no children. For his second wife he married Ella Overholt, and they have two children living and one dead, Howard R., who was born in 1909, and died in 1910. The two living are Merrill O., born in 1911, and Verda Maree, born in 1914. Mrs. Vanderveer is an active church member, and in politics Mr. Vanderveer votes as a democrat.
CONRAD D. LONGENECKER. The position which Conrad D. Longe- necker has occupied during the last five years as county clerk of Kos-
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ciusko County is in the nature of a consistent tribute not only to his individual and personal qualifications for that office, but also to the high standing of the Longenecker family, which has been identified with this section of Northern Indiana for more than sixty years, and has exemplified some of the best virtues of manhood and good citizen- ship.
The old Longenecker homestead was near North Webster, and it was on the farm there that Conrad D. Longenecker was born March 18, 1859. He was one of four children, and all of them are still living. Their parents were Isaac and Sarah (Brumbaugh) Longenecker, early representatives of that sterling stock of early settlers known as German Baptists or Dunkards. Isaac Longenecker, who was born in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, came to Kosciusko County in 1852, bringing with him his wife and two children. He settled in Tippecanoe Town- ship and while living there accumulated a fine farm and enjoyed the best of reputation among his fellow men. He had grown up im- pressed by the teachings of honesty, truthfulness and industry, prac- ticed those qualities all his life, and was a lover of country and mani- fested a deep veneration for the Almighty. He took no active part in politics but gave his life to his home and to the endeavors in which he was successful to provide liberally and wisely for his loved ones. His death occurred January 24, 1888, while his widow passed away January 21, 1906. When the Longenecker family came to Kosciusko County much of the land was still wild and unimproved, and Isaac Longenecker deserves credit for bringing a large number of acres from the dominion of the wilderness into fruitful crops.
Not all the hard work had been accomplished on the old homestead when Conrad D. Longenecker grew to years where his work could be utilized. Almost as far back as he could remember he was employed at some task on the home farm, and his early education was limited to winter terms of the district schools. He lived at home with his parents until the age of twenty-five and had in that time learned and thor- oughly practiced the principles of honesty, industry and thrift upon which he has relied for his advancement through the world.
On November 20, 1884, he married Miss Amanda Stull, whose peo- ple were among the earliest settlers of Elkhart County. After his marriage Mr. Longenecker took up farming on his own responsibilities and combined that with the carpenter trade, which he learned and in which he became skillful as a young man. From his farm he was called into the county seat of Warsaw by his election to the office of county clerk in 1910, and has now given five years of much appre- ciated service in that office. He still owns eighty acres of farming land, and is one of the county's highly successful and popular citizens.
In politics he is a republican, and he and his wife are members of the Progressive Dunkard Church. Not least among his distinctions is the fine family of children whom he and his wife have brought into the world and have endeavored to give the best of training and advantages. Their names are : Charles I .; Beatrice, Mrs. I. C. Harbaugh ; William R .; Rose ; Claude M .; Chester M .; Opal; Fern; and Gerald H.
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ROBERT C. IRWIN is a member of the Irwin family that has been identified with Kosciusko County for over half a century and his own life, beginning at manhood without capital, has been made effective through his energy and industry, so that he has been able to provide his family with the comforts of a good farm and home. His farm is in Prairie Township on rural route No. 5 and eight miles northwest of Warsaw.
Mr. Irwin was born in Logan County, Ohio, June 11, 1851, son of Stewart and Sarah A. (Richie) Irwin. The parents were both natives of Ireland. His mother came to the United States at the age of nine- teen, and his father when a young man. After their marriage they lived on a farm six miles northwest of Bellefontaine in Logan County, Ohio, until 1856, and then brought their family to Kosciusko County. In Washington Township near Wooster they bought 160 acres, but sold that in 1863 and for a year owned a place of 160 acres near North Webster. Selling this, the family settled in Prairie Township April 4, 1864, and that was the home of the parents the rest of their years. Stewart Irwin died in Harrison Township and his wife passed away October 12, 1917. He was a republican in politics. Their children still living are as follows: Robert C .; John R., a farmer north of At- wood; William G., who also lives north of Atwood; Sarah, wife of Frank Harmon ; James S., whose home is in Wisconsin; and Sherman C., of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Robert C. Irwin spent his boyhood from the age of five years in Washington, Tippecanoe and Prairie townships of this county, and during the winter terms attended the neighboring district schools. He was well prepared for the responsibilities of life by training at home, but when on October 25, 1873, he married Ellen J. Bradley he had no capital that would suffice for an independent existence. Therefore, they adapted themselves to circumstances and began housekeeping in a log building. He worked at anything that he could find, rented land, and by much work and thrift accumulated the means which enabled him to buy sixty acres of the land where he now lives.
Mrs. Irwin died July 24, 1893. She was the mother of seven chil- dren, five of whom are still living : Clark W., a graduate of the common and high schools, married C. Hawley, a graduate of high school ; Charles W., who is married and lives in Wisconsin; Thomas C., un- married and at home; Howard, who is married and lives in North Dakota ; Fay, wife of Frank Huffer of Prairie Township. Mr. Irwin is a member of the Ancient Order of Gleaners, and has been satisfied merely to vote as a republican without aspirations for public office.
A. H. BROWN is one of the live and highly successful business men of Leesburg. He came to Kosciusko County in 1890, being at that time a young man of twenty-seven years who, however, had never accumulated any money as a result of his varied experiences and hard work. He continued his hard working plan after coming to the county, helped operate a threshing machine outfit, but laid the foundation of his real success by using his experience and native ability as a trader. Mr. Brown is regarded by his friends and associates as almost infalli-
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ble in his business judgment, and the large amount of property he has amassed is proof that his friends are well justified in making the assertion.
He is one of the leading farmers around Leesburg and is still extensively engaged in real estate. Mr. Brown owns a 540-acre farm in Plain Township, has 200 acres in Wayne Township, owns a large amount of valuable property in Turkey Creek Township, and has a big business as a hardware and building material merchant at Leesburg. He also owns a section of land in North Dakota.
He was born in Carroll County, Indiana, October 12, 1853, son of Thomas and Charlotte (Wells) Brown. His father was born in Ha- gerstown, Maryland, while the mother was a native of Dayton, Ohio, and they married in that state. On moving to Indiana they located in Carroll County and spent their last years in Cass County, Mich- igan, where they died. His father was a farmer and the mother was active in the United Brethren Church. Of the nine children only four are still living: Jennie, widow of Loren Moody; Lucy, widow of William Van Norman; William H., a resident of Dowagiac, Mich- igan ; and A. H. Brown.
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