USA > Indiana > Marshall County > A twentieth century history of Marshall County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 16
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During his mill experience at Wolf creek he operated the only mill in Marshall county, and he used to describe his business as having been very extensive for the time, running the machinery day and night in order to supply the great demand for flour. He kept no books, all the pay being taken out of toll. In fact, all kinds of business at that time was carried on by barter, the only money in use being the Union Plank Road currency, of questionable value, and a few state bank notes, which were about on a par with gold. "About the worst money I ever saw," Mr. Zehner would say, "was that issued by independent banks. You could not tell one day whether it would be worth anything the next day or not." At the time of his death Mr. Zehner was the proprietor of the largest flouring mill in Marshall county, and this is now being operated by his son Jesse. He served four terms as the trustee of West township, and in his earlier life took an active part in politics, voting the Democratic ticket. He and his wife were members of the Reformed church and were held in the highest esteem by their many friends.
Mr. Zehner was married December 9, 1858, to Margaret L. Gross- man, of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, who survives him with six children : Sylvester V., Cyrus W., Mrs. Mary A. VanVactor, Mrs. Salome R. Long. Mrs. Ellen Carpenter and Jesse A. Five brothers also survive him: John, of Pierceton ; Abraham, of Boise City, Idaho; David and Michael, at Wolf Creek ; and Solomon, of this city, now deceased, and one sister, Mrs. Lydia Hullinger, who resides at Argos. Mr. Zehner had been visiting his daughter, Mrs. George C. Long, at Cando, North Dakota, for about four weeks and had expected to return to Plymouth in the following week, but death came unexpectedly on September 26, 1907. His remains were brought back to Marshall county and laid to rest amid the scenes of his younger life and his later years of valued activity.
NATHANIEL GANDY, a business man of Culver, is one of the pioneers of Marshall county, and has amply proved his fidelity, both in defense of his country and in his contributions to the material and moral advance- ment of the community of which he has been a factor for a period of sixty-one years. Born in Jay county, Indiana, on the 2nd day of January.
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1845, he is a son of Nathaniel and Jane (Coney) Gandy, both natives of Indiana and pioneers of the Hoosier county named. The father moved into Marshall county in 1846, farming for about ten years thereafter in Polk township and then transferring his home and his agricultural inter- ests to Union township, near Lake Maxinkuckee. He died at Culver, in his eighty-fifth year, a faithful and honored member of the United Brethren church. His wife (the mother of Nathaniel) was a native of Cumberland county, New Jersey, and lived to be more than eighty-four years of age. They were the parents of thirteen children, ten of whom reached their majority and six of whom are living at this writing.
Nathaniel Gandy is the sixth child of the family and was an infant one year old when his parents moved to Marshall county, being ten years of age when they located in what is now the town of Culver, then known as Uniontown. His education was obtained in the village schools, and the main occupation of his life was farming until the commencement of the Civil war. He then enlisted in the Thirty-third Indiana Regiment of Volunteer Infantry, Company F, and served therein until the close of hostilities, when he was honorably discharged and returned to Culver to continue his agricultural pursuits. In 1887 he sold his farm and opened a livery establishment at Culver, being in the same line of business for a time at Plymouth. In 1897 he disposed of his business altogether and retired to the period of well merited rest and independence, which he is still enjoying. He still maintains his active and broad connection with the forces which tend to advance the general welfare. Although a decided Democrat, his associates have the utmost confidence in his unbiased discharge of any public duties entrusted to him, such as those which he has performed so satisfactorily for ten years as marshal and constable. As a member of Henry Speyer Post, No. 489, G. A. R., of Culver, he retains the esteem and affection of his old comrades of the Civil war, who have elected him to most of the chairs within the organization. He is also identified with the work of the Reformed church, is a supporter of commendable charities, irrespective of denominational connection, and is a citizen of unfailing morality, as well as practical ability.
In 1868 Mr. Gandy was united in marriage to Sarah E. Bucklew, daughter of Alfred and Amy Bucklew, pioneers of Marshall county. Mrs. Gandy, who was born in Lake county, Indiana, and removed to Marshall county when but a young girl, is the mother of one daughter- Marian Augusta, now Mrs. Irvin Swigert, of Logansport, Indiana.
SAMUEL J. BURGENER. No matter in how much fantastic theorizing one may indulge as to the causation of success, careful analysis will always bring to light the fact that it results from earnest, persistent labor. Close application and unfaltering energy constitute the sure foundation for prosperity and it has been along these lines that Mr. Burgener has gained the creditable place which he now occupies as one of the sub- stantial men of Marshall county. He conducts a large general mercantile establishment in Donaldson, is the owner of considerable real estate in the town, and also has a valuable and productive farm of two hundred and seventeen acres in West township.
His life record began in that township November 18, 1866. His
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
father, Peter Burgener, now deceased, was a farmer of the community and a retired Evangelical minister. He was born in Switzerland in that district now a part of Germany and was reared there to the age of thirteen years, at which time he was brought to America by his parents. Having arrived at years of maturity, he married, and to his first union there were born three children, a son and two daughters. Later he was married again, his second union being with Louise Vehman, a native of Germany, who was a little maiden of but two summers when brought to the United States. The children of the second marriage were ten in number, five sons and five daughters, of whom one died in infancy, while Samuel J. Burgener was the third son and sixth child. At an early period in the development and upbuilding of Marshall county Peter Burgener settled within its borders, establishing his home upon a farm in German town- ship, in which locality lived a number of his fellow countrymen. About 1866, however, he removed to West township, purchasing a farm of one hundred and seventy-eight acres, which he cleared and improved, turning the first furrows in the fields upon nearly the entire farm. Year by year he carried on the work of tilling the soil and caring for the crops, being thus occupied until his life's labors were ended in death, when he was sixty-three years of age. Before he concentrated his energies upon his agricultural pursuits, he traveled extensively in the work of the ministry and did effective service for the upbuilding of the cause of Christianity. His life was ever upright and honorable, gaining for him the warm re- gard and unqualified trust of his fellowmen and to his family he left the priceless heritage of an untarnished name.
Samuel J. Burgener was educated in the district schools of West township, being one of the first to graduate from the schools of that locality. His life has always been characterized by enterprise and dili- gence. There have been few leisure hours and his persistency of pur- pose has led to his rapid advancement in the business world. In 1888 he opened a general store in Donaldson in partnership with Peter D. Burgener. This relation was maintained for fifteen years and success attended the firm in their operations. In 1903, however, Mr. Burgener purchased the interest of his partner and is now sole proprietor of the largest store in the town. He carries a full line of general merchandise, even including agricultural implements and buggies. He is also post- master of the town and is active in community affairs, withholding his co-operation from no movement or measure that is calculated to benefit the community. He has erected a home in Donaldson and also owns other real estate here, while a farm of two hundred and seventeen acres in West township likewise pays tribute to his enterprise and capable direction.
On the 26th of October, 1892, Mr. Burgener was married to Miss Ella M. Seider, a daughter of Frederick Seider, of whom mention is made on another page of this volume. Five children has been born of this marriage, three sons and two daughters, Glen Orlando, Cleta Lucile, Bernice Marie, Frederick Randolph and Samuel Maxwell, all of whom were born in Donaldson. Politically Mr. Burgener is a Republican and is a member of the Evangelical church, while moral, intellectual and material interests in the community awaken his attention, his co-opera-
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tion being given to many measures for the public good. His business matters have ever been such as will bear close investigation and scrutiny, and there is no esoteric phase in his life record.
S. N. STEVENS. Among those who have attained a commanding position among the members of the legal fraternity in Marshall county is numbered S. N. Stevens, who has practiced at the bar of Plymouth since 1885. His ability has won him judicial honors and placed him among the county's leading citizens. From 1890 until 1894 he filled the position of prosecuting attorney, and from 1897 until 1904 was the incumbent of the office of attorney for Marshall county. During six years, from 1900 to 1906, he was a member of the school board of Plymouth, of which he was president and secretary during most of the time. He has long been an active worker in the ranks of the Democratic party, and in its interests served as chairman of the County Central Committee, and at the present time is chairman of the Thirteenth Con- gressional District and a member of the Democratic State Central Com- mittee. He is also the attorney for the State Bank of Plymouth and local attorney for the three railroads entering the city.
Mr. Stevens is a native son of Indiana, born in its county of Fulton on the 29th of October, 1858. His father, Dr. Finley Stevens, was born in Stark county, Ohio, and was a son of one of the commonwealth's earliest pioneers, Abraham Stevens, who was of Irish descent and was one of the leading lawyers in the early days of the history of the Buckeye state. Dr. Finley Stevens took up his abode in Indiana in 1838, first locating in Kendallville and later in Fulton county, and in 1865 he estab- lished his home in Argos, Marshall county, where his death occurred in 1800, aged seventy-nine years. He practiced medicine for many years in this community, and his name was a familiar one to the early residents of Marshall county. For his wife he married Elizabeth McIntire, born in Seneca county, Ohio, and she died when sixty-nine years of age. In their family were seven children, four sons and three daughters, and all but two of the number grew to mature years and the three now living are: S. N., of this review; Forest, of Argos, Indiana; and Hattie, the wife of John Drake, also of that city.
In the schools of Argos S. N. Stevens received his early educational training, while later he was a student in the Valparaiso College, and for eight years after completing his studies he taught in the schools of Mar- shall county. During four years he served as the superintendent of the Argos schools. Coming to Plymouth in 1884, he was admitted to the bar in the following year, having previously pursued the study of law in connection with his duties in the school room. For many years he has been according a high position at the Marshall county bar, and his pro- fessional career has been an honor to the district which has so many times honored him.
In 1893 Mr. Stevens married Martha A. Martin, a daughter of Dr. J. S. Martin, of Plymouth. They have one daughter, Katherine, aged twelve, and a son, George F., three years of age. Mr. Stevens is a prominent and exemplary Mason, and also has membership relations with other fraternal societies.
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
A. F. STILSON, prominently identified with the agricultural inter- ests of Marshall county, his valuable estate being located in section 8, North township, is a representative of one of the county's oldest families. His father, Seamor Stilson, a native of New York, came here as one of the promoters and assisted in the building of the Michigan road, and he also assisted in removing the Indians from this section of the state. He lived to the age of sixty-five years, and was very prominent in the early history of Marshall county. He was a member of the Church of God. Mrs. Stilson bore the maiden name of Cynthia Palmer and was also born in the Empire state, her family journeying hither with ox teams during the early pioneer days, and she lived to the advanced age of eighty- two years. In their family were nine children, six sons and three daugh- ters, but only six of this once large family of children grew to years of maturity and four are now living.
A. F. Stilson, the eighth child in the family, is a native son of Mar- shall county's township of North, born on the 13th of March, 1856, and there he attained to years of maturity. He received his higher education in the Valparaiso University, and afterward remained with his mother and superintended the work of the farm. At his father's death he took charge of the homestead, and is now the owner of a fine estate of eighty- eight acres. During his mature years he has also taken an active part in the public life of his community, voting with the Democratic party, and during four years he served North township as its trustee.
Mr. Stilson married in 1882 Eva McChesney, a daughter of Robert and Jeanetta ( Birch) McChesney, and they have five children: F. A., Myrtle S., the wife of Graston Houser, a business man of South Bend ; Rolland and Ivis S., attending school, and Forest. Mr. Stilson is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees at Lapaz, and has membership relations with the Church of God.
WILLIAM D. WRIGHT is one of Bremen's best known and most influ- ential business men, and for a number of years past he has promoted its industrial activity as the proprietor of a general mercantile store. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, December 24, 1858, the eldest son of John J. and Sarah F. (Loomis) Wright, prominent and well known residents of this city. The son, William, spent the first ten years of his life in the city of his nativity, going thence to New Paris, Indiana, but a short time afterward returned to Chicago and became a student in its public schools. His educational training was completed in the college of Hillsdale, Michigan, where he pursued a commercial course, and after its completion he came to Bremen and entered his father's factory, there remaining until he entered upon his mercantile career here. He is num- bered among the city's most prominent business men, and is a stanch Republican in his political views. He was at one time a member of the school board of Bremen, and was one of the organizers and is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, having filled all the chairs in his local lodge, and was also one of the organizers of the Knights of the Maccabees.
In October, 1880, Mr. Wright married Alice, a daughter of Jacob Unruh, of Valparaiso, Indiana. She was born in Frankfort, Illinois, but
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
received her educational training in the high school of Valparaiso. They have one daughter, Julia M., the wife of S. W. Fries, of Bremen. Mr. Wright is a member of the Congregational church.
WILLIAM L. HOOVER is the present trustee of North township and a resident farmer of Lapaz. One of the first to claim residence in this township was Henry Hoover, a native of Ohio and a son of Martin Hoover, and the family is of German descent. Henry Hoover improved a farm here, but his death occurred in early life, in 1872, and one of his two children, Mary Ellen, is also deceased. She was the only daughter, and died at the age of twenty-six years. His widow, Elizabeth (Rensberger) Hoover, was also born in Ohio, and is yet a resident of North township.
W. L. Hoover was the only son of Henry and Elizabeth Hoover, and he and his mother are now the only survivors of the family. He was born in North township May 8, 1864, and after the completion of his common-school education he took up the work of the farm. His present estate of eighty-five acres lies just north of Lapaz. For a number of years he has taken an active interest in the public life of his com- munity, and is a stanch Republican. His township has a Democratic majority of ninety, but in spite of this he successfully made the race for the office of trustee and was elected by a majority of thirty-seven votes.
On the 25th of March, 1886, Mr. Hoover married Rosena Grile, a daughter of Jacob Grile, of Polk township, Marshall county, a native of German township, born June 29, 1867, and they have one son, Edgar, in the eighth grade. Mr. Hoover is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
T. A. BORTON, M. D. To Dr. T. A. Borton belongs the honor of being the oldest practicing physician of Plymouth. He prepared for the profession to which he dedicated his life in the Starling Medical College, of Columbus, Ohio, where he successfully passed the examination by the board of censors and graduated in 1856. After practicing with his pre- ceptor for one year he came to Plymouth, this being in 1858, and here he has since remained, the loved family physician in many a household. Throughout the long period of his residence here he has taken an active interest in the public affairs of the community, and is now serving as president of the Board of Education, also as president of the Monarch Iron Works, and is the physician to the Children's Home or Training School. He was until recently a member of the pension board, and has been identified in the establishment and building of every public institu- tion in Plymouth, assisting in laying the corner-stone of the new Presby- terian church, of which he has long been an active and faithful member, also assisting in the laying of the corner-stone of the court house, and his life history forms a part of the history of Marshall county. His mind is richly stored with reminiscences of the pioneer days here, when he rode far and near, in all kinds of weather, on his errands of mercy cour- ageously bearing comfort and cheer to the distant patients.
The doctor traces his descent from the mother country of England, from whence in an early day of the history of the United States came two
J. A. Boston-
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
brothers from London to establish the family on American shores. For a time they operated a ferry across the river at Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, but later one married and settled in New Jersey, where was born Samuel Borton, the grandfather of the doctor. His son also bore the name of Samuel and also claimed New Jersey as the commonwealth of his nativity, but in time he moved to Stark county, Ohio, and farmed during the remainder of his busy and useful life. Although he was a member of no church organization, he lived a true Christian life in harmony with the teachings of his Master, and his creed was the Golden Rule. For his wife Mr. Borton chose Martha Mahala Nash, a daughter of Stephen Nash, who was a Scotchman from Maryland. They became the parents of eight children, four sons and four daughters, of whom one son and one daughter died in infancy and the remainder grew to mature years, while of the daughters two are living at the present time, Louisa A. and Rhoda, the last named the wife of Dr. Johnson, of Bourbon.
Of the family Dr. Borton is the third child and third son in order of birth of the eight children, and was born in Stark county, Ohio, December 16, 1831, attaining to years of maturity in the county of his nativity, and receiving his primary education in its public schools, while later he was a student in a seminary and in the high school of Marlboro. In connec- tion with his practice he has a sanitarium, in which he has achieved suc- cess in the treatment of inebriate patients. Dr. Borton was the first sur- geon for the Pennsylvania road when it came through Plymouth.
In 1858 Dr. Borton married Jennie E. Green, whose death occurred on the 11th of April, 1895. She was the daughter of George Green, of Portage county, Ohio, and by her marriage she became the mother of four children, three daughters and a son, namely: Haddie, the wife of Charles W. Boyd, of Salt Lake City, Utah; Grace W., whose husband, Dr. N. B. Aspinall, is engaged in practice with Dr. Borton; Mabel, the wife of R. E. Beebe, of Kansas City, Missouri; and Louis G., who has charge of a poultry plant in Missouri. Dr. Borton is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations, an active worker in the party's cause, and he also holds membership relations with all the medical societies and has been chairman of the county society. Half a century of self-denying labor in the service of humanity is the brief summing up of the life of this loved and venerable physician of Plymouth, and no words of encomium can add splendor to the name of Dr. T. A. Borton.
WILLIAM E. HAND. Both by marriage and direct association, differ- ent members of the Hand family have had a strong influence upon the progress of the Culver Military Academy, and in this connection the name of William E. Hand is to be especially noted. A prominent merchant of Culver, he is a native of Green township, Marshall county, and all his useful life has been passed as a resident within the borders of the county, faithfully devoted to the furtherance of her best interests. He was born in the township named on the 29th of September, 1852, and is the fifth child in the family of which William J. Hand was the father. The elder Mr. Hand was a native of Canandaigua, New York, leaving his home in the East for Green township, in 1843. For many years he resided on a farm adjoining that of Thomas McDonald, the father of Daniel
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McDonald, the editor of this work. There he raised his family, and was actively concerned in progressive movements, whether they related to agriculture or civic matters. His standing as a farmer was indicated by his service for some time as president of the Marshall County Agricul- tural Society ; his Republicanism was both stanch and liberal, and his death in his ninetieth year was a real loss to the community. His marriage to Sabrina Chapman, a New York lady, occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, and resulted in the birth of the following children: Parmelia, formerly Mrs. John W. Cleveland, of Plymouth, Indiana, now deceased ; Emila Jane, who married H. H. Culver, founder of the Culver Military Academy, a sketch of whom is published on other pages of this work; Henry N., deceased. who was a soldier of the Civil war; Mary, who married Alfred Allen. and died at the age of twenty-four years; Elmer, who also passed away at the age of twenty-four, and William E. Hand, of this biography.
After attending the public schools of Green township, Marshall county, Mr. Hand completed the regular course at the high school of Plymouth, Indiana, and about five years on his father's estate and then for twenty-one years was associated with the development and manage- ment of the Culver farm, following which he removed to Culver and entered the grocery business, which he has continued to the present. Mr. Hand is a lifelong Republican, a member of the Culver lodge of the Knights of Pythias, and is identified with the Christian church, of which he has been a deacon for many years. His marriage occurred December 25, 1872, to Lucy Brown, daughter of Charles and Lucy (Connor ) Brown, who came from the Empire state as early settlers of Marshall county. Mrs. Hand was born in Walnut township, that county, and has been a lifelong resident of the same. Mr. and Mrs. Hand are the parents of the following children: Walter M., business manager of the Culver Military Academy, and Maude M., wife of William E. Cook, at present manager of the grocery business conducted by his father-in-law.
HON. ADAM E. WISE. The name of Hon. Adam E. Wise is endur- ingly inscribed on the pages of Marshall county's history in connection with the records of her jurisprudence. His ability has won him marked success, and while following in the path of his chosen profession he has also been an active worker in the public life of his community, repre- senting the Democratic party. The first office to which he was elected was that of representative, elected in 1897 and re-elected in 1899, and to him belongs the honor of being the first to be returned to that office for a second term.
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