USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Elkhart County, Indiana > Part 45
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Returning home, he remained with his father and mother until the death of the latter in the spring of 1864, at which time he went to Cali- fornia, where he spent a number of years. At Cashville he clerked in a general store three years, was then in like business for himself five years, and on selling out moved to Sacramento and engaged in the same line of business there for five years. Mr. Hazelton established himself in business at Elkhart in December. 1875. at first in the grocery line. then in dry-goods, boots and shoes, and lastly, continuing up to 1892, con- fined himself exclusively to dry-goods. On retiring from merchandising he became vice president of the St. Joseph Valley Bank, and is now its cashier.
As one of the Civil war veterans of the county, Mr. Hazelton is a member of Shiloh Post, G. A. R., at Elkhart. He is a charter member of the Masonic lodge at Elkhart, and has attained the Knight Templar degree in that order. He also belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and is a member of the Century Club, the best known organization of business men in Elkhart. Politically Mr. Hazelton al- ways has been an ardent Republican and has served six years as a mem- ber of the Elkhart city board of education, one term as a member of the board of county commissioners of Elkhart county, and is now serving his fourth year as a member of the Elkhart city council.
October 20, 1872, Mr. Hazelton married Miss Livonia L. White. who was born in the town of Middlebury, this county, being a niece of Dave White of that town and a daughter of John White. They were married in California. Their only child is Eva M., the wife of Dr. H. B. Kurtz, who is a rising young physician and surgeon of Cleveland. Ohio.
ADAM R. HARTMAN.
Adam R. Hartman, a prominent farmer and old settler of Locke township, living on section 12. was born in Ashland county, Ohio, March 25. 1847, and is the fifth child and fourth son in the family of Adam and Elizabeth Hartman, the former a native of Germany, who came to this county at an early day, settling in Harrison township, where he remained for about two years. He then moved to Union township, where he improved a farm. but his last days were spent in Harrison township, where he died at an advanced age. . As a pioneer settler he not only witnessed the development of the county, but assisted materially
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in the changes that were wrought and which brought about its present improved condition and prosperity. Every matter of progressive citizen- ship received his endorsement and in as far as possible he gave to it his material assistance. His wife, who in her maidenhood was Elizabeth Ramer was born in Pennsylvania and passed away in Elkhart county. They were the parents of seven sons and three daughters, and with one exception all reached manhood or womanhood, namely: Samuel, who is engaged in dealing in produce south of Elkhart: Tobias, who was born in Ohio and is a member of the firm of Hartman Brothers: Peter, of Louisiana : Adam R., of this review : Jacob, a merchant of Nappanee ; John, who is also a member of the firm of Hartman Brothers; Emanuel, deceased : Catherine, the deceased wife of David W. Bechtel ; Elizabeth. the wife of Samuel Netrone, of Newton, Kansas; and one that died in infancy.
Adam R. Hartman was but a babe when brought by his parents to Elkhart county, where he was reared and educated in Union township. pursuing his studies in a log schoolhouse such as was common in frontier settlements. His training at farm work was not meagre, for he early assisted in the work of field and meadow and continued to give his father the benefit of his services until he started out in life on his own account. He began working by the month as a farm hand, and was thus employed up to the time of his marriage, which occurred December 1, 1870. the lady of his choice being Miss Nancy Brenneman, a daughter of the Rev. George and Annie ( Burkholder ) Brenneman. She was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, March 6, 1847. and it was in the Buckeye state that the marriage was celebrated, after which Mr. Hartman brought his bride to Union township. Elkhart county. There they resided for a short time and then removed to Olive township, where they lived for four years, after which they again resided in Union township and later in Nappanee, where Mr. Hartman engaged in the livery business for two years. On the expiration of that period he removed to the farm on which he now resides and has here carried on agricultural pursuits for twenty-four years, having a good tract of land which he has placed nunder a high state of cultivation. He was also engaged in the milk business for seven years and at one time raised cattle quite extensively and his various business interests have been well conducted, bringing him a good financial return.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Hartman has been blessed with six chil- (Iren : Annie, deceased : Amanda, the wife of Amos Weldy, a farmer of Locke township : George.who is engaged in the milk business in Chicago : Cora, the wife of W. H. Shaum, manager of Crystal Springs Creamery Company : Frank, a minister of the Evangelical church, located in Lan- caster. Illinois : and Irvin, who is assisting in the operation of the home farm.
Mr. and Mrs. Hartman are members of the Mennonite church and Sunday school, and his political support is given to the Republican party.
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the principles of which he has advocated since attaining his majority. Although his life has been quietly passed, largely in agricultural pur- suits, there are yet elements in his character that are worthy of emula- tion, for in his relations with his fellow men he has ever been straight- forward and reliable.
ELIAS FISHER.
Ehas Fisher is numbered among those who have long lived in Elkhart county, and as an early settler has been a witness of much of the development and progress of this section of the state. He lives on section 14. Locke township, where he has a good farm. He was born in Morrow county, Ohio, March 3, 1842. His father, Absalom Fisher. was a native of Virginia and when a young lad he was left an orphan. after which he removed to Monroe county. Ohio, with a sister. Later he became a resident of Morrow county, that state, and in 1851 came to Elkhart county. He was married twice in Morrow county. his second marriage being with Miss Charity Rush. a native of that county. On coming to Indiana they established their home in Locke township in 1851. and the father carried on agricultural pursuits until his death. which occurred August 8, 1866. There were four children, two sons and two daughters, by the second marriage, all of whom grew to adult age, and there were three children of the first marriage.
Elias Fisher is the eldest child of the second marriage and was nine years of age when he came with his parents to Elkhart county. The days of his boyhood and youth were spent upon the old homestead farm in Locke township and through the winter months he attended the public schools, while during the remainder of the year he assisted in the work of plowing, planting and harvesting. He was married September 30. 1865. to Miss Matilda Ann Ferguson, a daughter of George and Mary ( Salsbury) Ferguson. She was born in Lake county, Indiana. her people having been early settlers of that part of the state.
Mr. Fisher purchased the old homestead in Locke township and for a long period engaged in general farming there. In 1871 he turned his attention to the lumber business, buying timber which was sawed. and for four years his energies were directed to that line. He then added to his farm and he now has two hundred and twenty acres of land in Locke township, all in section 14. He still carries on general farming and dairying and he likewise raises stock, Short Horn regis- tered cattle and Poland China registered hogs. He is thoroughly familiar with all departments of farm work and his efforts have brought him very creditable success.
In 1904 Mr. Fisher was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the end of July of that year. They were the parents of nine children but three of the number died in infancy. Those still living are: Edward E .. a farmer of Locke township, who married Alva Etta Lockwood, the granddaughter of the first settler of Locke
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
township-Samuel Locke-in whose honor the township was named; John L., who married Cora Snyder, and resides in South Bend: Joseph B., who is living on the old homestead farm: Mary Viola, the wife of William E. Overholser, a farmer and teacher of Locke township: George Absalom, at home; and Harley Roscoe, also at home.
Mr. Fisher gives his political support to the Democracy and has held a number of township offices, including those of assessor and justice of the peace. He has ever taken an active interest in public affairs, and during the fifty-three years of his residence in this county has rejoiced in what has been accomplished and has given his support to many measures for the general good. He is a man whose personal worth has endeared him to many friends and as an early settler he ‹leserves representation in this volume. for during more than a half century he has lived within the borders of the county.
Joseph B. Fisher, the third son of the family, was born December 19. 1879, and pursued his education in Elkhart College and the high school at Nappanee. He engaged in teaching school for one term in Locke township and he is deeply interested in educational and church work and in all movements for the betterment of the community. His political views and labors endorse Democratic principles, and he is a recognized lender in the local ranks of his party, serving at the present time as chairman of the township central committee. He is also an interested and zealous worker in the Union church, teaching in the Sun- day-school and doing all in his power to promote the cause of Christian- ity. He spent one year on the Pacific coast, visiting California, Washing- ton and Oregon, and he also went to New Mexico, Wyoming, and other western states. Travel has greatly broadened his knowledge and he is to-day a young man of broad general information and marked capabilities. widely recognized in the community as an enterprising citi- zen and one whose worth has made him a valued factor in the political. business and moral development of his community.
CHARLES WESLEY MILLER.
Charles Wesley Miller, attorney general of the state of Indiana, was born on a farm near the village of Galena, Floyd county, Indiana. February 4, 1863 and comes of one of the oldest families in the state. On the maternal side his ancestors, of English descent, settled at Cape May, New Jersey, about 1800. In 1817 his great-grandfather, Jacob Garrison, moved to Floyd county, Indiana, where he was a pioneer and prominent citizen. Accompanying him on this early migration was his daughter. Experience Smith. Mr. Miller's grandmother, who was then seventeen years of age. Of great natural vigor and strength of char- acter. she was a remarkable woman in many ways, and was ninety-seven years old when her death occurred in Floyd county in January. 1898. On the paternal side the family is of German lineage. Grandfather
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Jacob Miller moved from Pennsylvania to Floyd county, Indiana, in 1807, and from the wilderness wrested a homestead on which was born, in 1819, Jacob B. Miller, the father of Charles W. Miller. Both the father and mother are still living, having celebrated their golden wed- ding anniversary in 1891.
Reared on the homestead farm in Floyd county, at an early age Mr. Miller began his training in the school of useful endeavor. The country schools supplied his first educational equipment and by spending the sum- mers at farm labor until he was sixteen years old he was enabled at that time to begin his college career. This he also carried to successful com- pletion by teaching during the winter and selling books and fruit trees in the summer vacations. His higher education was obtained in the private school of Prof. W. W. Pinkham at Paoli, Indiana, and in the Ladoga Normal School, and when he was ready to begin active prepara- tion for the law he entered the University of Michigan and graduated from the law department in 1884. Immediately taking up active practice, he formed a partnership with John H. Binford at Greenfield, Indiana, and this continued until he came to Goshen in January, 1885. In 1892 he formed a law partnership with Francis E. Baker, and the firm of Baker and Miller continued until the senior partner was elevated to the supreme bench of Indiana, on January 1, 1899. At that date J. S. Drake became Mr. Miller's partner, and later S. C. Hubbell was admitted, the firm thenceforth being Miller, Drake and Hubbell. As a member of these successive law firms Mr. Miller was interested in almost every law- suit of importance in Elkhart county, and also had an extensive practice in other counties of northern Indiana.
Politically an ardent Republican, and a quiet though effective worker for his party, Mr. Miller has given of his time and energies to political affairs for many years. He has served as chairman of the Elkhart county central committee and for many years a member of the executive committee. In 1888 he was elected mayor of Goshen, having the dis- tinction of being the youngest mayor in the state of Indiana at the time, and he served two years with credit. He has been a delegate to all the Republican state conventions since 1882, and was a delegate to the Re- publican national convention which nominated Harrison in 1892. His ability as a lawyer and prominence in state Republican circles brought him forward in 1902 as the logical candidate for attorney general, and election followed his nomination, and in 1904 he was re-elected. Mr. Miller has also made his influence felt in business affairs. He is presi- dent of the State Bank of Goshen, and is interested in several other business and industrial enterprises. Fraternally he is a thirty-second degree Mason and Knight Templar, and a member of the Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Miller was married in Goshen in June, 1887, to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Perkins.
Born withont either the handicap or advantages of wealth. placed
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
at an early age face to face with the realities and difficulties on the road to success, largely self-educated and gaining his entrance upon a profes- sional career as a result of steady industry and unceasing application, Mr. Miller seems to have deserved every advancement and reward which have come to him in professional and public life, since they have been won through force of character and eminent ability and are the fitting prizes for those who make obstacles of chance and circumstance but stepping stones to the attainment of their laudable ambitions.
CHARLES FRANCIS PALMITER.
Charles Francis Palmiter, who carries on general farming on sec- tion 14. Locke township, is a native of Wisconsin, his birth having occurred in Rock county. September 15, 1840. His father. Silas Pal- miter, was a native of New York and emigrating westward established his home in Wisconsin when it was still a territory, arriving there about 1838. He cast in his lot with the early settlers and experienced the usual hardships and trials of frontier life. His death occurred in 1844 when his son Charles was but four years of age. He left children. of whom the subject of this review is the youngest.
When only twelve years of age Charles F. Palmiter started out in life on his own account, and whatever success he has achieved and what- ever privileges he has enjoyed are attributable to his own efforts. He first worked by the month as a farm hand, and removing from Wisconsin to lowa he settled in Chickasaw county, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when his patriotic spirit was aroused and he enlisted in 1861 as a member of Company B. Seventh lowa Volunteer Infantry. He was a private in that command and he served faithfully and loyally until July. 1865. when the war having ended he received an honorable discharge. He participated in many important engagements, including the battles of Fort Donelson. Pittsburg Landing. Corinth, the siege of Atlanta, Savan- nah and the celebrated march under General Sherman to the sea. He afterward went with the Carolina campaign and on to Washington. where he participated in the grand review, the most notable military pageant ever seen on the western hemisphere. Following the close of the war he returned to lowa and once more took up the pursuits of civil life as a farmer. There he resided continuously until 1894.
In June, 1894. Mr. Palmiter was married to Mrs. Nancy Lockwood- Rush-Fisher, a daughter of Daniel Lockwood. Her father was born in Vermont and was a son of Samuel Lockwood, who was the first set- tler of Locke township in Elkhart county, and it was in his honor that the township was named. Mrs. Pahniter was born in that township, January 29. 1851, and has always lived upon the home farm there. She was first married to Jackson Rush and there was one child by that union who died in early life. Following the death of her first husband she
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
became the wife of John Fisher and they had tive children, four of whom are yet living : Charles, Elmer E., Junetta and Aragona Ophelia. Mr. Palmiter was also previously married, having in lowa wedded Miss Lydia Hurley, by whom he had three children yet living, namely : Mary. William and Charles.
The home farm of Mr. and Mrs. Palmiter comprises one hundred and twenty acres of well improved land on which is a fine modern brick residence, good barns and other substantial buildings. These in turn are surrounded by the well kept fences, and everything about the place is indicative of the careful supervision and progressive spirit of the owner, who, following farming throughout his entire life, has the ex- perience and business capacity that make him one of the successful agri- culturists of his community. Mr. Palmiter belongs to Wakarusa Post, G. A. R., and thus maintains pleasant relations with his old army com- rades. In politics he is a Republican, having supported the party since age gave him the right of franchise, his first vote being cast for Lincoln. He has ever performed his public duties as a private citizen without hope of official reward in recognition of his party fealty. He has lived for many years in this county and is one of its self-made men whose prosperity is the direct result of labor and enterprise, guided by sound business judgment.
JOSEPH N. FREED.
Joseph V. Freed. who is a practical and progressive farmer of Locke township, living on section 12, was born in Kosciusko county. Indiana, January 24, 1853, his parents being Daniel and Anna ( Nus- baum) Freed. both of whom were natives of Ohio and became early settlers of Elkhart county. casting in their lot with the pioneer resi- dents who were reclaiming this district for the purposes of civiliza- tion and were planting the seeds of its present prosperity and progress.
Joseph N. Freed was only about two years old when he was brought to this county by his parents and here he was reared on the home farm in Olive township. attending the district schools through the winter months, while in the summer seasons he worked with his father. His attention was given to the cultivation and improvement of the old homestead until he was twenty-seven years of age, when he was married in December, 1880, to Miss Sevilla Yoder. They be- came the parents of three children-a son and two daughters: Maud M .: Dora M .. now the wife of Lloyd Knowlton; and Francis E., at home. The wife and mother passed away and Mr. Freed has since wedded Sarah Davidhiser, who is also deceased. There were three children by that marriage, but Manford A. is the only one now living.
At the time of his first marriage Mr. Freed located on a rented farm in Locke township, after which he purchased the farm upon which he now resides, comprising eighty acres, and it has now been his home for twenty-four years. He has engaged in general agricult-
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ural pursuits and stock-raising and his fields are well tilled, while in the pastures are seen good grades of cattle and horses. His interest in political questions is manifest by the active support which is given to the Republican party. He is a member of the Mennonite church and advocates all measures for intellectual and moral as well as ma- terial development in this part of the state. For fifty years he has lived in the county and is numbered among its early settlers, having been a witness of the great changes that have occurred and have made this one of the leading counties in the commonwealth.
JOHN STAUFFER.
John Stauffer, who is now living a retired life in Nappanee after many years connection with agricultural interests, and who is well known as an early settler of the county, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, December 15, 1828, and has therefore reached the seventy-sixth mile- stone on life's journey at this writing in the summer of 1905. His father, Jacob Stauffer, was a native of Pennsylvania, and when a child was taken to Columbiana county, Ohio, by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Stauffer. There be was reared and married, and while living in the Buckeye state he followed farming. He came to Elkhart county in 1852, settling about three miles from Nappanee, and his remaining days were passed here, his death occurring when he had reached the age of eighty-one. His early political views accorded with Whig principles, and later he joined the ranks of the new Republican party. He held local offices, the duties of which he discharged with promptness and fidelity, and his labors in behalf of public progress were effective and beneficial. While in Ohio he married Elizabeth Hoffman, a native of that state, who lived to be seventy-seven years of age. They were the parents of two sons, Henry Stauffer living to be about seventy-six years of age, his death occurring in Nappanee.
John Stauffer, the younger son, was reared in the state of his nativity and lived at different times in Columbiana, Portage and Stark counties, and from the last named came to Elkhart county in 1852. He had no capital when he arrived here, but he possessed what is far better-a de- termined spirit, laudable ambition and willingness to work. He and his brother farmed together, improving a farm one mile east and two miles north of Nappanee. The brother was married when he came to Elk- hart county, but Mr. Stauffer did not marry until 1854, when he wedded Abigail Winder, a native of Portage county, Ohio, and a sister of his brother's wite. They lived in common with his brother and family until sixteen years had passed without keeping a book account, and then they divided the property which they had accumulated and improved without an unpleasant word, John Stauffer retaining possession of the old farm while his brother took another farm. He continued to engage actively in agricultural pursuits until 1884, when he took up his abode in
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
the residence that he now occupies in Nappanee. He purchased eighty acres of land now within the corporation limits of the town, and he has since divided a part of this into town lots, all of the eastern and northern part of Nappanee having been built upon his land. He has now laid out two additions, and his labors have proved an effective force in the ma- terial improvement and substantial upbuilding of the place.
Mr. and Mrs. Stauffer have become the parents of five children : Florence E., who is the wife of Charles Whitman, agent for the Balti- more & Ohio Railroad Company at Nappanee : Horace R., who is mar- ried and lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, was a graduate of Rush Medical College and engaged in life insurance business: Wallace W., who is conducting a grain elevator in Nappanee: Cora A., the wife of Charles Kinney : and Nellie 1., the wife of Claud Stoops, owner of the Nappanee Telephone Company. The wife and mother died in 1803. her death deeply regretted by many friends as well as her immediate family.
Mr. Stauffer has been a lifelong Republican and is active in the work of the party, believing it the duty of every true American citizen to upholdl and promote. to the best of his ability, the political principles in which he believes. For over a half century he has been a resident of Elkhart county and few are more widely known. He is numbered with the honored pioneers, and in the evening of life he receives the venera- tion and respect which should ever be accorded those who have advanced far on life's journey. In spirit and interests, however, he is not old. but seems yet in his prime, and is a companionable gentleman, a pro- gressive citizen and a delightful friend.
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