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 7
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Mr. Ross was born in section 35 of Jackson Township April 1, 1884. He is a son of John and Jane (Stout) Ross, the former a na- tive of Ohio and the latter of Whitley County, Indiana. They have
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four children: Albert, of Jackson Township; Cora, wife of A. B. Ulrey, of Jackson Township; Eva, wife of Milton Miller; and Charles W.
Charles W. Ross grew up on a farm in Jackson Township, and from the age of sixteen has looked after his own welfare. He secured a better than ordinary education, attending the common schools and also the college at North Manchester, where he pursued a commer- cial course and later was a student in a commercial college at Indian- apolis. For a time he was employed in an insurance office and whole- sale house at Indianapolis, and finally secured the equipment and the land for independent farming. The Crown Hill Farm comprises 121.62 acres.
December 10, 1904, Mr. Ross married Miss Minnie M. Priser. She was born in Monroe Township of this county May 31, 1883, daughter of John Priser. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ross lived in Monroe Township a year and a half, and in 1906 came to their present home in Jackson Township. Mr. Ross is a republican and is one of the sterling and public spirited citizens of his community.
CYRUS B. DEATON is one of the fortunate men who own good farms in Kosciusko County, and his place, representing all the mod- ern improvements and comforts, is in section 9 of Lake Township, two miles east and one mile south of Silver Lake.
Mr. Deaton has achieved a worthy success in his career and his family name is of social interest in Kosciusko County. His father was George W. Deaton, a native of Clarke County, Ohio, son of Wil- liam Deaton. William Deaton owned a sawmill in Ohio and George W. learned the milling trade there. March 9, 1856, George W. Dea- ton married Miss Frances C. Fortney, daughter of Jacob and Ann (Knoops) Fortney. In March, 1863, the Deaton family came to Kosciusko County, settling in Clay Township. George W. Deaton was a successful farmer and was also well known because of his po- litical and civic activities. He was a stanch republican and was an eloquent speaker in advocating his position and principles. He had the distinction of being the first republican elected to the office of trustee in Clay Township. He was also a charter member of the Grange at Claypool and an active member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church. George W. Deaton and wife had the following children : William S., Jacob O .. Mary B., John E., Samuel S., Ulysses S., Cyrus B. and Charles G. The first four children were born in Ohio and the others in Clay Township of Kosciusko County.
Cyrus B. Deaton was born on his father's farm a mile and a quar- ter east of Claypool in Clay Township, July 29, 1869, and was the fifth son of the family. He grew up with his widowed mother, as- sisted in the work of the farm, and graduated from the common schools. He continued at home, a factor in the management of the old place, nntil the age of twenty-four. September 30, 1893, he married Miss May A. Ball. She was born in Kosciusko County July 12, 1873.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Deaton spent about seven
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years at the Deaton home, and farmed in Clay Township until 1903, when he came to his present place. Besides the activities of the farm Mr. Deaton is a director in the Commercial Bank at Silver Lake. He is much interested in local affairs, is a republican, as was his father, and for a number of years has served as a member of the County Central Committee. He has a well improved farm of seventy-eight acres. Mr. and Mrs. Deaton have two children : Ross M., born De- cember 12, 1895, a graduate of the common schools and still at home ; and Hazel W., born June 9, 1900, a student in the Silver Lake High School. The family are members of the United Brethren Church at Silver Lake, and Mr. Deaton is one of the church trustees, and for a number of years has given strong support to both church and Sunday school activities. He is Past Noble Grand of Silver Lake Lodge No. 576, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a member of the Grand Lodge.
C. F. WHITE has spent a busy and industrious life in the south- west corner of Kosciusko County or over the line in Fulton County, has made what he has by his enterprise and resourcefulness, and is owner of a splendid farm of 120 acres in Franklin Township.
He was born in Fulton County April 17, 1867, a son of Peter and Sarah A. (Prill) White. His father was a native of Summit County, Ohio, and his mother of Carroll County, Indiana. They married in Fulton County, and then settled on a farm. Their first place was twenty-one acres, and that tract of land was in the family ownership for fifty-one years. Peter White and wife had seven children, and the six still living are: Alfretta, wife of John Whaley ; Margaret, wife of William McEntire; C. F .; John and William, twins; and George, who also lives in Franklin Township.
C. F. White grew up in Fulton County and lived at home until he was twenty-one years of age, when he started out to make his own way in the world. July 20, 1893, he married Florence Ballenger. She was born in Franklin Township December 26, 1869, and grew up on a farm and was educated in the local schools.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. White settled on a farm in Franklin Township, and they have made their present prosperity during the past twenty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. White are members of the Church of God and in politics he is a republican. They have three manly and enterprising young sons: Andrew, born November 27, 1895, who married Mertie Wilcox on November 20, 1917; Charles E., born September 4, 1897; and Fletcher E., born September 18, 1899.
REV. AMOS FREED is a well known minister of the Church of the Brethren, and performs his duties as a minister in addition to look- ing after one of the good farms of Jackson Township. His farm home is two miles south and a half mile east of Packerton.
Mr. Freed was born in Hancock County, Ohio, May 22, 1861, a son of Peter and Polly (Ream) Freed. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, while his mother was born in Stark County, Ohio.
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They married and spent their lives in Ohio. Peter Freed was a farmer and also a minister of the Brethren Church. He was twice married and had three children by his first wife, one of whom is living, Elizabeth, better known as "Betsy." He had twelve by the second wife, and those still living are: Ami, of Monticello, Indiana ; Amos; Henry, of Hancock County, Ohio; Neri, of Hancock County ; and Ella, also of Hancock County.
Amos Freed grew up in Ohio and lived in that state until 1890, when he moved to Indiana and established his home in White County. He was a farmer there twelve years, and in 1902 came to his present home in Jackson Township.
Mr. Freed married Miss Esther Bowers, of Ohio. Their oldest child died, and the three children now living are: Marvin, who is married and is a farmer; Mary, wife of Charles Montel, of Lake Township; and Osnola, wife of Ralph Montel, of Lake Township.
Mr. Freed was elected to the ministry December 9, 1911, and was ordained January 1, 1916, as an elder of "The Church of the Brethren." Since January 1, 1918, he has had charge of the church congregation at Eel River. He is a republican in politics, Mr. Freed owns a farm of 100 acres, while his son has sixty acres, all of it in one body and constituting in improvements and arrange- ments one of the best country places in Jackson Township.
AARON BYRER is one of the solid, industrial men of Kosciusko County who have elected to remain largely in one locality all their lives and have bit by bit progressed and prospered to the achieve- ment of a fine farm, good home and all the esteem that is paid a useful member of a community. The Byrer farm is in Prairie Township, eight miles northwest of Warsaw.
Mr. Byrer was born in Lancaster County, Ohio, April 14, 1857, and was brought to Kosciusko County when about a year old. His parents were Frederick and Christine (Hutt) Byrer, both natives of Ohio. After their marriage they lived in Ohio about seven years before coming to Kosciusko County. Frederick Byrer located at Stony Point in Prairie Township, and he and his wife spent the rest of their days in that vicinity. He was very active in religious af- fairs as a member of the United Brethren Church and was a repub- lican voter. He and his wife had seven children: William, a resi- dent of Los Angeles, California ; Z. T., a retired farmer of Leesburg; Aaron ; Samuel M., a retired resident of Leesburg; Hudson, of Fort Wayne; John C., a farmer in Prairie Township; and George F., a minister of the United Brethren Church at Warsaw.
Aaron Byrer has spent practically all his life in Prairie Town- ship. He had the advantages of the district schools, and from the time he attained the age of twenty-one has been steadily working as a farmer. On April 7, 1888, he married Alma Hall, member of one of the oldest and most prominent families of Kosciusko County. She is a daughter of Joel and Mary (Roberts) Hall. Her father was born on the old homestead, a son of Samnel D. and Cath- erine (Anglin) Hall. Samuel D. Hall was born and married in
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West Virginia, and in pioneer times made a trip on horseback to Kosciusko County. He was one of the very first to take up land in Prairie Township. He acquired large tracts of land which were developed under his supervision. He was also a man of prominence in local affairs, was the first justice of the peace of Prairie Town- ship, and was one of the first associate judges of the county. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a democrat. His children were David, Hiram, Malinda, Lucinda, Elizabeth, Ma- tilda and William. Joel Hall and wife had the following chil- dren : Alma, Samuel O., Eva, Ida, Flora, William R., and C. A. Hall. Mrs. Byrer was reared on her father's farm and had a dis- triet school education. She is the mother of three children: Lois E., unmarried and living at home; Avis, a graduate of the War- saw High School; and Ernest E., a student in the Warsaw High School. The family are members of the United Brethren Church and Mr. Byrer is one of its trustees. He also belongs to the Horse Thief Detective Association and is a republican in politics. The land he has accumulated by his efforts and which he devotes to general farming comprises 157 of the good acres of Prairie Town- ship.
MELVILLE C. CUTLER is one of the prominent farmers in south- eastern Kosciusko County. He has made all he has by hard work and intelligent management. He spent most of his early life in White County, Indiana, and while there laid the basis of his prosperity. He is owner and proprietor of the Sunny Brook Farm, comprising 179 acres, situated a mile west and a half mile south of Sidney. Mr. Cutler grows and handles a large number of stock of all kinds, and has made a success of his business, and while prospering individually has contributed something of value to the community and to the world.
Mr. Cutler was born in White County, Indiana, October 29, 1867, a son of John D. and Josephine (Kions) Cutler. His parents were both natives of Pickaway County, Ohio, the father born in 1834 and the mother in 1844. They came with their respective parents to White County, Indiana, the Kions family locating near Brookston, while the Cutlers established their home near Monticello. John D. Cutler was eight years old when he went to White County, and though a small boy he walked all the way from Ohio and led a steer. He was educated in the common schools and also in the University of Michigan. After his marriage he settled near Brookston, rented a farm there until about 1893, and then purchased the place upon which he is still living. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. John D. Cutler is a republican. Of their seven children three are still living: David L., who is farming a place a mile west of Warsaw; Louise, wife of L. S. Hart, of White County; and Mel- ville C.
Melville C. Cutler was educated in the district schools of White Connty and remained at home until twenty-one. In starting for him- self he was employed by his father for some years. In June, 1894,
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he married Miss Ida C. Welever, who was born in White County in 1870.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cutler rented a farm in White County for nine years and they got their start as renters. With what modest means they had been able to accumulate in that time they came to Kosciusko County in 1903 and bought the present farm of 179 acres, and since then Mr. Cutler has also acquired another place of fifty-eight and one-half acres in Jackson Township. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church and in politics he is a republican.
JAMES A. REED has cultivated and has been the owner of several farms over Kosciusko County, and his present home and the scene of his agricultural enterprise are at Yellow Creek Lake in Seward Township.
His parents, Robert and Margaret (Burns) Reed, were living in Fulton County, Indiana, when James A. Reed was born September 13, 1852. His parents were both natives of Wayne County, Ohio, and were brought by their respective families to Indiana, where they grew up and married. They first settled on a farm in Seward Town- ship, a farm now owned by J. A. Carter, and after selling out they bought a place at the southeast corner of Yellow Creek Lake. They continued to live in that well known community the rest of their days. Both parents were members of the United Brethren Church, and in politics the father was a republican. There were ten children, and six of them are still living: Miletus Reed, of Warsaw ; Robert L., of Battle Creek, Michigan; Elmira. wife of James Riley; James A .; Louise, wife of Thad MeClue, of Silver Lake; and Ella, wife of Rob- ert Connor.
James A. Reed spent his boyhood days on a farm, attended the common schools, and lives at home and gave his labor to the family until he was twenty-one. Not long after arriving at man's estate he assumed a man's obligations to support a family, and at the age of twenty-three, on July 11, 1875, married Miss Viola Hatfield. Mrs. Reed was born three miles north of the Fairview Church December 22, 1858, daughter of William and Mary (Rose) Hatfield. Her father was born in Pennsylvania, May 6, 1822, and died in Claypool, Indiana, June 2, 1895. Her parents were married January 9, 1845, and they had twelve children, eight daughters and four sons: Emeline, wife of John Anderson; Rebecca J., wife of Jonathan Creery; George, de- ceased, who married Hannah Delane; Isabelle, wife of Thomas Linn ; Thomas, deceased; Mary C .; Edward, deceased; Viola, Mrs. Reed ; Ida, deceased ; Willard; Florence and Rosetta, both deceased. Mrs. Reed grew up in Seward township and attended school there.
Since his marriage Mr. Reed has been a practical farmer, giving his undivided attention to his business, and has been abundantly pros- pered. He and his wife first lived on the Elmer Yocum farm for two years, spent two years in Fulton County, were also in Grant and Madison Counties for a time, and on returning to Kosciusko County located in Monroe Township. Later they bought a place of forty
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acres, in Lake Township, sold that and bought eighty-one acres, which they occupied only six months, and from there came to their place of sixty acres east of Yellow Creek Lake. They own nine acres at their home west of Yellow Creek Lake.
Mr. and Mrs. Reed have an interesting family of boys: Frank, Dallas, Clyde, Carl, Ed and Freddie, twins, and Irwin. Freddie and Irwin are deceased. Mrs. Reed is a member of the Church of God, and in politics Mr. Reed is a republican. He has never had any aspiration to hold public office.
CYRUS MUSSELMAN is a well-to-do farmer whose home is a mile and a half west of Sidney in Jackson Township. Mr. Musselman has spent half a century in this county, has lived close to the soil and to agricultural activities, and has always been a man of the highest standing in his community.
He was born in Paulding County, Ohio, August 20, 1842, a son of John and Eliza (Clemmer) Musselman. His father was born in Virginia, and in early manhood went to Ohio, where he married his wife, a native of that state. They were pioneers in Paulding County, where they spent their lives. They made a farm from the woods, it being necessary to clear a spot in which to erect their log cabin. They were kindly, good-hearted neighbors and honest, hard-working people who well deserved the esteem in which they were held. Of their fourteen children two died in infancy, and all the others reached mature age. Those still living are: Amos, of Missouri; Cyrus ; Ira, of Paulding County; Eliza, widow of William Merchant, of Ohio; Minerva, widow of Orlando Coffin; and Ida, a widow living in California.
Cyrus Musselman spent his boyhood days on the old farm in Paulding County and was educated in the public schools. During his youth he learned the trade of tanner and shoemaker. After com- ing to Indiana in 1863 and locating in Kosciusko County he was in the saw mill business for seven years. For over forty years he has given his time and energy to farming, and he still owns and super- vises the management of 184 acres in the northwest corner of Jackson Township.
Mr. Musselman married for his first wife Maria Clemmer. Of their four children three are living: Albert, of California; Ida, liv- ing in Oklahoma; and Laban, also in California. On June 27, 1897, Mr. Musselman married Adella Lenwell, a widow. She was born in Monroe Township of this county January 25, 1864, and was reared in the home of Mrs. S. R. Wince near Pierceton. Her first husband was Chester Beason, and by that marriage she had two children, Frederick and Charles. Mr. and Mrs. Musselman are members of the Church of God and he is a democratic voter.
JEROME A. CARTER. There are several counties and communities in Northern Indiana that have known Jerome A. Carter as a resi- dent, and in every one he has enjoyed the reputation of being a hustling, enterprising farmer and good citizen and has succeeded
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beyond the average in all his undertakings. Mr. Carter now owns a well improved and valuable farm of 225 acres situated partly in Seward and partly in Franklin Townships. His place measures up to the best standards of farm improvement and management in this section of Indiana.
Mr. Carter was born in LaPorte County, Indiana, January 10, 1852, son of John and Mary (Windle) Carter. His parents were both natives of Shenandoah County, Virginia, the father born in 1820 and the mother in 1827. When the Windle family migrated from the famous valley of Virginia and settled in LaPorte County, Indiana, John Carter went along with them and he and Mary Win- dle were subsequently married. John Carter was a printer by trade, and for several years was employed on newspapers at LaPorte and in Michigan City. He gave up his trade to become a farmer and in 1862 moved to Jasper County, Indiana, and in 1871 to Newton County, and in that locality he lived until his death. He was a dem- ocrat in politics. Of his family of five children three are still living : Charles, of Silver Lake; Jerome A .; and Catherine, wife of Francis Yeager, of Newton County, Indiana.
Jerome A. Carter spent his boyhood days on his father's farm, received an education in the district schools and remained at home until he was twenty-one. Since then he has been making his own way in the world, and he had a most capable helpmate in the person of his good wife, whom he married in 1880. Her maiden name was Sarah A. Crisler. Mrs. Carter was born in Bartholomew County, Indiana, but her people moved to Newton County when she was five years of age. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Carter rented land for a time, then bought a place in Newton County, and he has rather followed the policy of taking unimproved or partly run down farms, building them up, and then selling and moving to a new location. In the course of his operations he has been a farm owner and man- ager in Newton, Jasper, LaGrange and Elkhart counties, and it was from the last named county that he moved to Kosciusko County in 1905 and bought his present place. Mr. Carter is a democrat.
He and his wife had five children: Lulu, at home; Charles, a hardware merchant at Mentone, Indiana; John H., a farmer; Glenn, who is married and lives on a farm in Newton County ; and Emmet, of Elkhart, Indiana.
GEORGE M. ALEXANDER. The interests of the business and agri- cultural community that center at Burkett have a prominent factor in George M. Alexander, who has been a farmer in that locality for forty years, for a similar time has been engaged in the threshing business, and has also been officially and otherwise identified with several of those institutions which involve the business and domestic welfare of the community. Mr. Alexander is president of the Equity Union Elevator Company at Burkett. He is also one of the directors of the Bank of Seward. He is a director of the Farmers Mutual Relief Association, and is also president of the Farmers Co-operative Telephone Company.
Ted In Alexander
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Mr. Alexander, whose home place is 21/2 miles south of Bur- ket, was born in Seward Township May 7, 1867, son of Mathew M. and Editha (Darling) Alexander. His parents were both natives of Richland County, Ohio, and after their marriage in that state they came to Kosciusko County and settled on a farm near Yellow Creek Lake. In that locality they were residents the rest of their lives. They were members of the Church of God at Lake Bethel. There is an interesting diversity in the politics of the three genera- tions of the Alexander family. Mathew Alexander was the only republican among his father's children, while George M. is the only democrat in his father's family. Mathew Alexander had eleven children, six of whom are still living: Peter, of Warsaw ; Jonathan, of Seward Township; Ida, wife of Elias Parker, of Claypool ; Nettie, wife of H. C. Tucker, of Akron, Indiana; George M .; and Frank, a farmer in Seward Township.
George M. Alexander grew up on the old farm and had to be satisfied with such advantages as were afforded by the district schools. He lived at home till the age of twenty-four, and then es- tablished a home of his own by his marriage to Inez Blue, daughter of that prominent old pioneer Peter A. Blue. Mrs. Alexander at her death was survived by five children: Elvin V., Russell F., Er- bie V., Lulu L., and Retia. All the daughters were educated in the local schools and two of them were high school graduates. Mr. Alexander married for his present wife Bertha Crall, a native of Harrison Township. They have one son, Edwin.
Along with farming Mr. Alexander early took up the business of threshing, and has worn out a number of outfits in that business and could tell many interesting facts concerning the development of threshing machinery. He had some of the old time machines, even those operated by horse power, and in the early days practically every mechanical feature of the threshing outfit had to be operated by one or two men, while the most modern machines he has had are largely automatic and result in a large elimination and saving of man power. Mr. Alexander is a member of the Ancient Order of Gleaners and of the Loyal Order of Moose at Warsaw.
JOHN FERVERDA is a merchant of successful experience, and has been identified with the hardware trade at Silver Lake for a num- ber of years, being one of the live and enterprising business men and citizens of that locality.
He was born in Plain Township of this county December 26, 1882, a son of Hiram B. and Eveline (Miller) Ferverda, both of whom now reside at Leesburg. John Ferverda grew up on his father's farm in Plain Township and was liberally educated. He attended both the common and high schools of Oswego, being a graduate of both, and also was a student in the Tri-State Normal at Angola. For his scholarship he was granted a license to teach, but never used it in that profession. His life was spent largely at. home until the age of twenty-two. Having mastered the art of telegraphy, he entered the service of the Big Four Railway as an
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operator, and was assigned at different stations along that system and remained in that service about ten years. In 1916 Mr. Fer- verda left the railroad to take up business, and is now a member of the F. and F. Hardware Company of Silver Lake.
In 1907 he married Miss Edith B. Lore, a native of Rush County, Indiana, and a high school graduate. They have one son, Harold L., born November 24, 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Ferverda are members of the Lutheran Church, and he is affiliated with Denning Lodge No. 88, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at North Manchester, and of the Knights of Pythias Lodge. In politics he is a republican.
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