USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Elkhart County, Indiana > Part 75
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county and state conventions for his party. He and his wife are faith- ful members of the Richville Methodist Episcopal church and contrib- uted toward the erection of that house of worship in 1881. They are both workers in the Sunday school and Mr. Hire is serving as one of the trustees and one of the stewards of the church. He is a represen- tative of a prominent pioneer family of the county, and yet it is his personal worth which has won him the high regard in which he is uniformly held and which classes him with the leading and influential citizens of the community, while his earnest labor has made him one of its most prosperous agriculturists. There is in the Hire family one of the old parchment deeds for land entered from the government, under the hand and seal of President Andrew Jackson.
EDSON C. BARTHOLOMEW.
Edson C. Bartholomew, a well known agriculturist of Clinton township, is engaged extensively in the raising of cattle and sheep. He also raises Duroc Jersey hogs, and while he conducts a business of con- siderable extent and importance he also finds time to aid in matters of public progress, being interested in the church and in political affairs, representing his township at the present time in the office of trustee. He was born in Clinton township. Elkhart county, July 21, 1869.
His father, George Bartholomew, a native of Jefferson county, Ohio, is now living on section 30. Clinton township, at the age of seventy-seven years. He came to Indiana in his boyhood days with his parents, who settled in Benton township, Elkhart county, and after his marriage, which was celebrated in 1847, he removed to the farm upon which he now lives and which has been his home for almost six decades. His father was Henry Bartholomew, a native of Pennsylvania, who re- moved to Ohio at an early period in the settlement of the latter state. He married Miss Ann Sloan, a native of Ireland, who came to the United States in her girlhood days. They had a family of twelve chil- dren, five of whom are now living. The record of the family is as follows: Alexander, who became a Lutheran minister and is now de- ceased; Moses, who was also a minister of the Lutheran church and died in the spring of 1005: William and James, who have passed away : George: Amos, who is pastor of the Lutheran church at Prospect, Pennsylvania: Catherine, the deceased wife of David Darr: Eliza, the widow of William Torrence, a Presbyterian minister: Mary, the de- ceased wife of Morgan Butler, a jeweler of Goshen; Lydia, the wife of Clinton E. Foster, a retired farmer living in Goshen: Emma, the wife of Dr. J. A. Work, of Elkhart.
George Bartholomew was reared to the occupation of farming. worked at the carpenter's trade in early life, but for many years has devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits and is now a large farm and property holder. He is engaged in the breeding of Hereford cattle
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and Duroc Jersey hogs and is well known in this connection, having conducted a very successful business. He is a devoted member and active worker in the Lutheran church, with which he has been con- nected from his boyhood days, and he has held several official positions therein. He cast his vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and again in 1864, but since that time has been a Democrat. He served as town- ship assessor, but has never been active in search of office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business affairs, in which he has met with signal success. In the year 1847 he wedded Mary Cook, a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, now sixty-eight years of age. She was a daughter of Michael Cook, who lived in Pennsylvania in early life and thence removed to Ohio. He married Lydia Keener, and they had three children, of whom two died in infancy. In 1840 they removed to Indiana, entering from the government a tract of land known as the Michael Cook farm, adjoining Millersburg on the west. This farm remained in possession of the original family until the fall of 1904. and Mrs. George Bartholomew, the only child of Michacl Cook, sold it to a real-estate firm of Syracuse, Indiana.
Edson C. Bartholomew, having mastered the elementary branches of learning in the public schools of Elkhart county, afterward spent two years in the Northern Indiana Normal College, at Valparaiso. He then engaged in teaching in the district schools of Clinton town- ship for six years. He was reared to farm life and with the exception of the period devoted to educational work has always engaged in farm- ing. He is now living on section 31, Clinton township, where he owns forty acres of land, and here he is breeding and raising thoroughbred Hereford cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs. He has also been a large feeder ot cattle and sheep for a number of years, and his stock-raising interests have in their extent and importance classed him with the pros- perous representatives of the business in Elkhart county.
Mr. Bartholomew was married in 1895 to Miss Florence Dunn, a native of Marion county, Indiana, born in 1874. Her father, Rev. Jesse Dunn, was born in Tipton county, Indiana, and is a Lutheran minister now in charge of the church of his denomination in Donegal, Pennsylvania. Ile came to Elkhart county in 1884, and was engaged in preaching in Benton for fourteen years. He still owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in Clinton township and he operated his farm while living in this county. He also taught school for a time and filled the office of township trustee, to which he was elected on the Demo- cratie ticket. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Frances Clingen- smith, is a daughter of Simon and Louisa Clingensmith, and was born in Marion county, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Dunn are the parents of three children: Florence, now Mrs. Bartholomew; Ivy, the wife of Samuel Myers, a farmer, residing on her father's land in Clinton town- ship; and Artist, who follows farming in Illinois.
Mr. and Mrs. Bartholomew have a son and a daughter : Donald,
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born in 1897; and Bernis, born July 3. 1901. The parents are members of the Lutheran church and their active work in its behalf has been far-reaching and beneficial. Mr. Bartholomew has served as a deacon in the church for several years and has been superintendent of the Benton Sunday-school for the past ten years. His fraternal relations are with the Knights of Pythias, Castle No. 328, and went through all the chairs and was delegate to the State Lodge. Voting with the Democratic party he takes an active interest in political questions of the day, as every true American citizen should do, and is always firm in support of what he believes will promote good government and insure public progress. For the past six years he has been a member of the Democratic county central committee, and in the fall of 1904 he was elected township trustee, so that he is the present incumbent in that office. His interests, centering along lines of activity wherein is conserved the material, political and moral welfare of the community, have made him a valued and representative citizen of his native town- ship.
WILLIAM B. BARNARD.
William B. Barnard, editor and proprietor of the Millersburg Grit and owner of a leading mercantile enterprise in Millersburg, was born in New Paris, Indiana, September 20, 1867. His father, Will- iam T. Barnard, was a native of New York, born in 1827, and in 1850 he came to Indiana, locating in Albion. He was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church. devoting many years to that calling, but during the last few years of his life he conducted a drug store in Millersburg. From Albion he removed to New Paris in 1865 and was pastor of the church of his denomination in that place. He after- ward engaged in preaching in Millersburg but finally turned his atten- tion to the drug business there. He was a Mason in his fraternal rela- tions and a Republican in his political views. He hecame well to do in his business affairs, and in private and public life enjoyed the high regard of all with whom he was associated. All of the members of his father's family have departed this life save one brother, who is now employed in the pension department in Washington. William T. Barnard was twice married and had two children by the first union. Mrs. W. J. Charpie of New Paris, and LeRoy E., who is living at Mancelona, Michigan, where he is engaged in loaning money. After losing his first wife William T. Barnard was married to Miss Lizzie J. Stoops, who was born in Preble county. Ohio, in 1844. and was one of a family of seven children of whom four are now living, her broth- ers being Samuel W. Stoops of Albion and William Stoops of Toledo. Ohio. Her sister is Syrena Morris, also of Albion. Mr. W. T. Barnard departed this life in 1882 at the age of fifty-five years, since which time his widow has married William Slyter. a retired farmer. Their home is now in Goshen, Indiana. William B. Barnard of this review was the eldest of four children of his father's second marriage.
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the others being Emma, the wife of J. A. Snapp, a practicing physi- cian of Goshen, Indiana: Mamie. the wife of D. A. Zartmen, a fruit- grower of Goshen: and Sadie, who died in 1877.
William B. Barnard pursued his education in the schools of Mil- lersburg and in early life entered his father's store, clerking for his mother after the father's death. Later he was employed as a salesman in a store at Orland, Indiana, for five years and on the expiration of that period he returned to Millersburg and purchased the drug store of his mother, becoming its owner in 1892. It was then a small estab- lisliment and from year to year he has enlarged the concern until he now has a double store and carries an extensive line of goods. He has broadened the field of his business operations by adding to his stock of drugs a large line of general merchandise, and he now has a liberal patronage which is growing year by year. His business meth- ods are strictly reliable and his fair dealing and earnest desire to please his patrons, combined with his reasonable prices, have secured him a very gratifying trade. In 1892 the Grit. a weekly newspaper, was established by W. S. Taylor, and in 1893 Mr. Barnard joined C. H. Myers in the purchase of the paper and plant. After a partnership of four months Mr. Myers retired and Mr. Barnard assumed full man- agement, being still editor and proprietor of this journal. The Grit is neutral in politics, is a good advertising medium and is a well printed sheet, being a five-column eight-page quarto published each Thursday. He has a good patronage, both on the subscription and advertising lists, and the paper is a welcome visitor in many homes.
Mr. Barnard was married on the ist of September, 1889, to Miss Enola Rosser, who was born in Orland, August 12, 1871, a daughter of William and Anna Rosser, the former a farmer by occupation. Mrs. Barnard was an only child and by her marriage she has become the mother of two children : WV. Birch, born in 1891, and Angelo, in 1899. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and in his fraternal relations Mr. Barnard is a Mason, a Knight of Pythias and a Modern Woodman. He is independent in politics and is now serving as president of the school board. He takes an active and helpful interest in everything pertaining to general improvement. and through the columns of his paper and as a private citizen he has contributed in substantial measure to the welfare and upbuilding of his locality. His business career has been marked by consecutive prog- ress and the utilization of all of the opportunities which have come to him and now he is one of the prosperous and prominent representatives of Millersburg.
CHARLES E. NEIDIG.
Charles E. Neidig, a leading man of affairs of the city of Goshen and who comes of a prominent family of Elkhart county, was born two and a half miles south of the county seat on January 2. 1865. He is a
chas Ellerding
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son of William and Maria ( Greenamyer ) Neidig, representing families long and favorably known in this county.
The Waterford school, being not far from his birthplace, afforded Mr. Neidig the early training which was the basis for his business ca- reer. The first twenty-four years of his life were passed on the home farm and in the labors incident to an agricultural career, but since 1880 he has been thoroughly identified with Goshen, especially as a factor in its business affairs. He was employed in the postoffice four and a half years, and then engaged in the lumber business by purchasing the interests of James O. and Joseph Smith in the firm of Smith Brothers and Davis. For the subsequent five years the firm of Davis and Neidig carried on a flourishing trade. On April 22, 1898, Mr. Neidig became the leading member in the firm of Neidig, Drake and Kolb, and it is largely due to his energy and business enterprise, that this has come to be one of the most extensive retail lumber firms in northern Indiana. All kinds of lumber materials and building supplies, including builders' hardware, paints, oils and varnishes are carried in their large stock.
An active Republican politically, Mr. Neidig for twenty years has been interested in political developments in this county, where he is one of the influential members of his party. Fraternally he affiliates with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
November 23. 1895, Mr. Neidig married Miss Carrie Riley, and they have one child, Myra. Mrs. Neidig was born in Elkhart county, and is a daughter of James .A. and Mary Jane ( Berkey ) Riley.
Mr. Neidig holls a substantial place in the life and activities of Goshen. In the fifteen years that have elapsed since he came off the farm his career has been one of steady progress and prosperity until he is now counted among that coterie of men whose work and influ- ence are most potent in directing the current of business in Goshen.
SOLOMON L. THOMAS.
Solomon L. Thomas, conducting a hardware store in Millersburg, is a typical citizen of the middle west, possessing the enterprising spirit that has been the dominant factor in the growth and upbuilding of this section of the country. He has spent his entire life in Indiana, his birth having occurred in Marshall county, near Plymouth, in 1860. His father. William A. Thomas, was born in Union county, Indiana, June 10, 1833, and in 1837 he was brought to Elkhart county by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Thomas, who were natives of North Carolina. Samnel Thomas was one of seventeen who organized the township of Clinton, and in public affairs relating to general progress and improvement he took an active interest and helpful part, so that his name is inseparably interwoven with the pioneer history of the county. Ile was a farmer by occupation and thus provided for his
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large family, numbering sixteen children, of whom William Thomas was the youngest. One of the sons, Elkanah Thomas, is a farmer of Etna Green, Kosciusko county, and he and his sister, Mrs. O. F. Dewey, are the only ones now living.
William A. Thomas was a young lad of only four years when brought by his parents to Elkhart county and he thus became familiar with its pioneer conditions, sharing with the family in the usual hard- ships and trials incident to the establishment of a home in a frontier settlement. He learned the carpenter's trade, following it for many years. When a young man of twenty-two years he became a member of the Methodist church, but afterward united with the Lutheran church and lived a consistent Christian lite for thirty-four years. His political allegiance was given to the Democracy. Ile married Miss Jane Taylor. who was born in England, in 1838, and came to the United States with her parents, who eventually located in Kosciusko county, Indiana, where her father followed the occupation of farming. William . 1. Thomas departed this life March 5, 1901. in his sixty-eighth year, and his remains were interred in what is known as the Chapel cemetery on the old Thomas farm. His widow still survives him and is now living in Millersburg. She is a member of the Lutheran church and is one of the esteemed pioneer women of Elkhart county. In the family of this worthy couple were seven children: Jasper. now deceased; Jon- athan W .. a salesman living in Chicago: Solomon L .; William, of Goshen, Indiana: Harvey, who was engaged in the oil business in Englewood, Illinois, and now in business in the city of Goshen : Dovey. the wife of Isaac Myers, who is with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. at Ligonier, Inchana; and L. J .. deceased.
Solomon L. Thomas was educated in the public schools of Millers- burg and at the age of twenty years entered upon his business career as an employe in a blacksmith shop in Goshen, toflowing that pursuit for three years. He then went to Kansas, where he worked as a plas- terer until 1889, in which year he returned to Millersburg and pur- chased the hardware store of Lafayette Smith. He has since conducted this business with growing success, carrying a large line of shelf and heavy hardware. stoves, tinware and farm implements, as well as hard and soft coal. In his business life he has made a name that is synony- mous with that of integrity and straightforward dealing. and this has been one of the strong elements in his prosperity. He owns two lots on Main street and his business house has a frontage of twenty-four feet. but the other lot is yet unimproved. He also has a beautiful resi- :lence on the same street.
In 1893 Mr. Thomas was united in marriage to Miss Della Dewey. who was born in Clinton township, in 1872. a daughter of Benjamin Franklin Dewey, a native of Ohio, who came to Indiana with his par- ents. When he had reached adult age he was married to Miss Mattie Longcor, and in order to provide for his family he has followed the
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occupation of farming, his home being now in Clinton township. To him and his wife were born four children: Della; Jessie. the wife of Charles Miller; Warren, who is living in Nappanee, Indiana; and one who died in infaney. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas has been graced with three children: Paul, born in 1894; Helen, in 1897; and Esther, in 1902.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are members of the Lutheran church, in which he is serving as a trustee and his name is also on the membership rolls of the Knights of Pythias and Masonic lodges in Millersburg. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party, and he is now serving as city treasurer of Millersburg and has been in that office for ten years. He belongs to one of the oldest pioneer families of the county, and since the days when his grandfather aided in organizing Clinton township representatives of the name have been loyal to the publie interests and active in support of measures which have for their object the welfare and upbuilding of the entire community. It is a well attested maxim that the greatness of a state lies not in its machinery of government nor even in its institutions, but in the sterling qualities of its individual citizens in their capacity for high and unselfish effort and their devotion to the public good. Regarded as a citizen Mr. Thomas belongs to that class of public-spirited. useful and helpful type of men whose ambitions and desires are centered and directed in those channels through which flow the greatest and most permanent good to the greatest number.
ROBERT WESLEY DAVENPORT.
Robert Wesley Davenport, originator and organizer of the Farm- ers' Mutual Telephone Company, of Millersburg, and a practical and progressive agriculturist living in Clinton township, was born in Un- ion township, Elkhart county, his natal year being 1861. The ances- try of the family can be traced back to England, whence John Daven- port sailed for the new world, taking up his abode in Rhode Island, in the eighteenth century. He was banished from that colony, how- ever, because of his religious views. Later generations of the family found homes in Ohio. Noah Davenport, Sr., a native of the Buckeye state, came to Indiana with his wife Catherine and their children, ar- riving in Elkhart county on the 8th of February, 1836. They settled in Concord township, west of Goshen, and they became the parents of six children : David and Martha, both deceased; Noah: Susan, the widow of Henry Van Scoik, a resident of North Liberty, Indiana ; Mary, the deceased wife of Daniel Ulery : and Catherine married Adam Miller and has also passed away. The mother of this family died in 1872. at the age of sixty-eight years.
Noah Davenport, Jr., was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, September 30, 1832, and was therefore but three years of age when
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brought by his parents to this county, where amid pioneer environ- ments he was reared, sharing in the hardships of frontier life and in the arduous duty of developing a new farm and teaching school in the winter season. He wedded Sarah Geyer, who was born in Mont- gomery county, Ohio, January 4, 1831. Her father was born in the Shenandoah valley of Virginia, whence he removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, where he followed the occupation of farming, his death occurring in that state. He was twice married, his wives being sisters of the name of Artz. By the first union he had four children: Abra- ham, Isaac. Sarah, Mary. The children of the second marriage were : Eliza. Catherine and Andrew. Both parents of Mrs. Noah Daven- port, Jr., are now deceased. To Noah and Sarah (Geyer) Daven- port were born six children : Catherine, deceased ; Emma, who is the widow of Albert Garver and lives in Goshen with her mother; Dora Belle and Levi, who have departed this life; Robert of Clinton town- ship; John, also deceased. The daughter Emma began teaching when sixteen years of age and successfully followed that pursuit for sixteen terms, being regarded as a capable instructor of Elkhart county. Noah Davenport. Jr., was called to his final rest May 13, 1894. and his loss was deeply regretted, for he was known as a reliable business man, progressive citizen, an honored pioneer and a devoted husband and father. His widow still survives him and is now living in Goshen.
Robert Wesley Davenport, reared upon the old home farm in Concord township near Dunlaps, began work in the fields almost as soon as old enough to reach the plow handles and through the sum- mer months he aided in the work of the fields, while in the district schools in the winter seasons he acquired his education. He now re- sides on section 29, Clinton township, where he owns and operates eighty-two acres of rich land, and he is regarded as one of the pro- gressive and energetic farmers of his locality. Everything about the place is kept in good condition and modern machinery facilitates the work, while substantial buildings furnish shelter for grain and stock. In addition to his farming interests he was the originator and founder of the Farmers' Mutual Telephone Company, which began business with forty subscribers, the central being in his own dwelling for three years, and its headquarters later being transferred to Millersburg.
On the 20th of December, 1883, Mr. Davenport was married to Miss Mary J. Cripe, who was born in Clinton township, in 1860. Her paternal grandfather. Samuel Cripe, had seventeen children. By his first wife, Esther Cripe, there were three: Benjamin, Daniel and Jacob. For his second wife he chose Susan Mikesell and they had fourteen children : Joseph, Emanuel, Noah, David, Levi, Catherine, Magdalene, Fanny. Susan, Mary, Solomon, Elizabeth, Aaron and Tobias. With one exception all remained residents of Elkhart county and all reared families but one. Most of them became resi- dents of Clinton township. The grandfather gave to each of his chil-
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dren eighty acres of land in Elkhart county and thus they secured a good start in life. Daniel S. Cripe, who died November 3, 1904, father of Mrs. Davenport, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1821, and was only eight years of age when in 1829 he was brought by his parents to this state, the family home being established on Elkhart prairie. He married Miss Barbara Rarick, who died April 12, 1900, a daughter of Christian and Effie Rarick, and they became the parents of nine children: Lucinda, deceased; Elizabeth, who married A. S. Yoder, and has also passed away: Effie, the widow of Adam Opper- man, of Goshen; Isaac, who operates a restaurant in Goshen; Chris- tian, living in Goshen; Noah, a farmer of Canada; Mrs. Mary Daven- port ; Levi, a resident of Goshen ; and Ida, the wife of Jolin Price, liv- ing west of New Paris.
Mr. and Mrs. Davenport have a family of seven children : Ida, a teacher and graduate of North Manchester college; Grace; Gertrude ; Pearl; Ray and Jay, twins, the latter dying when one year old; and Merle. The parents hold membership in the German Baptist Breth- ren church, in which they take an active interest, contributing gener- ously to its support. Mr. Davenport is a deacon in the church and is secretary of the German Baptist Brethren mission board of northern Indiana. His views on the temperance question are indicated by the active support which he gives to the Prohibition party. He is an ad- vocate of all honorable and worthy principles, and in his relations with his fellow men has ever been straightforward and reliable. His word is as good as any bond and his business career has been such as neither seeks nor requires disguise. In Angust and September of 1900, in com- pany with D. R. Yoder, of Goshen, he went to Europe, and while abroad visited many points of modern and historical interest in Eng- land. Italy, France, Switzerland. Germany, Holland and other conn- tries, spending two months in the old world.
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