USA > Indiana > Marshall County > A twentieth century history of Marshall County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 11
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PERCY J. TROYER, county surveyor of Marshall county, Indiana, was born in West township, Marshall county, July 13, 1877. His father, Samuel Troyer, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Marshall county, with his parents, James and Elizabeth Troyer, when but seven years of age. Jonas Troyer, a minister in the Amish church, was instrumental in building the first church of that denomination in the county. Clara ( Warnes) Troyer, mother of our subject, is a daughter of Henry and Hannah Warnes, who settled in Marshall county in an early day. Our subject is the eldest of a family of eight children.
Mr. Troyer was reared on his father's homestead in North township, and received his early education in the public schools of Valparaiso, Indiana. He later attended the Normal school at Marion, Indiana, where he studied surveying. He was elected to the office of county surveyor in 1907.
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
In 1902, Mr. Troyer was married to Miss Pearl Whiteman, a daughter of M. D. L. and Drucilla Whiteman, who came from Ohio in the early days and settled in Marshall county.
Our subject is a member of the Modern Woodmen, and has been a lifelong resident of Marshall county. Previous to entering surveying he was engaged in teaching school and was employed in educational work for twelve years.
ALFRED A. THOMPSON, M. D. From no professional man do we expect or exact so many of the cardinal virtues as from the physician. If the clergyman is austere we imagine that his mind is absorbed in the contemplation of things beyond our ken; if our lawyer is brusque and crabbed, it is the mark of genius; but in the physician we expect not only a superior mentality and comprehensive knowledge, but sympathy as wide as the universe. Dr. Thompson in large measure meets all of these requirements and is regarded by many as an ideal family physician. Certainly, if patronage is any criterion of ability, he ranks high among the leading members of the profession in Marshall county, where he is now enjoying a large and lucrative practice with office and residence in Tyner.
Dr. Thompson is a native of St. Joseph county, Indiana, born March II, 1878. His father, John A. Thompson, is a farmer of West township and a native of Missouri, but during his infancy was brought to Indiana, the family home being established in St. Joseph county, where the Thompsons were among the earliest settlers and cleared large tracts of land there, thus contributing in substantial measure to the early develop- ment of the locality and to its reclamation for the uses of the white race. John Thompson was reared in St. Joseph county amid the wild scenes and environments of pioneer life and was early trained to the work of the farm. After attaining years of maturity he was married there to Miss Mary Jodon, a native of Pennsylvania, and unto them were born a son and three daughters: Edith, now the wife of Edward Winenger, of West township; Alfred A., of this review ; Maisie, the wife of Joseph Biggens, of Polk township; and Elma, the wife of Ray Welborn, of West township.
In 1892 John A. Thompson and his family came to Marshall county, settling in West township upon a farm of three hundred acres, which he rented. His time and energies were given to its further development and improvement until March, 1907, when he purchased another tract of land in West township, upon which he now makes his home. He has been a lifelong Republican and is a stalwart champion of the principles of the party. Although he has never sought to figure in any public light he has ever displayed those sterling traits of character which command con- fidence and regard.
Dr. Thompson acquired his early education in the district schools of Warren township, St. Joseph county, Indiana, and later was a student in the schools of West township, Marshall county. He also spent one winter in the South Bend Commercial College, after which he began teaching in the district schools of West township, following the profession for four years. In the meantime he began a college course at Rochester, Indiana,
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and thus completed his more specifically literary education. In 1901 he went to Indianapolis, where he took up the study of medicine, com- pleting a four years' course at the Medical College of Indiana.
Following his graduation Dr. Thompson returned to Marshall county and located for practice in the village of Lapaz, where he continued until March, 1907, when he removed to Tyner. Already he has secured a good practice here and his business is continually growing. He keeps in touch with the advanced thought of the profession by reading and investigation and in his practice displays the strictest conformity to a high standard of professional ethics.
Dr. Thompson was married on Christmas day of 1899 to Miss Mina Stoops, who was born in Green township, Marshall county, and is a daughter of Madison and Malissa Stoops, farming people of this county, the family being established here at an early day in its development. Mrs. Thompson was reared in this county and by their marriage two sons have been born, Russel A. and John M.
Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Dr. Thompson has been an advocate of Republican principles, but at local elections, where no issue is involved, casts an independent ballot. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Tyner and is a member of the United Brethren church, while in the line of his profession he is con- nected with the Marshall County Medical Society, the State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, thus keeping in touch with the advanced thought of the profession.
MOSES HOLM. In reviewing the history of Marshall county it will be found that from the early year of 1845 the name of Holm has been prominently connected with its agricultural interests. Wild was the region into which Jacob Holm brought his family in that year, its forests being still uncut, its prairie lands unbroken, and the Indians still roamed about at will seeking the deer and game which could then be had there in abundance. The family made the overland journey from Ohio, where in Summit county Jacob Holm was born on the 27th of August, 1816, and he was reared on a farm there. His people were of German descent. On coming to Marshall county he entered a farm of ninety-eight acres in the dense woods of West township, where he erected a little log cabin home, and this served as the family abode for a number of years, Mr. Holm in the meantime pursuing the arduous labor of clearing and cul- tivating new land. In time he added forty-five acres to his original tract, and there he lived and labored until his life's work was ended in death in 1907. He was a Democrat politically, and he was a good and pious man, giving of his means and his time to the furtherance of the cause of Christianity. His religious affiliations were with the Reformed church, serving as one of the first officers of the church here, and he also donated the land on which the house of worship stood and gave liberally of his means for its maintenance. Ere leaving his native state of Ohio Mr. Holm wedded Sarah Salem in 1839, and they became the parents of three children, Adam C., Sarah and Mary. The wife and mother died on the 16th of December, 1841, and in the following year he wedded Elizabeth Rupert, by whom he had three sons.
HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
Moses Holm, the eldest of the three sons, was born in Ohio May 31, 1843, and he was but a babe of two years when the family home was established in Marshall county. As he grew to manhood he attended the old time log schools of West township, and on the old farm where his father settled in the early days he has resided throughout the period of his residence here. Purchasing a half of the homestead from his father he became the owner of one hundred and twenty-one acres and has long been numbered among the prominent agriculturists of West township.
Mr. Holm married Olevia Spitler, who was born and reared in Sum- mit county, Ohio, a daughter of John W. Spitler, a farmer of West township. Seven children, four sons and three daughters, have been born of this union : Morris Elma, Ernest, Floyd O., Lizzy, Ruie May, Lottie and Chloe. All were born in West township, and the eldest, Morris Elma, is now deceased. Mr. Holm has given a lifelong support to the principles of the Democratic party, and is a member of the Reformed church.
REV. WALTER S. HOWARD, rector of St. Thomas' church at Plymouth, was born at Port Huron, Michigan, November 10, 1866, a son of James Howard, a successful merchant, and Juliet ( Petit) Howard. From the public schools of Port Huron Rev. Mr. Howard entered in 1886 the Col- gate Academy at Hamilton, New York, preparatory for a university course, and graduated as one of the honor men of his class in 1887. He was thus able to enter the University of Rochester, at Rochester, New York, where he completed his course and graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1891. During his college days he was the president of the local chapter of the Delta Upsilon fraternity and was among the leaders in the building of its handsome new chapter house.
From Rochester Rev. Mr. Howard returned to Detroit and accepted the pastorate of the Warren Avenue Baptist church, which position he resigned two years later to enter the University of Chicago, where he studied in the Divinity school for a year and a half. As a preparation for his present high office he finally entered, from the University of Chicago, the Western Theological Seminary of the Episcopal church and graduated therefrom in 1896. In November, 1895, he was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop McLaren, of Chicago, and in February, 1896, to the priesthood. Following his graduation he was made the rector of the Church of the Atonement, Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois. After a year as the rector of the Church of the Atonement, he resigned to enter the field of the Associate Mission at Omaha, Nebraska. His work there was effective and far-reaching, and after three years he was made the head of the Associate Mission and had in his charge eleven mission churches in and near Omaha. After laboring for three years with excel- lent results in the field of missions Rev. Mr. Howard resigned to assume work in Indiana, accepting the position of Dean of the Cathedral at Michigan City, whence, in May, 1902, he came to Plymouth to become the rector of St. Thomas' Episcopal church. The first few years of his work in this city were largely devoted to the building up of the parish, both financially and spiritually, and during his second year's work the project for a much needed new church was launched and plans formed
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and adopted, resulting at length in the erection of the most costly edifice in the county, of which the city of Plymouth may well feel proud. A fine pipe organ is among its furnishings, and the church as it now stands represents an expenditure of about twenty-five thousand dollars. During Rev. Mr. Howard's rectorship the parish has experienced a wonderful growth, both numerically and spiritually, and keeping pace with the growth of the church, the Sunday-school has trebled its membership. Rev. W. S. Howard has thrice represented his diocese in the General Convention of the Episcopal church, has been a member of the standing committee of the diocese for years, and is an Examining Chaplain of the Bishop. He is an efficient worker for the Episcopal cause, and is devoting his life to the advancement of the work of Christianity in the world.
JACOB CAVENDER is a good illustration of the reliability of the agri- cultural element, which forms such a solid basis to the great civilization of the west and the country ; for he still resides in Union township, wherein he was born, and maintains the old family homestead to which his father removed, with his family, when the son was but three years of age. Mr. Cavender was born on the 24th of October, 1863, and is a son of Edward Cavender, a native of Clinton county, New York, the day of his birth being April 20, 1822. The elder Mr. Cavender resided in Ohio from the time he was eight years of age until his first marriage to Mag- dalena Albright, when he removed to Cass county, Indiana, where his wife died, the mother of one child, William. There the elder Cavender engaged in farming for some years, following which he removed into Marshall county and located on a farm near Poplar Grove, Union town- ship. This farm, which comprised ninety acres, he cleared and improved himself, and in 1866 settled on the land, which is now the homestead of his son. The second marriage of Edward Cavender was to Hannah E. Wickizer, who was born in Ohio, December 31, 1825, and in that state she was reared and educated. She became the mother of two sons and three daughters, all born in Union township, Marshall county, as follows : Katherine, now Mrs. C. M. Slater; Anna, the wife of Ziba Truax, a farmer ; John C., a resident of Hobart, Indiana; Effie ( Mrs. J. B. Gur- thet), deceased; and Jacob. The father was a lifelong Democrat. In his early life he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, trans- ferring his membership, in later years, to the Evangelical church. He passed away at the age of eighty-five years.
Jacob Cavender lived at home all his life, and still maintains his residence at the old homestead, which belonged to his father, his estate comprising a fertile and attractive farm of 270 acres and commodious and modern buildings. On August 1, 1889, he was united in marriage with Miss Effie E. Pence, a native of Jewell county, Kansas. Mr. Cavender is a substantial and progressive citizen, and in his political affiliations is a Democrat. Mrs. Cavender belongs to the Christian church, located at Maxinkuckee.
CLINTON A. BONDURANT, in the real estate and loan business at Plymouth, Indiana, was born in German township, Marshall county, Indiana, April 23, 1870. His father, Allen Bondurant, was born in the
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same township and county, in 1841, and died at the age of thirty years. His mother, Elizabeth (Huff) Bondurant, was also born in German township, and is a daughter of Philip Huff, a native of Pennsylvania, and an early settler in Marshall county. Our subject has one brother, Philip.
Mr. Bondurant was reared in North township and there received his elementary education, later attending the Normal school at Plymouth. He remained at home with his parents until of age, and his first employment was that of school teacher, at which he was engaged for six years. He was appointed deputy sheriff, under J. E. Marshall, and served in this capacity for four years. In 1900 he was elected sheriff and in 1902 was re-elected ; serving as deputy and sheriff for eight years. He has been engaged in the abstract and loan business for five years and is a member of the Weckinger, Bondurant Company, incorporated, their main office being located in South Bend.
In 1897, Mr. Bondurant was married to Miss Florence Field, a daughter of David and Martha ( Stilson) Field. Mr. and Mrs. Bondurant have two children: Helen L., aged eight years, and Dorothy E., aged five months.
Beside membership in the Masonic order, Mr. Bondurant belongs to Masonic, Red Cross, Knights Templar, Eastern Star, and the Knights of Pythias. He is a stanch Democrat and is well known through his asso- ciation with local and county politics. He enjoys the respect and esteem of a large circle of friends.
BENJAMIN SNYDER, a prominent farmer residing in section 8, North township, was born in Stark county, Ohio, October 21, 1844, a son of Simon and Saloma (Schmachtenberger) Snyder, the father a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and the mother of Stark county, Ohio. They were married in Stark county, and were farming people there until their removal to Marshall county, Indiana, in 1848. This was during an early epoch in the county's history, when all was new and unsettled, and the young couple established their home on a farm in German township, the father continuing to cultivate and improve his land until his life's labors were ended in death at the age of eighty years. During nineteen successive years he served German township as its trustee, and he became well and favorably known in the county in which he so long lived and labored. He was a member of the Reformed Lutheran church. Mrs. Snyder preceded her husabnd in death, passing away at the age of seventy-five years. Of their eight children five grew to years of maturity and are still living: Martin, who makes his home in Arkansas ; Benjamin, the subject of this review ; Henry, a farmer of Walnut township, Marshall county, died February 9, 1908; Margaret, the wife of Martin Stickle, of Bremen, and James B., a resident farmer of German township.
Benjamin Snyder had attained the age of only four years when brought by his parents to Marshall county, Indiana, receiving his educa- tional training in the old-time log schoolhouses of German township, with their puncheon floors, clap-board roofs, the old-fashioned open fireplace, and the slab seats and desks. He remained at home until he married, April 7, 1867, Julia A. Boyer, a daughter of William and Lucy ( Ritter ) Boyer, becoming his wife. She was born in Holmes county, Ohio, and
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
was nineteen years of age at the time of the removal of the family to Marshall county, Indiana. With his bride Mr. Snyder located on the old homestead in German township, and about three years later he also became interested in the saw-milling business there, carrying on both milling and farming. After about nine years in the milling business he sold his interest and, coming to North township, purchased the farm where he now resides. At the time of the purchase the land was without improve- ments, but he has since placed his fields under an excellent state of cultivation, and his estate now consists of two hundred and twenty acres in sections 6, 7 and 8, North township. The barn which now adorns the homestead, built in 1903, is one of the largest in the county.
Five children have been. born to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Snyder, namely : Flora E., the wife of Hosea Sarber, of Bremen ; Emma, the wife of Henry Schlosser, engaged in the creamery business in Bremen ; Tilden, who married Olive D. Baker, an agriculturist; and Selesta C., the wife of Lawrence W. Wade, of North township. One child died in infancy. Marshall county numbers Mr. Snyder among its most prominent public workers, his political affiliation being with the Democratic party, and in 1889 he was made one of its commissioners, filling the office for six years. During his administration the courthouse was remodeled, the county farm was changed and new buildings erected, the first iron bridges were made in the county, and many other needed improvements were instituted. During the erection of the county buildings he served as chair- man of the board. He has also served North township as a road super- visor.
ERASTUS J. THOMPSON, a retired business man of Bremen, has been identified with the interests of this city since 1871, covering a period of thirty-six years. During the first two years of his residence here he was the proprietor of a hotel, but in the meantime, in 1873, he became interested in the lumber business and continued in that occupation until the fall of 1904, retiring then from an active business life. During this time he also conducted a sawmill and manufactured lumber for the whole- sale trade, becoming very successful in this business venture, and in this city he erected ten dwelling houses, all of which he yet owns with the exception of two that were sold and one burned. His time is occupied in looking after his town property. He is a stockholder in the Union State Bank of Bremen.
Although Bremen numbers Erastus J. Thompson among her oldest residents and leading citizens, he is a native son of Cataraugus county, New York, born on the 11th of November, 1838. His father, Chauncey Thompson, also had his nativity in the Empire state, and in 1841 became a resident of the county of Seneca, from whence he later removed to Lenawee county, Michigan, and purchased government land. His wife bore the maiden name of Margaret Young and was also a native of the Empire state, and they became the parents of five children, four sons and a daughter, all of whom are living at the present time, and Erastus J. Thompson is their second child and eldest son in order of birth. He attained to mature years in Lenawee county, Michigan, and there learned the tinner's trade when a boy, following the vocation until he came to
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Bremen in 1871 and entered upon his successful business career in this city.
In Lenawee county Mr. Thompson married Matilda A. Morrel, and the only child of this union, Carrie, is the wife of Dr. William A. Dietrick, of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. Mr. Thompson married for his second wife, Caroline Knoblock, and they have two daughters, Grace M., the wife of C. J. Fields, of San Francisco, California, and Maud, the wife of Arthur E. Liter, of Connorsville, Indiana. In the fall of 1904 Mr. Thompson made the trip to California and spent the winter in the Golden state of the Pacific, returning in the following April. For four years he served his city as a member of its school board, and he is prominently identified with the local ranks of the Republican party. His fraternal rela- tions connect him with the Masonic order and the Knights of the Maccabees at Bremen, and he is also a member of the Congregational church. He has always had an abiding interest in educational and all other matters that subserve the progress of his community, and he is recognized as a power for good in the locality where his influence has been so long directed.
JAMES E. HANES, the agent in Plymouth for the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company, was born in Lima, Allen county, Ohio, April 4, 1845. His father, Isaac Hanes, was a native of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, born in Lancaster, and as a life occupation he followed the tilling of the soil. His parents died when he was but a small boy, and he was after- ward bound out, attaining to mature years in his native state. He mar- ried Lydia Harrison, a native of Ohio, and her father, whom she never saw, was a relative of the renowned William Henry Harrison. She lived to the age of forty years, and to her and her husband were born three children, who attained to mature years, but their son, James, the eldest son and second child in order of birth, is the only member of the family now living. He began the battle of life for himself at the early age of nineteen years, as a railroad laborer, this being in February, 1864, and he remained with the Pennsylvania Company in that capacity for a year and a half. He then spent two years as a freight brakeman, and for nineteen years was a conductor, first in the freight and later in the passenger department, his run being from Ft. Wayne west. He was the oldest conductor on the division at the time of his retirement to assume the duties of agent at Plymouth, taking charge of the office on the IIth of June, 1887. He is now one of the oldest employes of the Pennsylvania Company in his division, having remained with them during the long period of forty-four years, and twenty years of that time has been spent as the agent at Plymouth.
In May, 1869, Mr. Hanes married Alice, a daughter of Owen Farnan, and they have a son and a daughter, Catherine F. and James A. The son is serving as a freight clerk for his father. Mr. Hanes votes with the Democratic party and at.one time served as a member of the city council. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus of Ft. Wayne, is a director of the First National Bank of this city, and is a member of the Catholic church.
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
HENRY L. JARRELL. In a history of the representative men of Mar- shall county whose labors are an element in its business development mention should be made of Henry L. Jarrell, of Tyner, who is a repre- sentative farmer and also a successful merchant, dealing in coal and farm implements. It has been through the utilization of opportunities and through unfaltering perseverance that he has gained a place among the substantial men of the county and in his business career he has allowed no obstacles to brook his path that could be overcome by determined and honorable effort.
He was born in Franklin county, Indiana, November 8, 1853. His father. Garret F. Jarrell, now deceased, was a farmer of that county, but a native of Delaware, where the days of his boyhood and youth were passed. Removing westward, he took up his abode in Franklin county, this state, when a young man and there followed farming for a number of years. He was married in that county to Miss Permelia Wilson, a native of Kentucky, in which state her girlhood days were passed. She was of English and Scotch lineage, while Mr. Jarrell was of Irish descent. They became the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters, and by a former marriage the mother had one son and one daughter, while the father by a previous marriage had three sons .. Henry L. Jarrell is the fourth in order of birth of the children born unto Garret F. and Permelia (Wilson) Jarrell. In the year 1859 the father removed with his family from Franklin to Marshall county and settled in Polk township near Tyner, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, but was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, his death occurring a month later. His sons then continued the work of clearing and developing the land, while the mother carefully managed the household affairs and did all that she could to assist her children in making a good start in life. She reached the venerable age of ninety years and was numbered among the most highly esteemed pioneer women of this part of the state. In his political views Garret Jarrel was a stalwart Democrat and fraternally was connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while in religious faith both he and his wife were Methodists, Mrs. Jarrell holding membership with that denomination for seventy years. Their lives were actuated by its teachings and their Christianity found exemplification in their relations with their fellowmen.
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