USA > Indiana > Delaware County > A twentieth century history of Delaware County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 13
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In 1890 Mr. Richey was chosen the Republican candidate for auditor of Delaware county, and elected to the office served satisfactorily for four years, but having made the race for the office on the one term promise did not become a candidate for re-election. In 1894 he was a prominent candidate for the Republican nomination for state auditor, and although he received votes from as many as fifty-one of the ninety-two counties in the delegate convention of his party he failed of nomination after a creditable race. For some five years thereafter he was an accountant for the Chosen Friends, a fraternal insurance order with headquarters at Indianapolis. In 1900 he accepted a position with the Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company at Muncie as an accountant, of which he is the present incumbent.
Mr. Richey married, October 15, 1872, Miss Julia Thomas, a daughter of Mr. J. Harvey and Jerusha Thomas, of Dayton, Ohio. Their three children are Albert S., Reba and Paul, the eldest being a graduate of Purdue University and now professor of electric railroad engineering in the Wor- cester (Massachusetts ) Polytechnic Institute. Both Mr. and Mrs. Richey are members of the Presbyterian church. He also has membership relations with Williams Post, No. 78, Department of Indiana, G. A. R., and with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has reached the Thirty-second degree, and affiliates with the Knights Templar, the Scottish Rite and the Mystic Shrine, Murat Temple, Indianapolis. His fraternal relations also connect him with the order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 74, and with the Independent Order of Red Men, No. 30, and he is a member of the Commercial Club of Muncie.
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ANTON C. HEFEL, perhaps best known as "Tony Hefel," is a civil engi- neer of wide and favorable reputation. He is a native son of Austria, born in the town of Feldkirk, province of Voralberg, April 8, 1844. After attend- ing the common schools of his native town and also pursuing a four years' course in a normal school, he entered the well known university of Munich, Bavaria, from which he graduated in 1864. Very early in life Mr. Hefel turned his attention to mechanics and for some time after leaving the university he was employed as a builder of water works in Bavaria, while for two years he also acted as superintendent of construction at Augsberg. In 1866, when he had reached the age of twenty-three years, he came to the United States, first locating in Cincinnati, Ohio, where for six years he was employed as draughtsman for the city water works, and during a similar period he served as engineer and assistant superintendent for the same. In 1877 he transferred luis residence to Vandalia, Illinois, where he was engaged as engineer in chief for the Kaskaskia bottom drainage district, his duties being to make surveys and estimates for dredging, draining and reclaiming a large tract of land. During the time he was thus employed, continuing until the year 1886, he was twice elected surveyor of Fayette county, Illinois.
It was at the close of this period, in 1886, that Mr. Hefel came to Muncie, at once accepting a position with the American Water Works & Guarantee Company, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, as superintendent of con- struction and engineer in building water works and plants at New Phila- delphia, Ohio; Huntington, West Virginia; Sheboygan, Wisconsin ; Meridian, Mississippi : and Wichita, Kansas. Thus in various cities of the country he has constructed water works, built race tracks and sewers, so much so that perhaps no other civil engineer in the entire country is wider or better known than he. He drafted the first map of the city of Muncie and vicinity in 1888, showing the location of oil wells, gas wells and other valuable points. In 1891 he entered the employ of the Western Improvement Company, of Rochester, New York, and for this company laid out and drew a map for West Muneie. In 1895 he built the Cambridge City, Indiana, Water Works, in 1896 the Middletown, Indiana, Water Works and in 1902 he built the one-half mile race track at the State Fair Grounds, in 1903 the track at Montpelier and in 1905 the Arranum, Ohio, Water Works and Electric Light Plant.
In 1868, in Cincinnati, Mr. Hefel married Miss Magdalena Good, who bore him two children, Carrie and Ermine. Carrie married Claude Beaton, of Nome, Alaska, and Ermine married George Whitehead, of Matthews, Indiana. The wife and mother died in 1881, and in the same year he mar- ried Miss Kate Boekley, one child, Hattie, being born of the second union. She married Albert Gough, of Muncie.
JOHN OSBORN LEWELLEN. For many years the name of John Osborn Lewellen was inseparably interwoven with the history of the educational interests of Delaware county, and during the past seven years he has also
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been a careful member of the legal profession. Delaware county claims him among her native sons, his birth occurring in Smithfield on the 31st of July, 1852. His father, Zerah M. Lewellen, was born in West Virginia, but when a lad came with his parents to Delaware county, the family home being established on Campbell's creek, that location having been chosen on account of the richness of the land. After his marriage he removed to Smithfield, where for several years he followed the wagon maker's trade, after which he was engaged in farming in Liberty and Harrison townships some years and then retired from agricultural pursuits. He spent his last years at Shideler, where he died at the age of seventy-two years. The mother of our subject was known in maidenhood as Sarah A. Truitt, and was a native of Delaware county.
John O. Lewellen received an excellent literary education in the public schools of his native locality, which he attended until his twentieth year. After teaching one term of school he then entered the Methodist College at Xenia, Ohio, being subsequently a student in the Holbrook school at Lebanon, that state, and in 1877 a graduate from the scientific department of the Northern Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso, Indiana, from which he received the degree of B. S. He added to the thoroughness of his pedagogical education by taking a four years' course at the famous Chau- tauqua school. For a decade thereafter Mr. Lewellen taught in Delaware county and for fourteen years was its superintendent of schools, finally resigning the position named to enter the legal profession. His broad intelligence, scholarly attainments and thorough preparation for every duty which fell to him made him a most able educator and honored citizen. Although he attained a brilliant and substantial position in the field of education, Mr. Lewellen finally chose the law as his life profession, pursuing his studies in the Indiana Law School of Indianapolis and being admitted to the bar in 1900. He is an earnest and tireless worker, and has applied the strength of an already mature and trained mind to the mastery of the various departments of the law, by which he has acquired high standing as a general practitioner.
The marriage of Mr. Lewellen was celebrated on the 25th of December, 1877, to Miss Huldah Eleanor Crampton, and the three children born to them have been Albert Ross, Harry Crampton and Wendell Gladstone. Mrs. Lewellen is a native of Harrison township, Delaware county, daughter of Mahlon and Ruth Jane (Crane) Crampton, who were born in Ohio and became early settlers of this county. Here, as well as in the schools of Franklin, Ohio, she received her education and also took a four years' Chautauqua course, and before marriage taught several years in the public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Lewellen are both members of the High Street Methodist Episcopal church, the latter being a teacher in the Sunday school and also, for many years, an earnest and effective worker in the field of home and foreign missions. Mrs. Lewellen is, further, an influential member of the McRea Club, of which she has served as president.
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Mr. Lewellen's political affiliations are with the Republican party, while fraternally he is a member of Delaware Lodge, A. F. & A. M., the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Red Men. He has long served as a class leader in the Methodist church, and is widely popular and highly honored in the county which has so long been his home, and of which he is so worthy a representative of the pioneer element.
CHARLES WILLARD NEISWANGER. The gentleman whose name intro- duces this review and the leading artist of Muncie, possesses talent which places his name high on the roll of the foremost photographers of Delaware county. His birth occurred in Cambridge City, Indiana, September 3, 1865, his father. George Neiswanger, having removed hither with his father, Winson T. Neiswanger, from his native state of Maryland. He established his home on a farm near Cambridge City, and was there engaged in agri- cultural pursuits until his removal to Delaware county in 1873, settling two and a half miles northeast from Muncie. There he was engaged in the tilling of the soil until an advanced age, and he now resides in this city. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary A. Gebhart, and was a native daughter of Pennsylvania, from whence she removed to Wayne county, Indiana, with her father, John Gebhart.
Charles W. Neiswanger, a son of these honored Indiana pioneers, entered the teacher's profession after completing his education in the county schools, thus continuing for three terms. But that genius as an artist which he has displayed in later life to such a marked degree was early expressed, and learning the photographic art, opened a studio in 1889, where he has been very effective in placing the art on a higher plane. He is a member and trustee of the Daguerre Memorial Institute, at Winona Lake, Indiana, formed for the purpose of promoting the highest interest in photography, and in many ways he has proved a valued member of his profession. He is also president of the State Photographic Association.
The marriage of Mr. Neiswanger was celebrated in 1896, Miss Jennie F., a daughter of James McCormick, one of the early pioneers of Delaware county, then becoming his wife. Their only child is a son Robert, born November 8, 1897. Mr. Neiswanger has fraternal relations with the Knights of Pythias, of which he is the present chancellor commander, and is also a worthy member of the Methodist church.
WALTER F. PIERCE. One of the leading and influential citizens of Muncie is Walter F. Pierce, whose birth occurred in Tipton county, Indiana, May 5, 1854. The Pierces are an old and honored family of English descent, the great-grandfather of Walter F. having been its founder in this country, and his son Thomas was-a full-cousin of President Franklin Pierce. Calloway Pierce, a son of the latter and the father of Walter F., was a native of Pennsylvania, from whence he removed to Virginia and in 1832 to Delaware county, Indiana, where his father entered land from the gov-
F. L. Nachtell
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ernment in Salem township. In 1850 Calloway Pierce removed to Tipton county, Indiana, where he was engaged in carpentering and contracting in partnership with E. M. Sharp, and to these gentlemen belong the honor of having built most of the town of Sharpsville. Returning to Delaware county in 1859 Mr. Pierce resumed his farming operations in Salem town- ship, and is now living there at the good old age of eighty-five years. In his early manhood he had married Ruanna Goodpasture, a native of Ohio, and they occupy a prominent place among the early and honored pioneer citizens of Delaware county.
After completing his education in the public schools of this county Walter F. Pierce turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, and was numbered among the leading farmers of Center township until 1900, in that year coming to Muncie and embarking in the real-estate business, in which his undertakings have been fortunate for the most part, and in 1906 he was elected a justice of the peace. He votes with the Republican party, and is an active worker in its ranks.
On the IIth of January, 1880, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Pierce and Miss Sarah Icenogle. She was born in Ohio, the daughter of John Icenogle, and has become the mother of five children: Donata, now Mrs. Kierstead, of St. Paul, Minnesota ; Lena E., now Mrs. Keltner and a resident of Muncie; J. Otis, also a resident of St. Paul; Mattie F. : and Walter Stuart. In his fraternal relations Mr. Pierce is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias fraternities.
F. L. WACHTELL. Occupying an enviable position in the business circles of Muncie, F. L. Wachtell is honored and respected by all, not alone on account of the success he has achieved, but also by reason of the honorable, straightforward business policy he has ever followed. His birth occurred in Winchester, Indiana, July 5, 1863, but during his early boyhood days he was brought by his father, Calvin S. Wachtell, whose sketch also appears in this work, to Muncie, where he obtained his education in the city public schools. After the completion of the training which was to fit him for life's activities, he engaged in business with his father, this being in 1882, and he now has practically the entire charge of the large concern, for the senior Mr. Wachtell has in the main retired from an active business life. Although he entered upon a business already established, in conducting this and enlarging its scope Mr. F. L. Wachtell has so directed his efforts that its interests have grown apace with the progress which dominates the central states, and he is numbered among the leading business men and public spirited citizens of Delaware county.
In 1889 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Wachtell and Miss Leonora Deitsch. She is a daughter of Philip Deitsch, of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he served as superintendent of the police for eighteen years. Mr. Wachtell is a member of the order of Elks, the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.
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CHARLES L. NIHART. When professional success is attained in any instance it may be taken as certain that such measure of success has been thoroughly merited. Dr. Charles L. Nihart, although one of the younger members of the profession, has gained distinction in the line of his special calling, that of an optician, lias been an earnest and discriminating student, and holds a position of due relative precedence among the ophthalmic prac- titioners of Delaware county. The Doctor was born in Jay county, Indiana, July 15, 1872, a son of David H. and Diantha E. (Stansbury) Nihart, the former a native of Delaware county, born in 1840, and the latter of Jay county, Indiana. The paternal grandfather, Philip Nihart, was a native son of the fatherland, but in early life he left his German home and came to the United States, and for many years was engaged in agricultural pursuits four miles southeast of Muncie. There his son David also fol- lowed the tilling of the soil for a time, but later turned his attention to the drug business, and is now one of the leading druggists of Albany, Indiana. During the Civil war he offered his services to his country's cause and served as a soldier in the Ninth Indiana Cavalry.
After completing his education in the schools of Delaware county, Indiana, and Lima, Ohio, Dr. Charles L. Nihart entered upon the study of medicine, but a short time afterward decided to devote his entire attention to the diseases of the eye and accordingly entered the Indiana Ophthalmic School, in which he graduated in September, 1895. Coming thence to Muncie, he entered the professional circles of this city, where he has gradually worked his way into the front ranks. He has also found time to devote to the public life of his adopted city, and for four years served as a member of the city council.
In 1895 occurred the marriage of Dr. Nihart and Dora A. Lykens, she having been born in Randolph, Indiana. Their only child, Bessie May, was born on the 4th of June, 1906. The Masonic fraternity finds in Dr. Nihart a valued and worthy member, his relations being with Delaware lodge, and he is also a member of Welcome lodge of the Knights of Pythias. His religious affiliations are with the High Street Methodist Episcopal church. The Doctor is a young man of exceptional attainments, and all who know him have the highest admiration for his many excellent characteristics.
WILLIAM T. JANNEY, one of the leading merchants and business men of Muncie, is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Delaware county, and his birth occurred within its borders, in Washington township, on the 17th of April, 1849. His father, Joseph Janney, claimed Ohio as the state of his nativity, his birth occurring in Stark county November 21, 1811, but in the early year of 1837 he came with his father, Amos Janney, to Delaware county. They established their home in Wash- ington township, where Joseph Janney followed agricultural pursuits until his busy and useful life was ended in death, passing away on the 19th of
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November, 1876. In his early manhood he had married Sarah Hayden, who was born in Pennsylvania March 1, 1812. and her death occurred on the 19th of January, 1890. In their family were seven children, four sons and three daughters, of whom one is deceased, and the remainder all reside in Delaware county. One son, John H., laid down his life on the altar of his country during the Civil war. He served as a member of Company B, Thirty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, his military career covering a period of four years. At the battle of Atlanta he was wounded and taken prisoner, suffering all the horrors of a seven months' confinement in Andersonville prison, and after his release was sent to Vicksburg, where he was a passenger on the fatal ship Sultana at the time of its terrible destruction. He was a brave and loyal soldier and bravely met his death at the post of duty.
W. T. Janney, whose name introduces this review, is indebted to the public schools of Washington township and the Muncie high school for his educational training. With his education completed, he followed agri- cultural pursuits until 1893, when he came to Muncie and embarked in the mercantile business, in the sale of implements and buggies. He has built up a large and lucrative business, which places him in the front rank in the industrial circle of Muncie, and in addition he yet owns his farms in Washington and Harrison townships.
On the 19th of June, 1873, Mr. Janney was united in marriage to Hannah E. McCreery, a member of one of the oldest families of Delaware county, both her father, Thomas, and her grandfather, Samuel McCreery, having been numbered among its honored residents. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Janney, three sons and three daughters, Carlton R., Stanton E., Florence E., Lester H., Beulah M. and Ada. Mr. Janney is a member of the order of Ben Hur, and both he and his wife are valued and consistent members of the High Street Methodist Episcopal church, as are also all of their children, with the exception of Stanton, who is a Baptist.
JAMES EMMETT EBER was born on his father's farm in Center township, Delaware county, April 24. 1850. His father, Hener Eber, was a native son of the fatherland of Germany, but when twenty-eight years of age he came to America and took up his abode in Muncie, where for a short time lie was interested in a distillery. He then purchased a tract of land on what is now known as the Hathaway pike, in the northwest corner of center township, and, moving to this place, turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, and ever afterward to the day of his death he was practically and successfully engaged in farming. He accumulated a good estate, and was numbered among the most prominent farmers and business men of Delaware county. It was his good fortune to be able to provide well for his children, whom at his death he left in very comfortable circumstances, for during his busy and useful life he had accumulated a valuable estate of upward of three hundred acres.
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During his residence in Muncie Mr. Eber married Miss Susannah Clark. and they became the parents of the following children: Jane, deceased ; William H., who died during his service in the Civil war ; Mary, the wife of Mr. A. Drumm, of California : Jolin, deceased; James Emmett, the subject of this review : George; and Catherine. Mrs. Eber was called to the home beyond on the 20th of May, 1862, a communicant of the Catholic church and a lady of many estimable qualities of heart and mind. For a second wife Mr. Eber chose Nancy Leland, who died in 1879, without issue. Mr. Eber had preceded her in death about three years, dying on the 26th of January, 1876. His religious affiliations were with the Presbyterian church, and in politics he endorsed the principles of the Democratic party.
James E. Eber, who has won a foremost place among the prominent ag- riculturists and best-known citizens of Delaware county, has followed farm- ing as a life occupation, and has resided in this county since the day of his birth. He grew to manhood on the parental homestead, and in the mean- time gained a limited educational training in the country schools. His boy- hood days were spent in assisting his father in the work of the farm, and he remained in the parental home until his father's death. He married Tabitha Scott on the 22d of June, 1872, and the lady of his choice was born in Adams county, Ohio, August 8, 1852, a daughter of David and Sarah (Ham) Scott, natives also of that commonwealth and respectively of Scotch and Irish descent. This union was blessed by the birth of the following children. Emma, who died in 1890; Ida, a bright young lady, who died July 7, 1907, while seeking renewed health in California; Lee, a resident of Bridgeport, Illinois; Stella, Catherine, Pearl and Earl. The wife and mother was called to her final reward on the 14th of December, 1896. She was a faithful wife and a devoted mother and was loved by all who knew her. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also Mr. Eber. He has membership relations with the Improved Order of Red Men, and in politics is a Democrat, but has paid little attention to party affairs. He has always been a diligent worker and has devoted his time and efforts to farming. His estate comprises one hundred and ninety acres of fine farming land, and the family residence is a modern and attractive home.
HORTENCE L. OLIVER, superintendent of the Muncie Belt railroad, gen- eral yardmaster of the Lake Erie & Western and in charge of the opera- tions of the Muncie & Western railroad, has made his home in this city since 1896. No railroad man in this community is more generally known, and his relations with these large corporations have won him a high posi- tion in the business world. . His birth occurred in Athens county, Ohio, April 15, 1856, a son of Leven R. and Elizabeth (Adair) Oliver, both of whom also claimed that commonwealth as the place of their nativity. The father was a merchant and farmer near Athens, and the little son therefore devoted the early years of his life to the work of the farm and the store, in the meantime receiving his education in the common schools. When he
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had reached the age of eighteen years he started out in life for himself, going from his home to Texas, where for four years he was engaged in farming and stock-raising. At the close of that period he returned to Ohio and en- tered upon what has since terminated in a successful railroad career, this being in the year 1878, and his first employment was as a freight brakeman on the Hocking Valley railroad. After eighteen months in that capacity he was promoted to the position of a freight conductor, and for eight years he continued his relations with that company. He then entered the employ of the Columbus & Eastern, now the Zanesville & Western railroad, with which he remained for about eight years, first as a freight and later as a passenger conductor and trainmaster, during all this time living in Colum- bus, Ohio. At the close of this period Mr. Oliver entered the employ of the Lake Erie & Western railroad in the capacity of general yardmaster at Tipton. Indiana, but shortly afterward, in October, 1896, he was trans- ferred to Muncie. which has ever since continued as the scene of his opera- tions, and where he is numbered among the best citizens, esteemed alike for his sterling worth of character and his activity in the business world.
Mr. Oliver married, in 1886, Fannie Howell, of Fostoria, Ohio. He is a member of the Railroad Conductors' Fraternity and is an active factor in the social as well as the business life of Muncie.
J. MONROE FITCH. In an enumeration of those men of Delaware county who have won honor and public recognition for themselves the name of J. Monroe Fitch takes precedence. As the record of a young man it is one of which he may be justly proud, for he has successfully surmounted obstacles and has gained recognition through intrinsic worth of character. He is a native son of the Southland, born in the Bluegrass state of Ken- tucky on the 12th of July, 1872, a son of Sampson and Dorcas (Daniels) Fitch, also natives of that commonwealth. When fourteen years of age J. Monroe left home, and before he had reached his twenty-first year had worked in eighteen states at various employments. Up to that time he had received but ten months of schooling, and thus he may be truly classed among the self-educated as well as self-made men. Realizing, however, the value of an education as the foundation for life's activities, he then went to Valparaiso, Indiana, where he worked his way through the university, spending five years in school there, and during that time began the study of law. His legal studies were completed in the Chicago Law School, where he received his diploma, and in 1898 came to Muncie to actively en- gage in the practice of his chosen profession. He associated himself in practice with C. A. McGonagle, and the firm of McGonagle & Fitch has become well known in legal circles throughout this section of the state. From his early youth Mr. Fitch has been a politician, and in November, 1906, he was elected to represent his district in the state legislature, and although his legislative career has been brief, it has been marked with dis- tinction, and higher political honors undoubtedly await him.
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