USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Elkhart County, Indiana > Part 67
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His father being a lifelong farmer, Mr. Conley was reared on a farm and began his education in the country schools. While following the plow around the fields his mind was often busied with ambitions for a more ample career. and upon the foundation of a sturdy farm training and rearing in a refined home he began to build for a professional career. Industrious and studious in school as well as a capable assistant to his father at home, he was prepared at the age of sixteen to teach school, and for some years thereafter lie gave his time alternately to attending and teaching school, his record as a teacher covering some ten terms. Teach- ing was a means to an end. During the vacation intervals he studied at the Northern Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso, where he de- voted considerable of his time to the study of law, after which he entered the law office of O. T. Chamberlain at Elkhart. Admitted to the bar on January 6, 1886, he at once launched out into what has proved a very successful career in Elkhart. On February 25. 1891, he was admitted to practice before the supreme court of Indiana and on December Il. 1893. before the United States supreme court. From 1887 to 1894 his practice was with Hon. O. Z. Hubbell, now deceased, and since then he has formed no partnership. Mr. Conley's professional connections dur- ing the past twenty years have identified him with a large share of the most important legal transactions in the county.
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Mr. Conley is a Democrat in politics and an able political speaker. Although offered political preferment time and again, his love for his profession was too ardent and he refused to give it up for public life. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevo- lent Order of Elks, and is a member of the Congregational church.
On Christmas day of 1887 he was united in marriage to Miss Cora E. Griffin, daughter of James M. and Alice E. Griffin, of Elkhart, and they have as the fruit of said marriage three sons, Harold G., James R. and Arthur H.
MRS. CATHARINE KOONS.
Mrs. Koons is one of the good pioneer mothers, who now is past the eighty-first milestone, and who came to Elkhart county when she was a little maiden of nine years, so she has seen the great develop- ment of this beautiful county from the earliest stages of settlement. The red men of the forest roamed at will, and the wild deer were plen- tiful, and ofttimes seen upon the premises, and all these early stages she has witnessed. She has lived in this county since the year of the Black Hawk war. She was born September 25. 1823. in Ross county. Ohio, and she is the fifth in a family of children born to Collins and Sarah Christie. There were fourteen children in the family and there are three living: Elizabeth, widow of William Caldwell, resides in Savannah, Missouri. Mrs. Koons is next. Sarah, widow of a Mr. Petcher, resident of Michigan.
The father was a native of Ohio, and he was a soldier in the war of 1812.
Mrs. Koons was a little girl of nine when she became a citizen of Elkhart county, and the first home of the Christies was a little pole or log calin, with board door. and it was heated by a kind of a fire place and the Indians would come and hold their hands over the mouth of the chimney to get warm. The corn was planted with a hoe among the trees. The little log cabin was the only house standing till Benton was reached and to the east as far as Ligonier.
The ox team was the means of conveyance and she says she has gone sleigh-riding behind them. Mrs. Koons has colored, spun and woven hundreds of vards of woolens into cloth for clothing. She yet has the oldl loom. reel and big wheel. She, like many of the pioneer mothers. tells of the apple parings, the quiltings, log rollings and all the old-time pleasures which are dear to the old people of to-day.
The school she first attended was a log cabin, with clapboard roof. heated with the old-fashioned fire place. She has written with the old goose-quill pens. She wedded William Koons, Easter Sunday. April 12. 1846, and three daughters were born: Matilda, wife of Warren McBride, one of the prosperous agriculturists of Benton. Sophia lives with her mother and attends to mother's business. She
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is a member of the Richville M. E. church. Etta is the wife of Eugene McBride, resident of Syracuse, Indiana, and a manufacturer.
Father Koons was a native of Pennsylvania, and was born Aug- ust 20, 1820, and died November 23, 1880. He was reared in Ohio till manhood, and then came to Indiana. He was educated in the com- mon schools and was an agriculturist. He was a Republican.
Mrs. Koons resides on her own estate, comprising eighty acres of good land in Jackson township. She is surrounded by her many and dear friends as well as her children, and all are always glad to see and greet the kind and motherly face. She has always done her part in all benevolences worthy of her, and she aided in the building of the new brick M. E. church in Benton township.
NATHANIEL LONG.
Mr. Long is so well known that he needs no introduction to the people of Benton township. He is a native of the county of Elkhart. of a part of the farm where he now resides, and was born April 15, 1858. He is the ninth in a family of thirteen children, eight sons and five daughters, born to Martin and Lydia ( Searfoss) Long. There are only three living, Mr. Long, the eldest: James, resident of Ben- ton township and a prosperous agriculturist and married, and Mary L .. widow of Milo Ott, resident of Kosciusko county.
Father Long was a native of Preble county, Ohio, and was born December 6, 1818, and died in June, 1895. He was a tiller of the soil. A boy of sixteen, or in 1834, two years after the Black Hawk war, he came to Benton township. He was a successful man, and had accumulated about four hundred acres of good land in Elkhart and Kosciusko counties. The name Long comes from old Germany, as the early progenitors of the Long family came across the water. Father Long was a stanch Whig and afterward a Republican. He and his wife were members of the German Lutheran church, and they helped in the erection of the church at the village of Benton, and he was a man who aided all benevolences worthy of their consideration. Ile was one of the pioneer fathers of Elkhart county, and a man whom all respected.
Mother Long was a native of Northumberland county, Penn- sylvania, and she was born July 27, 1823, and she was a little maiden when she came to Elkhart county.
Mr. Long was reared and educated in his home township. ITe remained with his parents till his marriage at the age of 25. Ile wedded Miss Mahala Hapner. March 18. 1883. . Mrs. Long was born in Benton township. July 11, 1858, and she is the eldest of five chil- dren, one son and four daughters, of Abraham and Sarah ( Ott ) Ilap- ner. Three are living. Mrs. Long is ellest. Marietta is the wife of William A. Judy. resident of Benton township and a prosperous
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farmer. Matilda is the wife of Jacob W. Ott, resident of Benton town- ship.
Father Hapner was born in Benton township, January 19, 1835. and he died November 13. 1896. He came from Scotch-Irish ancestry. He was an agriculturist and a successful man in his business. He was formerly a Whig and later a Republican. He was one of the trustees of the United Brethren in Christ church of Benton, and was one of the pillars of the church. He was also a class leader of the church.
Mother Hapner was born in Preble county, Ohio. December 4. 1831, and she died December 9, 1899. She was a little girl when she came to Indiana.
Mrs. Long has been reared in her home township. When the young couple began life it was in a little log cabin just east of their present beautiful modern residence. He began at the bottom of the ladder as a renter. He erected the barn in 1891, and in 1896 he finished their pretty home, which is a credit to the township of Benton. Besides the eighty acres at home, Mrs. Long has fifty-two acres of fine land, and all this estate lies in Benton township. He aims to keep good stock of all kinds.
Mr. Long is a Republican and cast his vote first for Garfield. He and his wife are ardent members of the United Brethren in Christ church, and he was one of the stanch pillars in its support, and they take interest in the Sunday school. Mrs. Long has been a teacher in the Sunday school for fifteen years.
HERMANN BORNEMAN.
Herman Borneman, who occupies a prominent position in the com- mercial circles of Elkhart as the principal member of the firm of Borne- man and Sons, extensive retail dealers in hardware, stoves, etc., is an example of the enterprising German-American citizen who, coming to this country without capital, by dint of diligence and careful manage- ment has attained an influential position as a man of affairs, whether in business or citizenship.
Born in Germany, August 10, 1852, educated there up to the time he was fourteen years old, at the age of fifteen he accompanied his par- ents to America and lived at Monroe, Michigan, with his father, who was a mason by trade, until he reached his majority. At Monroe he served an apprenticeship at the tinner's trade for three years and re- mained there in the employ of one man until 1876, which was the date of his removal to Elkhart. For the first six months in this city he worked at his trade .for John Clinger, and then for a similar period was at Fremont, Indiana, after which he returned to this city and has ever since been prominently identified therewith in a business and civic way. He bought out Thomas Bigelow's hardware, stoves and tinware establishment, a very small shop located on Main street, and
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in partnership with George Doll undertook to build up a business which should have a right to be considered among the leading enterprises of the kind in Elkhart. They were successful. In three years they moved to the corner of Lexington and Main streets, and in another three years bought the corner lot where the business has been con- ducted since 1883, the present building having been erected in that year. The firm was known as Borneman and Doll for twenty-five years, until 1902, when Mr. Borneman bought out his partner and made room for his two sons, Herman F. and Edward C., to take a share in the business, since which time their concern has been under the name of Borneman and Sons. A general hardware stock is carried, and one of the most varied and extensive in the county, besides harness and other similar commodities. Mr. Borneman is also interested in Elk- hart real estate, owning what is known as the Sykes corner, in which the Merchants Hotel is situated.
Mr. Borneman has been an active Republican since 1896. Public- spirited in all things, possessed of that degree of civic pride which is the chief factor in a city's development, he has served two terms as a member of the city council and in various other ways has contributed to the upbuilding of Elkhart. He is a member of the German Lutheran church.
Mr. Borneman married. in 1880, Miss Catherine Wagner, also a native of Germany. They have five children, four sons and one daughter, namely, Herman F., Edward C., George, Fred and Rosa.
ANDREW STEPHENS.
The late Andrew Stephens for over half a century was a well known business man and resident of Elkhart. He became identified with the city when he was a young man, and his activity in business af- fairs never ceased until his death. He is remembered in the city not only for the able way in which he conducted his business affairs but also for the sterling manhood and spotless integrity which characterized him all his life, and which is the best heritage he leaves to his descendants.
Born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, May 29, 1832, he was past the age of threescore and ten when death called him away from this city on October 9. 1903. He was a son of Andrew and Mary ( Braden) Stepliens, who were also born in Pennsylvania, of English and Irish lineage respectively. The parents had four sons: Joshua. John, Benjamin F. and Andrew, and one daughter, Ann. Andrew was the youngest of the five children, and the only survivor is the daughter, who is a resident of Elkhart. The father died in 1832, in January, several months before the birth of his son Andrew. He had been a soldier in the war of 1812, and by occupation was a farmer. His widow continued to reside on the Pennsylvania homestead until she had reared her children, and in 1852 she brought her family out to
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Indiana, making a brief stay in Steuben county and locating in Elk- hart county the same year.
The late Mr. Stephens lived in Elkhart from 1852 until his death, having located there when Elkhart was only a small town. Having become proficient in the carpenter's trade during his youth, on coming to this city he worked at his trade two or three years. Then he and his brother Benjamin F. entered into a partnership and established a cabinet-making, undertaking and furniture business, which was one of the pioneer enterprises of the kind in Elkhart. It was conducted for a little more than twenty years under the firm name of B. F. and .A. Stephens, and then Mr. Stephens became sole proprietor. In 1885, on the admission of his son Henry E. to a partnership, the name was changed to A. Stephens and Son, and the son is now the successor to the business. This is the oldest undertaking house in the city. hav- ing a record extending back fifty years, and it is also distinctive as being an exclusive undertaking establishment. the furniture department having been discontinued some years ago.
Mr. Stephens was prominently known throughout the city. Be- fore Elkhart became a city he served as a town trustee, but thereafter never sought any political or civic office. He was a Methodist and consistent Christian. He married, in 1860, Miss Frances E. Hall, who is still living. They were the parents of four children: Lillie, Luella, Henry E. and Charles A.
Henry E. Stephens, the successor of his father in business and for a number of years numbered among the capable and progressive business men of the city, was born in Elkhart, July 3. 1864. He was reared and educated here, at the age of seventeen entered his father's store, four years later became a partner, and is now proprietor of the business. In 1885 he married Miss Margaret E. McElmoil, by whom he has one child, Irma A. Mr. Stephens is a member of the Methodist church, and has fraternal affiliations with the Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Modern Samaritans of the World.
ABRAHAM L. SEARER.
Among the native-born sons of Elkhart county who have since taken their places in the ranks of the able and highly respected citi- zens and become successtul in their respective vocations, one who de- serves especial mention for his connection with the agricultural activ- ity of Olive township is Mr. Abraham L. Searer, a scion of one of the old families in the county and a man whose career has been passed in creditable consistency with the record of the past and with the best standards of the present.
Born September 9. 1863, Mr. Searer is the eighth in order of birth
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of the nine children, seven sons and two daughters, who were born to John and Susan ( Wentz) Searer. All these children are living and all are residents of this county except Christ, who is married and is a farmer and miller of Cass county, Michigan. The father, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1821, and died in Olive township in 1896. came to this county at an early day and in 1849 purchased seventeen acres of land in Olive township, to which nucleus he added by subse- quent purchases until his estate comprised two hundred and forty acres in this township. He had received a common school education, and gained an unusual degree ot success in life. He was a Republican in politics, and a member of the Mennonite church. His wife, who was also a native of Pennsylvania, died at the age of seventy-eight.
Reared and educated in Olive township, with part of his educa- tion acquired in the Wakarusa schools, Mr. Searer spent the years of his life up to majority in the home of his parents, and when he essayed an independent career he began absolutely without capital, except such as the inherent forces of his character and physique supplied. Hav- ing been reared on a farm, he was well prepared for farming as a voca- tion, and after spending several years as a renter he bought forty acres in Jefferson township of Kosciusko county. On selling this he bought nine acres in the town limits of Wakarusa.
Mr. Searer married, in 1890, Miss Mattie Rarick, and of the son and four daughters born to them, four are living, namely: Esther, in the seventh grade of the Wakarusa schools: Oscar, in the fifth grade: Mabel, in the second; and Clara. Mrs. Searer was born in this county in October, 1863, and was educated in the common schools. Her parents were John and Esther ( Creitzer ) Rarick, whose eight children. three sons and five daughters, are all living.
In 1901 Mr. Searer bought the one hundred and eighty acres which forms his present beautiful and valuable estate and which was a part of the old Searer homestead. He is a practical agriculturist in every department of his enterprise. He is quite well known as a stock- raiser, having been very successful in raising Belgian draft horses and the Chester White hogs. The political views of Mr. Searer coincide with the principles of the Republican party, and he has been a loyal supporter of the party since casting his first vote for Blaine in 1884. He has also been liberal in contributing to the support of the various churches and their benevolences, and in many other ways his public- spirited citizenship has manifested itself.
JOHN UMMEL.
John Ummet is a representative not only of the enterprise and business ability which are the foundation of material prosperity but also of those civic and moral virtues which give to a community a wholesomeness and strength which can never be gained from any other
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source than character. Physical and moral stamina, strength of pur- pose in carrying out worthy ideals, and uprightness in all the affairs of life have given Mr. Ummel a deserved prominence among his fel- low men, and his career is so well known in southwest Elkhart county as to need no further introduction.
He was born in Elkhart county. November 24. 1861. the eldest child and only son of Joseph and Susan ( Coffinan) Ummel. His sis- ters are Mary, wife of Noah Simmons, a farmer of Harrison town- ship; and Delilah, wife of J. W. Moyer, a teacher and farmer.
Joseph Ummel, who was born in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania. in 1811, and died in 1884, having followed the life of a successful farmer, at the age of twenty-four left his uative state and came to Wayne county, Ohio, where he purchased a farm and remained until 1854, in which year he located in Harrison township of this county. Here he bought three hundred and fifty acres of partially improved land, and in the log cabin which served as his first home his son John was born a few years later. He and his wife were members of the Mennonite church. The latter, who was born in Ohio about 1829 and who is still living on the old homestead in Harrison township, canie to Elkhart county in 1836, her father being one of the county's pio- neers, and the Indians often came to their door to beg provisions when the family had hardly enough for themselves.
The career of Mr. John Ummel has been spent quietly and use- fully in this county, and, without exciting incidents to his life history. it is none the less a record of solid achievement and of inspiring suc- cess. After obtaining a common school education he remained at home till his majority, when he began as a renter on the old homestead, con- tinuing that two years. He inherited eighty-three acres of the old homestead. In 1886 he sold his farm and, locating in Elkhart, en- gaged in a planing mill enterprise, which later merged with a factory for the making of folding beds. Manufacturing proved unfortunate. but notwithstanding the loss of a large amount of money Mr. Ummel did not allow himself to be daunted in his pursuit of success. In 1890. leaving the city, he purchased eighty acres in section 4 of Harrison township, and, with the addition of another twenty acres purchased later, he has so managed his affairs as to rank among the most success- ful agriculturists of this section of the county. Mr. Ummel has made his best success as a potato-raiser, and for extent of operations and profitable outcome in this line lie probably excels any man in northern Indiana. Each year about forty acres of his land are devoted to the production of the tubers, and in 1904 his yield averaged the almost phe- nomenal figure of 274 bushels an acre. The "Rural New Yorker" is his favorite variety. The product goes to all parts of the United States as well as to the local markets, and it stands in high esteem among all the large buyers. Another department of Mr. Ummel's farming enterprise is his apiary, which at this writing contains fifty stands. The
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Ummel farm is by nature one of the richest in the county, the soil be- ing black timber loam, suited for unfailing production of large crops. It was formerly covered with dense timber, hundreds of trees measur- ing four feet or more in diameter, and by hard work he has cleared the place and made every acre productive. Fruits, such as peaches, plums and cherries, are grown by him in considerable quantities, and the dif- ferent branches of his enterprise are managed with increasing profit each year.
November 23, 1895, Mr. Ummel married Miss Ella Lambert. Four sons and two daughters were born, and all except a little daugh- ter are living, namely: Joseph, who is in the third grade of school : Edward, also in school; Paul, Daniel and Mary.
Mrs. Ummel, who was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, No- vember 29. 1874. is a daughter of George and Amanda (Gehman) Lambert, she being the oldest of their nine children, and her seven living brothers and sisters are: Edward, who was educated in Waka- rusa, is a resident of Elkhart but at present is engaged with Armour and Company at Columbus, Ohio. Rose Lambert is a missionary at Hadjin, in the Asia minor provinces under the rule of the Sultan of Turkey, having been sent there under the auspices of the Mennonite church. She has had charge of an orphanage for Armenians, where are sheltered many children of those who were murdered in the Arme- nian massacres. Seven years of her life have been devoted to this noble cause in a far-away land, and in hundreds of ways and occasions she has been a ministering angel to those in want not only of spiritual com- fort but of the plainest necessities. Before taking up her work in foreign lands she was practically educated and also had considerable experience as a nurse in a hospital, so that her skill in this direction is also of great value in her work, being able to render much needed assistance when a regular physician can not be obtained. She is ex- pected on a visit to the United States during the summer of 1005, and relatives and friends, as well as her church at large, are preparing a hearty welcome for their beloved sister in mercy. The Lambert fam- ily furnished another worker to the field of practical Christianity in the daughter Emmma, who, a resident of Elkhart, is a city missionary. devoting herself to the cause of uplift and enlightenment in the desti- tute and degraded quarters of our large cities. No work offers such opportunities for social service as this, and her self-sacrifice has brought countless blessings to the unfortunate and depraved that haunt the low- est levels of city society. Ira Lambert is a salesman at Goshen, and has a little son. Willis. Nora was educated in the city schools and. like her sisters, has studied music. Jessie and Marie are at home. Rev. Lambert, the father, who was born in Pennsylvania, May 11. 1852. and now resides in Elkhart, where he located in 1881 and where he has since lived with the exception of a year and a half, is a minister of the Mennonite church and has traveled extensively in missionary
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labors, having crossed the Atlantic five times and the Pacific once. He has spent much time in Palestine, and in 1897 sailed around the world. Mrs. Lambert was also born in Pennsylvania, June 9, 1850, and is still living.
Mrs. Ummel, who was a girl of seven years when she came with her parents to this county, has made her home in this county ever since, and was educated in the common schools and at Wakarusa. She taught two years, one year in her old home in Pennsylvania and one year in the fifth grade at Nappanee. She is a lady of most pleasing personality, and has been a great help to her husband in the establish- ment of their home. She. as well as her husband, is a devout worker in Bethel church in Harrison township and the Sunday school. Mr. U'mmel is a true Christian gentleman, carrying his principles of con- duct and life wherever he goes, and has contributed freely to all causes which make for the upbuilding of church, education and society.
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