USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Elkhart County, Indiana > Part 70
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When the son Christian was a child of two years the family moved to Canada, where he grew up and lived until he was twenty-six years old. Personal application was the chief factor which gained for him an edu- cation, and he can read both the English and German languages. Al- though at the age of twenty-one he could not produce twenty-five dollars in cash of his own, his industrious disposition and his hardy honesty have brought him through life more successfully than the majority of men. and it has been his good fortune to attain to prosperous circumstances long before the evening of age has begun to cast its shadows about him.
Mr. Hunsberger married Miss Margaret Paff, November 24. 1857. and during the early half century of their wedded life twelve children. nine sons and three daughters, have been born to them. Nine children are living. Adam, who was educated in the common schools and the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, and who was a success- ful teacher for twenty years in St. Joseph and Porter counties, and also followed farming two years, is now serving his second term as treasurer of St. Joseph county, having been deputy treasurer three years before his election to the office : is a resident of River Park, St. Joseph county, and hy huis marriage to Miss Catherine Albert he has two children, namely : Charlie, aged eighteen, who is a high school graduate and is his father's deputy in the treasurer's office : and Grace, who is a student in the River Park schools at South Bend, and also a music pupil. Adam Hunsberger is a Republican in politics. Christian, the second son and his father's namesake, is one of the prosperous farmers of Olive township, and is a Republican : by his marriage to Miss Libbie Eberly he has three sons- George. Henry and Menno. Abram Hunsberger, a farmer in Olive township, is also a Republican in politics, married Miss Mary Enders. Jonathan, who is a successful farmer in St. Joseph county, married Miss Rosa Ann Klein, and they have two children. Nora and Margaret. Daniel, a farmer of Harrison township, wedded Miss Flora Pletcher, by whom he has two children, AAlva and Maude. George, the youngest son. who was educated in the common schools, lives at home with his father and mother and is a practical farmer. The three living daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Hunsberger are as follows. Mary, who lives at home with her parents, is the widow of Christian Nusbaum and has two children, Dean and Augusta. Anna is the wife of Jacob Klein. a farmer of St. Joseph county, and has one child. Ellis. Lizzie, the wife of William Klein, an agriculturist in St. Joseph county. has one child, Florence.
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Mrs. Hunsberger, the mother of this large and prosperous family of children, was born in the little duchy of Hesse-Cassel, Germany, June 4. 1840. being the eldest of the seven children, four sons and three daugh- ters, born to Ludwig and Christina ( Hahn) Paff. She has four brothers living, namely : Henry Paff. a farmer and a resident of Canada, is mar- ried and has five children-Henry, Willie, Louis, John, and Mary. Adam Paff. also a Canadian farmer, is married and has two children, Edward and Millie. Ludwig, who farms in Canada, has six living children- Lizzic, Emma, Maggie, Leafy, Clara, and Willie. John, a Canada farmer, has three children-Anna, John, and George.
About 1848, when a little girl of eight years, Mrs. Hunsberger ac- companied her parents on a sailing vessel from Bremen to New York city, being forty-eight days on the voyage, which was fraught with so many hardships that the passengers felt that by providence alone did they finally reach this side of the ocean. She was reared and educated in Canada, and remained there until her marriage.
Following that last-mentioned event the young couple decided to come to Indiana, where they settled down at the beginning of their wedded career, in 1861 ; their cash accumulation at that time being only three hundred dollars. Coming to Olive township they lived in the old house on the Enders homestead until the fall, and Mr. Hunsberger worked for day's wages, at seventy-five cents a day, which shows that he and his good wife began at the bottom of the ladder to success and were willing to do any honest work that would afford them access to a higher position in the world's prosperity. Mrs. Hunsberger relates how she executed a whole day's washing for twenty-five cents, this also being one of the necessary means by which they established themselves in Elk- hart county. The first land they purchased was eighty acres of their own homestead, and the land was heavily timbered-requiring a great amount of labor to transform it into productive and tillable fields. Their first home was a little log cabin. They paid three hundred dollars for this raw place, going in debt for a large part of that, and it was due to their great thrift and persevering industry that they won out in life's battles and finally reached a position of comfort and ease in material surround- ings. To the original eighty they have added until they own one hun- dred and seventy-two acres, conceded on all sides to be one of the choice estates of the township, and besides they have two houses and lot in the City of Elkhart. There is a nice sugar grove on the place, and Mrs. Hunsberger made in the past season seventy-five gallons of maple syrup. From the little log house which constituted their first home they are now residents of a comfortable and ample brick residence, which was erected in 1879, and they have also built as circumstances have permitted, excel- lent barn and outbuildings.
A strong Republican, Mr. Hunsberger has always supported the principles of the Grand Okl Party, and his citizenship is of the same sterling character as his business career. He and his wife are members of
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the Mennonite church in St. Joseph county, having contributed material- ly in the erection and general support of their church, and selfom has any worthy cause appealed to them in vain.
PETER HUNSBERGER.
For nearly half a century the Hunsberger family has been prom- inent in the affairs of northern Indiana. Their German thrift and hon- esty, their ability in advancing material prosperity, their worth in all the relations of society have given them an honorable position among the best citizens of the state. In Mr. Peter Hunsberger is found not only a very interesting personality but a rugged character which has found much to do and has done much in this rough, practical, every-day world, and now at the evening of life is secure in the possession of friends and honor and is happy with the consciousness of past duty well performed.
Mr. Hunsberger was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, August 2, 1826, and is now the oldest of the living children, whose names are given in the sketch of Mr. Christian Hunsberger, on another page. The father was born in the same locality of Pennsylvania, August 10. 1703. and died March 22, 1877, aged eighty-three years, eight months, and twelve days. He was drafted for service in the war of 1812, but did not reach the field of action. \ farmer by occupation, he was a very suc- cessful man. When the son Peter was eight years old the father took his family to Canada and in the province of Ontario bought one hundred and fifty acres of wild land which he improved into a fine farm and where he made his home until coming to Elkhart county. The father was a Republican, and he and his wife were Mennonites, aiding very materially in the support of their church. The mother was born in Penn- sylvania in 1803. and died in September, 1877, when almost three-quar- ters of a century old. The parents, on coming to this county in 1859. purchased the land which now comprises the Enders farm, and there re- mained till death took them from their earthly labors. They now rest in peace in the Olive cemetery, in section I of Olive township, and their grateful children have placed beautiful monuments to their memory.
In 1861 Peter Hunsberger, with his brother Christian, came to Olive township to begin his independent career, at that time being without capital or any means of advancement other than his sturdy character and physical resourcefulness. In the meantime, in Canada, he had married. in 1854. Miss Frances Heinrich. Of this marriage six children have been born, two sons and four daughters, and five are living. Mary is the wife of Abraham Seese, of Donaldson. Indiana, and has three living children -Jolin. Ira, and Harvey. John is a St. Joseph county farmer and has seven children-Melvin, William. Rosetta, Jacob, Christina, Calvin, and Ellis. Margaret, wife of Jacob Schenck, of this county, has one child. Clarence. Isabelle is at home with her father. William, a practical farmer and stanch young Republican, has charge of the old homestead.
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where he resides. The mother of this family died about 1872. She was a native of Canada. Mr. Hunsberger in May, 1874, took as his second companion in life Mrs. Barbara ( Kilmer ) Meyers.
Mr. Hunsberger's first purchase of land in this county was eighty acres of timber in section 15. Olive township, and his first home was a log cabin, twenty-two by twenty-six feet, made of round logs taken from the virgin forest which surrounded him on all sides. He and his family spent fifteen years in this primitive home, but from the arduous conditions which they passed through then has resulted the gratifying prosperity of later years. In breaking up the soil of his farm he and his brother employed an ox team, and the four-fingered cradle was also a common implement in use during harvest days. The original eighty acres has formed his home farm ever since, and in 1877 he erected his present comfortable brick residence, and the improvements which may be seen on every side indicate how well he has cared for the possessions that have come to him. He is the owner of one hundred and thirty-four acres in Olive township, and this represents the reward of persistent toil and diligence and honorable endeavor along the lines which bring suc- cess.
The present Mrs. Hunsberger was born in Crawford county, Ohio, March 15, 1835, a daughter of John and Katie ( Raymer) Kilmer, her father a native of Pennsylvania. She has three brothers living, two of them residents of Elkhart county and one in Michigan. She has four children by her first marriage, named as follows: Daniel Meyers, who is a gardener in St. Joseph county and is father of five children, four by his first wife and one by his second: Jonas, a resident of Olive township; Noah and Abraham, of St. Joseph county. Abraham wedded Miss Esther Brenneman and has two children, Joseph and Lewis.
Mr. Hunsberger belongs among the old settlers of Elkhart county, and to such men as he and his brother Christian the county owes a debt of gratitude for what they have accomplished during their period of activity. They have witnessed the wonderful growth and development of their part of the county, from a wilderness to a paradise, have seen the little villages of Elkhart and Goshen grow to cities, have lived in the county from the time of only one railroad until there are steel lines crossing in every direction, have beheld beautiful farms carved out of the forest, and schoolhouses and churches dotted all over the landscape. Mr. Hunsberger is a Republican, and he and his brother had the privilege of casting their first American vote for Abraham Lincoln. He and his wife are members of the Mennonite church, and they aided in the erection of their house of worship in St. Joseph county, both being true representatives of that simple faith which has so many adherents in this part of the state. This brief sketch is one of the records of the aged citizens of this county intended to preserve for all time the life and works of a true, honest and sincere man-a record which his descendants will be proud to refer to in future years.
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ANDREW JONES.
Andrew Jones, an honored veteran of the Civil war and a resident of New Paris, was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, Sep- tember 16, 1833, and is the youngest in a family of four sons and three daughters born to Evan and Rebecca ( DeMotte) Jones. Only two of the family are now living, the sister of Mr. Jones being Mrs. Elizabeth Fike, a widow, who is residing in Anderson, Indiana, at the venerable age of eighty years. The father was a native of Montgomery county. Pennsylvania, and spent his childhood and youth in the state of his nativ- ity, acquiring a common school education. He was trained to the work of the home farm and about 1834 he removed from Pennsylvania to Van Wert county, Ohio, becoming a pioneer settler of that locality, where he remained until his death. In politics he was a Democrat, adhering to the principles advocated by Jackson, and he and his wife were mem- bers of the Mennonite church. She was also a native of Pennsylvania. representing one of the old families there, and her death occurred in Ohio. The grandfather of Mr. Jones came from the little rock-ribbed country of Wales and settled in America at an early day.
Andrew Jones, born in Pennsylvania, was reared in Ohio and In- liana. He was about fourteen years of age at the time of his father's ‹leatlı and though he enjoyed few privileges in his youth he made the most of his opportunities and developed a sturdy, honorable manhood. In early life he cut cord wood at twenty-five cents per cord, clearing the timber from the land. The first clearing he made was two acres, and around the place he built a fence eight rails high, receiving only forty dollars for all of this labor. He began learning the blacksmith's trade under a task master who was so severe that it led him to seek employ- ment elsewhere. About this time he met with an accident that forced him to relinquish work at the forge, and so the remainder of his life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits and to other employment that he could secure that would yield him an honest living. When the war cloud spread over the land and the storm seemed to threaten the country with disaster he went to the front in its defense, enlisting on the 6th of Ang- tist. 1862, as a member of Company E. 74th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under Captain William B. Jacobs. The regiment was sent to Louisville, Kentucky, and was attached to the Army of the Cumberland. so that he served under Colonel Charles E. Chapman and General " Pap " Thomas. He took part in the famous raid against General Morgan and he en- dured many of the hardships, dangers and privations of war. As a scont he traveled through Tennessee and Georgia, seeing much perilous serv- ice. On one occasion the band of scouts got so far away from their com- mand that they were obliged to go to Cumberland Gap and there get ammunition before they could make their way back. While on scout luty near Carthage, Tennessee, Mr. Jones sustained a slight flesh wound in the right leg. He was in Louisville, Kentucky, the time the news was
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received of Lee's surrender on the 9th of April, 1865, and on the 17th of June he received an honorable discharge at Indianapolis after a long serv- ice of two years, ten months and eleven days. He then returned to Elk- hart county and has since made his home in New Paris.
Mr. Jones was married January 24, 1861. in Goshen, Indiana, to Miss Mary Herriman, and they have four children, all yet living : Adella, who married Thomas Robinson, by whom she had two sons, Ward and Ed, and after the death of her first husband became the wife of Galand Willard. now of Syracuse, Indiana, by whom she has two children, Lula and Harry: Pearl, an agriculturist of Poinsett county, Arkansas, who married Miss Pricella Bullard and has two children liv- ing. Mary and an infant. Albert, who is engaged in blacksmithing in New Paris, and married Miss Nettie Hoke, who died several years ago, leav- ing a little daughter, Nevaatta, who is with her grandparents in New Paris: and Liff R., a lineman of New Paris, living with his father and inother. He was a member of Company E. 157th Indiana Infantry, in the Spanish- American war, after which he received an honorable dis- charge. Mrs. Jones was born in Jackson township. Elkhart county, Sep- tember 16, 1841, her parents being Frederick and Mary ( Wright ) Herri- man, both now deceased. Her father was a native of Massachusetts and her mother of Virginia and they had a family of four sons and five daugh- ters. of whom four are yet living, but only two are residents of Elkhart county, the others being Isaac, who is a farmer living in Marshall county. Indiana : and Washington, who is living retired in Milford, Indiana.
Mr. Jones is an earnest Republican whose first vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln, and he has been selected as a delegate to county con- ventions. He and his wife are known as upright citizens and in their lives have displayed many sterling traits of character.
WILLIS A. LAYTON.
Willis A. Layton is one of the early settlers of the county and has watched it emerge from pioneer conditions, putting aside all the evi- (lences of frontier life and taking on all the improvements of an ad- vanced civilization. He lives on section 23, Cleveland township, and is a native of the neighboring state, Ohio, his birth having occurred in Miami county, June 15, 1843. His father. Benjamin F. Layton, was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, and was of English descent. the grandfather having been born in London, England. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Mary Wilmore and was also a native of Rockbridge county. Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Beniamin F. Layton located in Ohio about 1840, and in 1848 they came to Cleveland township. Elkhart county, settling on a farm which is now the home of their son Willis A. Here the father directed his ener- gies to the tilling of the soil and continued active in farm work until his death, which occurred when he was in his fifty-fourth year. His
Sarah & Layton
Willis a. Layton
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
wife, surviving him, passed away at the age of sixty-four years. They were the parents of eleven children. five sons and six daughters, but three of the daughters died in childhood and one son died in infancy.
Willis A. Layton is the second child and sixth son and was but five years old when he was brought to Cleveland township, so that he has been a resident of the county for more than a half century. The district was then upon the frontier, and the school which he attended was held in a log building. His youth and early manhood being cast in the pioneer period. his experiences have connected him with a strange past as well as the marvelous present. When the lusty strength of youth was in his veins, he has swung from early to late the old-fash- ioned "turkey-wing " cradle in cutting wheat. He and his wife, who by birth and rearing also belongs to northern Indiana, have witnessed the principal events that have marked the progress of this part of the state. Living near the St. Joseph river at a period when that water- way still furnished an important transportation route, they have seen the steamboats passing up and down with freight and passengers, the smokestacks being lowered for passage under the bridges. Indians and .deer have also been seen by these pioneer people, the former hay- ing a trail across the Layton homestead.
Mr. Layton was only eleven years of age at the time of his fath- er's death but he remained upon the old homestead most of the time until after the outbreak of the Civil war. He enlisted in 1861, becom- ing a member of Company I. Forty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He joined the army as a private and served for four years and four days, never faltering in the performance of any duty that was assigned to him. He was wounded in the knee at Chickamauga by a rebel bul- let. and in addition to that battle he participated in the engagements at Missionary Ridge, Lockout Mountain, Ringgold and many others of lesser note. He also went with Sherman as far as Atlanta, was in the siege, and was afterward returned to Chattanooga. He received an honorable discharge at Nashville, Tennessee. September 14. 1865. His military experience has embraced all of the duties that fall to the lot of the soldier, calling him to the lonely picket line and to the firing line, causing him to take long marches and endure many hardships. When he was engaged in the terrible battle of Chickamauga, his cousin, R. M. Wilmore, was shot by his side. It was General " Pop " Thomas who saved the day for the Union forces at that memorable battle.
When the war was over Mr. Layton returned to Elkhart county. Indiana, and occupied a position as clerk in a store there for a year. He then went upon the road as a traveling salesman and occupied that position for several years, but soon after his marriage he took up his abode on the old homestead farm where he has since lived. Mr. Layton as a horticulturist has the largest stand of huckleberries in northern Indiana, and for this reason deserves a prominent place in the history of the fruit-growing interests of the county. He has
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engaged in the raising of this particular crop for the past sixteen years, the soil and other conditions of northwestern Elkhart county being remarkably favorable for this variety of small fruits. In the present year of 1905 he has disposed of about three hundred crates of huckle- berries, the regular price ranging from $2.25 to $2.40 a crate, with a demand that takes all he can raise. Mr. Layton carries on this indus- try on the most extensive and profitable scale of any one in this part of the state. He has been engaged in vending small fruit in the city of Elkhart for the past thirty-eight years.
On the 6th of March, 1870, Mr. Layton was united in marriage to Miss Sarah L. Nixon, a daughter of John and Jane ( Bryson ) Nixon. She was born in Kosciusko county, Indiana, September 30. 1845, being the eighth in order of birth in a family of nine children. Her father was born in Ireland and when seventeen years of age came to America. His wife was a native of Center county. Pennsylvania. Is already stated, Mrs. Layton has lived in this part of the state long enough to be familiar with both pioneer and modern conditions. -Among the possessions she exceedingly prizes for its old-time associations is an old-fashioned coverlet, woven when she was a girl. To Mr. and Mrs. Layton have been born the following named: Etta Luella, who is now the wife of Isaac S. Pippenger of Elkhart: Millard W .. at home: and Katie May, the wife of Michael Ruch of Elkhart.
Mr. Layton is one of the representative citizens of Elkhart county, where he has lived through fifty-seven years. He has been zealously interested in the welfare of his community, and all the qualities of public-spirited and progressive citizenship have been manifest by him. lle belongs to Elmer Post, G. A. R., at Elkhart, and takes great delight in meeting with his old army comrades and recalling scenes that happened upon the battlefield when he was wearing the blue uniform of the nation. His first presidential ballot was cast for Abraham Lin- coln, and he has been a supporter of each nominee at the head of the ticket since that time, never missing an election since age gave to him the right of franchise. He served as a trustee of Cleveland township for two terms, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the German Baptist church.
D. A. RHEUBOTTOM.
D. A. Rheubottom, as editor and proprietor of the Wakarusa Tribune, has advocated and earnestly worked for every enterprise or institution or movement that has been undertaken for the welfare of his town since he identified himself therewith as a resident and journalist. The power of the press in this country is only beginning to be understood, but it is the newspapers of the land, whether the metropolitan daily or the country weekly, that lead the vanguard of progress and civilization, promote intelligence among the masses, sup-
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port the schools and churches, and furnish the best medium through which public opinion expresses itself. Mr. Rheubottom is a modern newspaper man. enterprising, up-to-date in his manner and methods, and has made both himself and his paper factors of uplifting influence and usefulness in the town of Wakarusa.
Born in LaGrange county, Indiana, July 2, 1866, Mr. Rheubot- tom is the only child of James R. and Mary G. ( Gammell) Rheubot- tom, well known and highly esteemed citizens of Wakarusa. The father, who is a genial and well informed gentleman, for a number of years connected with his son in newspaper enterprises and still oc- casionally taking a hand in the makeup of the Tribune, was born near Mayville, Chautauqua county, New York, February 17. 1846. Reared there to the age of twelve. his parents then came to LaGrange county, Indiana, where was his home until he located at Middlebury, this county, and, with his son, established the Middlebury Independent, which was conducted there either by himself or son until 1807. He came to Wakarusa and established the Tribune in 1893. Mr. J. R. Rheubottom is a veteran of the Civil war, having served almost four years. He enlisted in Company A, Twenty-first Indiana Heavy Artil- lery, under Colonel McMillan, his battalion being assigned first to the Army of the Potomac and later with the western armies in the gulf regions. He was present in the battle of Baton Rouge and the siege of Port Hudson and in various other of the important events of the war .. He enlisted just a few days after Fort Sumter was fired upon, and received his honorable discharge July 6, 1865. At the time of Lee's surrender he was with General Banks in the Red River country. A stanch Republican in politics, he has advocated that party ever since casting his first vote for Lincoln when in the army of the republic. He and his wife are members of the Christian church, and his fraternal affiliations are with the Odd Fellows lodge. No. 46, at LaGrange, with Lodge No. 311. K. of P., at Middlebury, and with Kendallville Lodge No. 46, of the uniform rank Knights of Pythias.
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