USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Elkhart County, Indiana > Part 39
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Mı. Weybright belongs to one of the most prominent German- American families of the county. To this element of her population Elkhart county owes more of her permanent prosperity than to any other class. Their phenomenal industry, their integrity of character, their loyalty to constituted authority and to the God-given principles of fundamental religion are known to all who have ever had dealings with them or witnessed the results of their life work. Mr. Weybright is proud to call Elkhart county his birthplace, and the scene of most of his subsequent activities. Ile was born September 4. 1854. the sixth in a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters, whose par- ents were John and Joanna ( Lindeman) Weybright. Six of the chil- (Iren are living: Elizabeth, widow of Peter Troup, of Jackson town- ship: William H., a prosperous farmer and citizen of the same town- ship: Jacob F .. also an agriculturist of Jackson township: D. M., next in order: John A., who is married and is engaged in farming in Van Buren township. Kosciusko county: Daniel W .. married and a farmer in Jackson township.
John Weybright. the father, who at his death on May 20. 1901. was one of the oklest and most honored of the pioneer citizens of the county, was born near Dayton, Ohio, July 6. 1819. and when eleven years old. in 1830. accompanied his parents to Elkhart county. In that the year in which Elkhart county was organized, primeval nature
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everywhere held sway over this beautiful region: the forests were un- touched, the wild game had not been disturbed in their haunts, the red men were more numerous than the whites, and all conditions and surroundings were different beyond realization from the present. John Weybright attended log-cabin school, and at an early age was initiated into the methods of pioneer agriculture, using the old-time cradle and sickle to cut the grain. threshing it out with Hail or treading, and fan- ning it out in the wind. That his youth was passed in an epoch which is only a historical memory to the present generation may be inferred from the following incident, preserved among the family reminiscences. Upon ene occasion an Indian, in passing the Weybright farm, picked up a hoe and was making off with it when John's elder brother Mar- tin. observing him, seized the wagon whip and overtaking the thief proceeded to administer a summary thrashing. After enduring stoically this condign punishment for a time, the red man turned upon his as- sailant and no doubt would have killed the youth if he had had a weapon. But the boy Martin, being very active and strong, managed to double himself up and, planting his feet on the Indian's breast and stomach. shoved him off. then jumped up and. recovering the hoe. made good his retreat.
The grandfather had entered a large amount of land from the gov- ernment in this county, and John Weybright, emulating the industry and successful management of his father, accumulated considerable land in the county and was one of the most enterprising of the pio- neer farmers. In the latter years of his life he had been a steadfast adherent of the Republican party, but he cast his first vote for the great exponent of Whig principles, Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe. Upon the death of grandfather Weybright, and on the day of the funeral and just after the interment, John Weybright, his wife, his brother Martin ( whose wife was already a member), his brother Michael and wife, and his sister Lizzie and her husband Jacob Smeltzer, were all received into the communion and fellowship of the German Baptist church by Christian baptism. John Weybright was one of the fore- most in the erection of the church in the southeastern part of Jackson township which is known everywhere as " The Big Church." Some of the timbers of this edifice are sixty feet in length and most of them came from the Weybright farm.
The mother of Mr. D. M. Weybright was born in Baden, Ger- many. July 9. 1817, and. at the great age of over eighty-eight years, is one of the oldest and most venerable women of the county, her length of years being equalled by her deeds of kindness to children and friends and by the elemental beauty and strength of her character. She was nine years old when she came across the waters to America and after several years' residence in Baltimore, Maryland. her parents came to Indiana. She resides with her son David.
Mr. D. M. Weybright was reared on the homestead which is still
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his home. received his education in the common schools, and, trained to the life of farmer, has followed that occupation with almost unvary- ing success from early manhood to the present. He began at the age of twenty-one in the employ of his father at wages of sixteen dollars a month during the summer and seventy-five cents a day during the winter, and in this way accumulated about two hundred dollars capi- tal the first year. It has been by a constant succession of such years of industry, thrift and capable management that Mr. Weybright has ar- rived at his present degree of prosperity, and no one begrudges him the comfortable circumstances which he has gained by his own dili- gent efforts. Not selfishly, not in the spirit or practice of self-gain at the cost of others' loss, has he sought to reach success. That beauti- ful ideal of social service. of counting one's own advancement as un- worthy of effort unless at the same time mankind in general, and espe- cially the immediate circle of family and friends, receives benefit- this has been the cardinal principle of his life work. He has practiced this manner of life because he has believed it in harmony with the Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man, as exemplified in the Saviour who denied himself the pleasures and glory of divine life that he might come to earth and prove a means of salvation to men.
June 10, 1878, Mr. Weybright was united in marriage with Miss Emily C. Hinebaugh. Their wedded life has been blessed with four children. Arthur B., the eldest, was educated in the common schools and is now a practical and successful farmer: he married Miss Ida Peters, and they have one son, Clio Leslie. Harley F., who attended the common schools and who, in company with his brother Arthur. spent one summer in Utah, is now farming his grandmother's place. John Walter, who, after finishing the common schools, attended the Elkhart Business College, where he took his diploma in the bookkeep- ing course, is now with his brother Arthur. Ada J. lives at home, having completed the public school course and received her diploma. Mrs. Weybright, who was born in Ohio. September 19, 1852, is a daughter of Benjamin F. and Minerva ( Bernworth ) Hinebaugh. Her father died in March, 1902, but her mother is living in Jackson town- ship. There were seven children in the Hinebaugh family and five are living. Mrs. Weybright is likewise a member of the German Bap- tist church in Jackson township, and a woman of such devotion to the Christian life that her example and works have proved the strongest influence for good in the rearing of her children.
On his thirty-second birthday. September 4. 1886, Mr. Weybright was elected deacon of the "Big Church," and from that day to this he has continued to fili this position and has been one of the most prominent workers in the church and Sunday school. He is a Repub- lican in politics, and as a public-spirited citizen has always done his share toward promoting civic progress. In December, 1900, he was appointed a rural mail carrier from the central office at New Paris, and
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through weather fair and foul he has performed his duties up to the present time.
The career thus briefly sketched has been replete with honorable effort and praiseworthy results, and it deserves a place of dignity in this work, where children and grandchildren will long refer to it and gain therefrom lessons of encouragement to work for like high ideals. In conclusion we reprint the obituary notice of the late John Wey- bright which was published in the Goshen News-Times on the occasion of his deatlı :
" John Weybright was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, July 6. 1819, and died May 20, 1901. aged eighty-one years. ten months. He emigrated with his parents to Elkhart county, Indiana, in 1830. when about eleven years oldl, when the wild beasts and the Indians hield almost undisturbed possession of this country. He saw the changes which have resulted in bringing this country up to what it is at the present day; he saw our cities and villages spring up from their in- fancy to what they now are; he saw the building of our first railroads. telegraph and electric lines, the introduction of the electric light and telephone.
" He was united in marriage to Joanna Lindeman, November 24. 1842. To this union ten children were born, nine of which he saw grow up to manhood and womanhood; one died in infancy. His aged companion, six children, twenty-six grandchildren, twenty great-grand- children, one brother and one sister remain to mourn his loss. With his wife he moved to the place of his late residence in the autumn of 1845 and by hard work and economy they accomplished what they did. He was a man of peace and lived at peace with his fellow men. He never sued nor was sued by anyone, but was ever ready to yield rather than have difficulty. May we profit by his example.
" Ile united with the German Baptist or Brethren church in March, 1845. and remained a faithful member over fifty-six years. He was called to serve the church in the capacity of deacon in the autumn of 1851, in which capacity he served faithfully for almost fifty years."
WEYBRIGHT FAMILY REUNION.
It is a pleasing matter of record to find a family so long estab- lished in this portion of the middle west that their associations indi- vidually and collectively have become occasions of celebration out of the ordinary. In the east a family gathering under a roof which has sheltered five or six generations of kin is a common occurrence, while in this newer middle country such an event is impossible for historical reasons. Of interest as completing the family history of the Wey- brights and also as forming an additional topic to the full history of Elkhart county, will be found the account of a Weybright reunion as
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it appeared in the issue of the old New Paris Record of July 15. 1899. The article follows :
The annual reunion of the family of John Weybright occurred on Thursday, July 6, at the old homestead in the southern part of Jack- son township. Elkhart county. It has always been the aim of the mem- bers of the Weybright family to holl these reunions on the natal day of Grandfather Weybright. On this occasion Mr. Weybright was eighty years oldl, and the members of the family once more gathered under the family roof and proceeded to enjoy themselves. Mr. and Mrs. Weybright have resided in the township for over fifty years, and have seen nine of their children reach the age of manhood and woman- hood, seven of them are still living and were present, except one daugh- ter who was unable to attend on account of her ill health-her absence being the only feature to mar the happiness of the occasion.
Eighty-two guests were present. Among those present from abroad were T. L. Hammond, wife and daughter, Ira Weybright and family of Milford: David Lamb and family and William Sheffield and family of Syracuse: C. U. Troup and family and Wayne Binkley of Goshen; Mrs. Kilmer and daughter of Wakarusa: Mrs. Girl of Cleveland, Ohio: M. Weybright of Warsaw, who recently returned from a two years' sojourn in California, the only surviving brother of John Weybright; Rev. Bussard, with wife, the minister of the neigh- borhood, was also present. The evening was spent in social inter- course, with music and song. A heavy-laden table, loaded with re- freshments to satisfy the cravings of the inner man, was soon relieved of its burden, after which song services were held, the blessings of the Almighty Father were asked by Rev. Bussard, assisted by the mem- lers of the family. After having enjoyed the occasion one could not but wish that grandfather and grandmother Weybright might be spared that many more annual reunions of the family might be en- joyed with them as the guests of honor: but it must be remembered that one by one we are passing away, and ere long, if we so order our lives and live faithful, we will jom in one unbroken family reunion in the blissful beyond. never to part again.
N. B. YODER.
N. B. Yoder, senior member of the firm of Yoder Brothers, whose commercial enterprise and ability have been one of the prime factors in bringing Wakarusa, within the last decade, to rank among the lead- ing Imusiness centers of northern Indiana, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, March 12, 1804. He is the fifth child in the family of Henry B. and Elizabeth ( Bixler ) Yoder, detailed mention of whose lives will be found in the sketch of their son, Rev. A. B. Yoder. pre- siding elder of the Mennonite church of northern Indiana and south- ern Michigan. The Yoders are of German stock, inheriting from the
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fatherland and transmitting through all the descendants that virility, industry and upright character which have made them men and women of influence and worth in every sphere of life.
A child when his parents moved to Indiana, Mr. Yoder has spent practically his entire life in Elkhart county. His education was begun in the common schools and was continued almost through the literary and scientific departments of the Valparaiso Normal. It was as a teacher that he began his independent career, and for sixteen years he followed what has well been called the most elevating of the pro- fessions. These sixteen years of pedagogic labor were spent in six different schools, and in that time it was his lot to fashion and mold for future usefulness the minds and characters of many score of boys and girls. One of the successful and prosperous men of the county at the present time, yet when he began life at his majority he was pos- sessed only of a well trained mind and muscles and the ability to work hard and perseveringly, and that he has utilized this potential capital to the best advantage his position in business and social circles would amply prove. While teaching he spent the parts of four years in farming on rented land. He began his business career in 1893, when he engaged in the hardware business at Wakarusa in partnership with P. C. Messick and I. J. Leatherman. \ year later Rev. . A. B. Yoder. his brother, purchased the interests of Messrs. Messick and Leather- man. The brothers conducted the business one year, and in 1895 .A. B. Yoder purchased a one-third interest in the establishment. In 1901 Rev. A. B. Yoder sold out his share to the other two members, who have since conducted the business on such a scale as to rank it among the foremost hardware houses in the county. The store, which is ex- cellently situated for the conveniences of the trade and in a good build- ing of brick, is filled up with a full line of standard shelf and heavy hardware, steel ranges and stoves of all kinds; another department is devoted to furniture and undertaking, Mr. A. B. Yoder having taken a full course in the Barnes Embalming School, receiving his diploma in 1900, and he attends to this department of the business.
Mr. N. B. Yoder owns one of the beautiful homes for which the town of Wakarusa is noted among all who have ever visited there. His residence, located on Wabash avenue. is modern to every detail, fin- ished in hard pine and poplar, and delightful and comfortable in all its furnishings and appointments. The lady who presides so well over this home and who has in countless ways been a co-partner and help- mate for her husband both in his business and social life, was, before her marriage. Miss Clara A. Longenecker. They were married in Pea- body, Kansas, May 25. 1802. and five children have been born to them. namely: Wave, deceased: Merl .A., in the third grade of school : Worth N., Hattie. and Fern. Mrs. Yoder was born in St. Joseph county, this state, February 13. 1860, a daughter of Joseph and Esther ( T.eatherman ) Longenecker. She was reared in her native county,
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in the state of Ohio and at Peabody, Kansas, receiving her education in the common schools. Both Mr. and Mrs. Yoder are progressive people. awake to the manifold interests which claim the attention of mankind in this age, and have endeavored to broaden their minds and characters with each year of their lives. Mr. Yoder has traveled ex- tensively and is a well informed man. He takes high ground on the subject of temperance, endeavoring by his franchise and personal in- fluence to blot out the liquor curse. and in all other movements for the civic welfare his efforts are prompted by the same high degree of public spirit. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he has been teacher of the business men's class for the past five years.
JOHN MCNAUGHTON.
Now retired from active participation in Isiness, after having been identified prominently with the development and upbuilding of Elkhart county, especially of the city of Elkhart, for more than sixty years. Mr. John MeNaughton is one of the few real " old-timers " whom time has left to this present day. He has been and is yet one of the leading men of Elkhart -- strong in character, of which honesty and integrity have been foundation stones from youth up, and eminent in both private and civic life. Public-spirited by nature, from him has come for many years a definite influence in the direction of upbuilding and progress in every phase of Elkhart's history. It is doubtful if any other man has been so long and so intimately identified with the enter- prises and activities which have been both the foundation and frame- work of Elkhart's substantial and permanent growth toward civic and industrial ideals. His name will always receive prominent mention in the history of Elkhart, since his vocation placed him in position to render on many occasions great service to that city.
Born in Cambletown, Argyleshire, Scotland. November 25, 1825. Mr. McNaughton, by both family and racial connections, inherited men- tal, moral and physical strength. His sister, who is living with him in the Elkhart home and who is several years his elder, is the widow of the late Hon. Joseph 11. Defrees, one of the distinguished pioneers whose life work has so much to do with the early development of the county. and who was eminent as a business man, journalist and in public life. at one time being in Congress. Mrs. Defrees, whose maiden name was Margaret McNaughton, was born in Scotland, married for her first hus- band a Mr. Pearce and in 1865 married Mr. Defrees, whom she survives, being one of the oklest and most esteemed women of Elkhart county.
Mr. McNaughton was not reared in opulence, had almost none of the advantages and easy circumstances which are the lot of the average hoy of the present day, and what he has accomplished both in material wealth and individual character is the result of his own labors and application. At the age of eight years he accompanied his father and
3
Mrs Margaret Detrees
John le Sang Llon
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the other children to America, the mother having died at Cambletown. and two years after their home was located in Canada the father also died, since which time Mr. McNaughton has practically shifted for him- self and been dependent upon his own resources. The family soon moved to Detroit, Michigan. From there he went to Niles, Michigan, later to South Bend. Indiana, and in 1843 arrived at Goshen. He lo- cated in Elkhart in 1851. Embarking in the grocery business, which he later enlarged to a general mercantile store, he had a very prosperous commercial career until 1865. since which time, up to his retirement. he has been in the real estate business. Many buildings in this city were originally erected by him and hardly a public enterprise of any impor- tance has been undertaken without his co-operation and support. He was one of the nine men who built the dam in the river and thus gave one of the principal sources of industrial wealth to the city. He has helped by time and money nearly every factory that has been established in Elkhart during the last forty years. When the Lake Shore Railroad moved its shops to Elkhart it was partly upon his land and also with the help of a cash bonus from him that the extensive shops were erected. His public spirit has been manifested in numerous other ways, and dur- ing the many years of his residence he has been gratified to witness the almost complete transformation of his city, so far as buildings and im- provements are concerned. While claiming no distinction as a philan thropist. and while he would be the last one to make mention of his generosity, he has for many years been a steady and large contributor to the needs of the worthy poor in the city of Elkhart.
In politics Mr. McNaughton, while a Democrat in principle and generally voting that way, has also shown his independence of views by voting for Republican candidates. He has the honor of having been the last president of the village of Elkhart before its incorporation as a city in 1875. He is one of the veteran Masons of the county, having joined the order fifty years ago. and at one time was also an Odd Fellow.
Mr. McNaughton married for his first wife, in 1853. Miss Jane .1. Hiller, who died August 31. 1854. His second marriage, in 1858, was with Laura E. Davenport. a native of this county. She died in 1861. Such is a brief review of the active life of John McNaughton, and to omit the same from the history of the city of Elkhart would leave the city's history incomplete forever.
JOHN A. PENCE.
Stability of character and honesty of purpose are the salient feat- ures in the life record of John \. Pence. He needs no introduction to the readers of this volume because he is well known as an enter- prising agriculturist of Jackson township and one who " stands four square to the world." He was born in Preble county, Ohio. Septem- ber 8. 1847. his parents being Joseph and Susan ( Weist) Pence. The
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father, a native of Rockingham county. Virginia, was born in 1812 and died in October, 1851. By trade he was a mechanic, but through much of his life he carried on agricultural pursuits. His parents were natives of Scotland and with them he removed from the Old Dominion to Preble county. Ohio, during his early boyhood days, his father purchasing land in the latter place. He was there reared to farm life. and although he learned a trade hie devoted innch of his attention to the tilling of the soil in later years. He married Susan Weist, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, in 1818, and died January 2. 1881. Her grandfather came from Germany to the new world and served his adopted country in the war of 1812, while her father. Henry Weist. was a soldier of the Mexican war. Mr. and Mrs. Pence were the par- ents of thee sons and a daughter and of this number three are yet living. Nancy, the eldest, is the widow of J. H. Middaugh and a resi- (lent of Dayton, Ohio. Her husband was a sawyer. Mrs. Middaugh now has three daughters. Oliver, the youngest living member of the family, is a resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is engaged in mining.
John A. Pence, the second of the family, was reared in his native county as a tiller of the soil and he supplemented his early education. acquired in the common schools, by study in Farlham College at Rich- mond, Indiana. He afterward engaged in teaching for one term in the county of his nativity. In early life he chose a companion and helpmate and was married to Miss Mary A. Yates, who belonged to a prominent family of Ohio. Her birth occurred in Miami county. that state. August 24. 1850, and she is the youngest of twelve chil- dren, six sons and six daughters, of whom five are now liv- ing. namely: Thomas Yates, who is a resident of Goshen, Indiana : Frances, the wife of Jacob Long, who was a soldier of the Civil war and is now a retired farmer living in Lena, Ohio: Sarah, the wife of Robert Weatherhead, a farmer living near Bristol, Indiana: Priscilla. the widow of Dallas Miller and now a resident of Clinton township. Elkhart county; and Mrs. Pence. The last named spent her girlhood days in the county of her nativity and acquired a common school edu- cation. Her father, Nezer S. Yates, was a native of Cape May county. New Jersey, born in ISor and his death occurred in 1874. The name of Yates is of English origin and there were four brothers who came from England to America prior to the Revolutionary war, while two of the number acted as body guard to General Washington at Valley Forge. so that the children of Mr. and Mrs. Pence are entitled to mem- bership with the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution. The name of Yates figures conspicuously in the history of the state of Illinois. Ex-Governor Vates is a distant relative of this family and Lieutenant Governor Sherman of Illinois is also a relative of the family. his grandfather having been a brother of the father of MErs. Pence.
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